School- Library Collaboration

IRLS 695H-003
Spring 2004
Patricia Montiel Overall, Ph.D.
Wednesday
6:30-9:00 P.M.

How to Contact Instructor
Office Hours: Tues. Wed. 11:00-12:00 Noon
Office Phone: 626-8984
School of Information Resources and Library Science-Room
E-mail: overall@u.arizona.edu

Course Description
Develops an understanding of the process involved in developing public library and school library collaboration. Students will learn to promote literacy and culture through community partnerships.

Extended Course Description
The purpose of this course is to develop an understanding of ways in which public libraries and school libraries collaborate to promote literacy. Through a service learning experience, students will develop an understanding of how collaborative relationships are formed and the process that is involved in collaborative planning between a school and public library to promote literacy and culture. Students will learn to develop resources including web sites, tip sheets, bibliographies, and other resources that promote literacy and culture. Students will participate in a service learning project that revolves around an actual community event on April 30, El Día de los Niños/El Día de los Libros. Students will be required to spend 20 hours during the semester working with a school-public library team to plan the event for April 30th. Students will be involved in a case study research through their service learning experience and will be responsibe for describing the collaborative process. Students will develop a website for the Día event in collaboration with the public and school librarian. The sites will reflect activities planned to promote El Día de los Niños/El Día de los Libros as a multicultural literacy event. Students will present their team's efforts to the class as a final presentation.

Course Objectives
Through this course students will:
1. Learn about public library and school library collaboration through a community event.
2. Learn about the roles of public library and school library.
3. Learn about multicultural books that promote language and culture.
4. Learn to develop resources for specialized programs and community events.
5. Learn to do outreach to underserved population.
6. Learn to develop ideas to support the national Día projects.
7. Create a Web site to demonstrate activities planned to develop literacy through El Día de los Niños/El Día de los Libros
8. Participate in a service learning experience involving a school librarian and public librarian team.

Method of Evaluation
Student participation in class discussions. Timely submission of logs documenting the planning process with the school and public librarians. Timely submission of reports describing the community, participants in the colloaborative team involved in planning El Dia de los Ninos/El Dia de los Libros event on April 30th. Twenty hours of service learning are required of which at least 3 hours must be made the event planned on April 30th.Completion of this requirement and written reports related to the service learning project are integral parts of the course and must be completed by the end of the course. No incompletes will be given in this course. Written assignments and oral presentations must be completed on the assigned dates. Attendance, active participation and preparedness for class are required. Written self-reflections will be required throughout the course. A final evaluation of the service learning experience and a presentation of best practices from the service learning experience and information learned about the school/library collaboration must be submitted by May 7, 2004, according to guidelines provided by the instructor. Short essays will be submitted on the readings. Reflections on the relationship between the readings and the experience with the school/public library team will also be required.

Attendance and Participation
Your attendance is required. This is essential since the class meets only once a week. It is also essential to read articles and the text prior to class in order to maximize the quality of small group discussions. Absences may reduce your grade by one letter. Students will share the responsibilities of classroom management. Sign-up sheets for assignments will be available during the first days of class.

Text and Required Readings
Information Power-American Library Association
E-reserve articles. Password will be provided by the instructor on the first day of class.

Service Learning Experience
Students will be required to spend 20 hours in a public library/school library collaboration. A team of two students will be assigned to a public library branch and a public school. The team will work with the public library and school library to plan a community event for El Día de los Niños/El Día de los Libros which is celebrated on April 30th. Students will be engaged in research through the experience.

Course Outline and Schedule
The course outline and schedule inform you about topics that will be covered during each class. The schedule also indicates when assignments are due throughout the course. The course outline also provides you with readings that should be completed by the day they appear on the syllabus.Your participation in group discussions depends on your preparedness to discuss the readings. This is an important component of the class and should be taken very seriously. Changes may be made in the syllabus with advance notice to students. The online bulletin board, Polis, should be read DAILY. Homework assignments will be posted online for your convenience. Questions about the syllabus after the first day of class should addressed to the instructor via e-mail or during office hours.

Assignments
An assignment sheet will be provided to you in class each week to explain the requirements of the assignments below.

Reports for Case Study
Tip Sheets
Web Site

Assignment "due dates" are indicated on the Schedule. Assignments that are turned in late will not receive a grade of excellent. Assignments must be typed double spaced with 1" margins in no smaller than 12 pt. New Times Roman. Sign-up sheets for group assignments will be available on the first day of class..

Grading Scale
Excellent =A
Good =B
Fair =C