Course Syllabus for IRLS 515 - Organization of Information
Link to Course Outline
- Course Name, Number, and Prerequisites
- Course Description
- Course Objectives
- Required Course Materials
- Course Requirements
- Course Policies
- Grading
- Contacting the Instructor
Spring 2006 Instructor: Anita Sundaram Coleman
COURSE NAME, NUMBER, AND PREREQUISITESIRLS 515 - Organization of Information
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COURSE DESCRIPTIONDescription: Introduction to the theories and practices used in the organization of information. Overview of national and international standards and practices for access to information in collections. Usually offered: Fall, Spring.
CATALOG DESCRIPTION
- IRLS 515 -- Organization of Information (3 units)
COURSE DESCRIPTION
This course studies the history, theory and practices of information organization, primarily in traditional and digital libraries. However, other organizations and information evironments such as archives, museums and management information systems are also included. This is an introductory course that surveys the information and knowledge organization techniques that exist or are emerging and focuses on standards and tools that are used in large text-based information environments.COURSE HISTORY
Read Coleman, A. 2002. Interdisciplinarity: The Road Ahead for Education in Digital Libraries. D-Lib Magazine, 8 (7/8), July/August. Available online. URL: http://www.dlib.org/dlib/july02/coleman/07coleman.html This article will help you understand the sequence of courses that you can take in the area of Knowledge Organization. Note that the old course name was Knowledge Structures I and may still be used within WebCT or by adjunct professors teaching this course.[return to top of page]
COURSE OBJECTIVES
GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
The main goal of the course is to become familiar with the concepts and practices of bibliographic and non-bibliographic information organization. By the end of the course, the student will be able to:
- Define the knowledge structures (a.k.a. information handling tools) used in various information environments for organizing information and knowledge
- Describe the main theories in library and archival cataloging (including recent trends in metadata), categorization, classification, and subject analysis
- List the uses, advantages, and disdvantages of a sample range of knowledge structures (information handling tools)
- Demonstrate basic skills in subject analysis
- Demonstrate basic skills in metadata creation
- Demonstrate basic knowledge of at least two metadata standards
- Articulate the similarities and differences between a thesaurus, ontology, authority file, subject heading list, and library classification scheme
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REQUIRED COURSE MATERIALS
- Taylor, Arlene. 2004. The Organization of Information. Englewood, CO: Libraries Unlimited.
- Coleman, Anita. 2004. Guide to Selecting and Cataloging Quality WWW Resources for the Small Library. Fairfield, CA: LRACCC.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Please buy both texts from the UA Bookstore[return to top of page]
COURSE REQUIREMENTS
- Deliverable: Exercise in resource selection & metadata creation
Details shared in D2L- Deliverable: Major Project in electronic resources organization
Details shared in D2L- Deliverable: Bibliography (selective, annotated)
Details shared in D2L[return to top of page]
COURSE POLICIESAcademic Code of Integrity
Students are expected to abide by The University of Arizona Code of Academic Integrity (one theme of which is that The guiding principle of academic integrity is that a student's submitted work must be the student's own.). If you have any questions regarding what is acceptable practice under this Code, please ask an Instructor.
Accommodating Disabilities
The University has a Disability Resource Center . If you anticipate the need for reasonable accommodations to meet the requirements of this course, you must register with the Disability Resource Center and request that the DRC send me, the Instructor, official notification of your accommodation needs as soon as possible. Please plan to meet with me by appointment or during office hours to discuss accommodations and how my course requirements and activities may impact your ability to fully participate.
Assignment Policies
- All work must be turned in on the dates due by 5:00 pm Arizona time (unless other times are allowed by the D2L submission facility). D2L will NOT allow submissions past the DUE Date/Time if I have set it up to be so. Therefore, read your Assignments page and instructions carefully. Availability times are very clearly marked under the Assignments link in D2L and in case of doubt, email the Course GAT.
- All work must be turned in using the submit/email facility within WebCT. This means that you DON'T email/send me the work outside D2L.
- HTML format must be used for all work turned in for grading (except D2L discussions).
Communication Policy
Course Listserv: For D2L backup and announcements you must subscribe to the official course listserv [url forthcoming]. You must have u.arizona.edu email - which you can get from here, http://account.arizona.edu/
Students who have NOT subscribed to the IRL51S course list by Feb. 1 will be administratively dropped. The course list is your communication tool should D2L go down or you lose D2L access. Therefore, it is imperative that you subscribe and be able to use the listserv to communicate with the class and the instructor.
Incompletes
The 1997-8 University of Arizona General Academic Manual, p.23 reads
The grade of I may be awarded only at the end of a semester, when all but a minor portion of the course work has been satisfactorily completed. The grade of I is not to be awarded when the student is expected to repeat the course; in such a case the grade of E must be assigned. Students should make arrangements with the instructor to receive an incompete grade before the end of the semester ...
If the incomplete is not removed by the instructor within one year the I grade will revert to a failing grade.
METHODS OF INSTRUCTION
The classroom environment for this virtual course is D2L. Here are guidelines to help learning:
- I have never had significant problems with D2L but students do seem to have D2L woes when classes start. Therefore, I do not expect you to do too much within D2L until Feb. 1. Use this time to browse your text Glossary, familiarize yourself with the course syllabus, etc.
- Course Notes (lectures) will be posted weekly by 5 pm Friday
- General Class Participation and Discussions are encouraged during the week!
Use Discussion and the topics *Main* for ALL questions related to course.- Complete weekly readings from the text (Author: Taylor) by the end of the day they are scheduled.
- Course Requirements help assess instruction and student learning and it is important that you follow posted guidelines.
With the exception of Discussions all work must be submitted using the Assignments D2L DropBox link. This will allow submissions only until a pre-determined date and time. Make sure you DO NOT miss this date or wait until the last minute to submit. Assignments submitted late (and not excused) or not in HTML will automatically earn a grade of C or lower.- Netiquette is essential in the electronic world. Learn and practice it. A good introduction to Netiquette is available from the Instructional Computing Online Library at Indiana University at Bloomington. Another good source is an interactive quiz (thanks to Garry Forger in the Office of Distributed Learning for this pointer) that you can take - http://www.albion.com/netiquette/netiquiz.html.
When reading electronic text, give others the benefit of the doubt; remember that the written word has no verbal/body language cues to soften it's effect, and don't always be quick to assume the worst. Don't be afraid to post or ask questions but at the same time, make sure you've read everything. Practice by reading this course outline thoroughly and then, give yourself time to reflect on it.- Successful learning for this course REQUIRES weekly participation, DAILY visits to the course pages within WebCT, and prompt, thoughtful, polite responses to your peers, instructor, and their posts.
- Adhere to the UA codes of student conduct and academic integrity.
- Practical knowledge is an important part of professional learning.
You will have the opportunity to work with plenty of practical tools from the KS Toolbox. Discussions, exercise, and final project papers will require you to select and use some of these tools. Start browsing, reading, and interacting with the resources assembled here.
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GRADINGGrade Breakdown:
- Exercise 1: 40%
- Bibliography: 10%
- Major Project: 50%
- Total: 100%
Assignment of Course Grades:
Course grades will be assigned as follows:
A=90+ (Superior Work)
B=80-89 (Very Good)
C=70-79 (Marginally Satisfactory)
F=0-69 (Failed to meet requirements)[return to top of page]
CONTACTING ME
Contact: Office - SIRLS 21, Phone +1 (520) 621-3565, Email - D2L
Instructor Office Hours: By WebCT email and appointment in the D2L Chatroom[return to top of page]