Julia Gelfand, Instructor

Course Description: This course will serve as an introduction to the trends and issues affecting the development of information transfer, policy, agencies, industry, cross-cultural communication, scholarly communication, as it effects libraries and cultural institutions. Organized as a seminar, the course will review basic elements that influence the internationalization and trans-nationalization of librarianship and address comparative measures and globalization patterns that shape a range of information institutions at a global level. Library Education, regionalization, barriers to information access, developing nations, economic, social and political backgrounds will influence class discussion and are representative of the topics that will be covered. Guest speakers will address the class. Students will be required to:
* participate in discussion
* keep up with course readings & assignments
* complete a couple of short exercises
* submit a seminar paper and participate in a small group in which each member shares the content of their research paper with the class that demonstrates an understanding of the role of information institutions, communication systems, information cultures and participants on information behavior across societies.

This multidisciplinary overview will touch upon worldwide viewpoints on:
* Communications
* Economics of information
* Informatics
* Information management
* Information policy
* Information professions
* Information society
* Information systems
* Information theory
* Knowledge industries
* Knowledge management
* Organization of knowledge
* Library education
* Digital developments
* Library technology
* Publishing trends and output

Contact Information for Instructor:
Julia Gelfand, Adjunct Faculty
Applied Sciences & Engineering Librarian
Science Library 228
University of California, Irvine
Irvine, CA 92623-9557
949-824-4971 – office; 949-824-3114 fax
949-786-4842 – home; 949-559-5424 fax
jgelfand@uci.edu
U of A office hours: each Friday, July 11, 18, 25 from 10am-12 - SIRLS

Course Meeting Room - All sessions will be in Harvill 415

Class Meeting Schedule – This course will be taught as an intensive seminar and will move at a pretty fast pace to cover the issues and provide the overview to the content. The course is scheduled to meet for a total of 45 contact hours. Every student is expected to have access to eMail and a course listserv will be established to support ongoing discussions about issues, assignments and provide a means to share information, submit assignments with attachments, etc. If there is consensus within the class, we can meet longer some days than on others as long as we meet the minimum schedule and cover the content. Flexibility will be necessary.

There will breaks in morning and afternoon sessions and a lunch break. You may want to bring a cold drink and lunch with you as often campus eateries are restricted on summer weekends.

Friday, July 11 from 1-4
Saturday, July 12 from 8-5
Sunday, July 13 from 8-2

Saturday, July 19 from 8-5
Sunday, July 13 from 8-2

Friday, July 25 from 1-4
Saturday, July 26 from 8-5
Sunday, July 27 from 8-5

Course Objectives:
1. Learn how to assess and evaluate specific population’s information needs via demographic and population data.
2. Be introduced to trends and issues affecting information transfer and the international agencies that support it.
3. Gain an understanding of and the ability to evaluate the technologies and emerging technologies that shape the information economy.
4. Develop a basic understanding of contemporary international media, information delivery, publishing trends and output methods in different parts of the world.
5. Concentrate on global and regional sources of information, especially cross-cultural communication.
6. Understand the role of international education, principles of diversity, literacy & illiteracy, and how to normalize other social and educational goals.
7. Exposed to methods of research serving international agencies committed to library and information services worldwide.

Academic Integrity - Students should follow the campus code for academic integrity as stated at http://info-center.ccit.arizona.edu/~studpubs/policies/cacaint.htm. All submissions of assignments should be typed and include formal citations when called for using whatever Style Manual you choose for print, traditional and electronic references, as long as you exercise consistency. All work can be delivered in person or sent electronically. Students should retain a copy of all submissions as backup.

Grading & Evaluation: The following grid will be the basis of successful completion of the course. Every student has the potential to earn the highest grade, as no curve will be used. Class attendance is compulsory. All work must be submitted in grammatical English and typed in 12-font by the last day of the class, unless medical or personal emergency takes place. Students will be graded on the following scale based on a
100-point maximum. At the conclusion of the course, each student will get a full review of all completed work. When possible, assignments will be graded and evaluated and returned to the students during the course, in order that students know how well they are doing.

90-100 A
80-89 B
70-79 C

Course Requirements & Assignments: This is an intensive course and the assignments are not meant to reflect the work of a full semester, but indicate an overview of the topic. There are several assignments designed to meet course objectives in order to become a proficient information professional working in the global community, utilizing traditional and digital reference sources. Each assignment will be fully explained in class. A basic premise is that the most effective and active learning takes place when students are engaged in discussion and exchange.

1. Demographic Overview / National Profile - Census of information exchange and output in a specific country chosen by the student. Student will seek information to complete “template” describing the country overview and write a short 4-5pp overview highlighting the state of library and information awareness and development. Include your research strategy and a bibliography of resources consulted. Due to be sent to instructor by eMail (jgelfand@uci.edu) by 9pm, Monday, July 14– 15 points.

2. Outside Reading Summaries – each student is expected to find, read or navigate:
3 journal articles or book chapters published within the last 5 years (1998-2003), or a current website that explores some of our themes, and write a brief abstract on the selection to share with the class on a theme related to the course content. Realizing that not everyone can read much in such a short course, this will expose the class to a broader slice of the literature and issues not covered in full detail. Topic or theme of the reading selections should be evident in course coverage and clearly relevant to class but may reflect economic, social, cultural, educational, legal background. The abstract should not offer any evidence that the submitted abstract is the same one that accompanies the article composed by the author or indexing service!! A good abstract contains:
Full bibliographic citation
Hypothesis of article – what is studied
Methodology employed
Relevant environment or context of issues
Brief findings
Conclusion – about relevancy; can hypothesis be supported or refuted
What made this selection so interesting?

Some appropriate sources to consult for relevant content in this highly interdisciplinary field may include:
EconLit
PAIS
ABI
International Development Abstracts
ERIC
Inspec
Library Literature
Library & Information Science Abstracts (LISA)
Current Contents / Web of Science / Social Science Citation Index
Sociological Abstracts
Lots of important online journals, such as D-Lib Magazine, First Monday, Journal of Electronic Publishing, or traditional titles, such as International Library Review, LOGOS, IFLA Journal, Library Leads from the ALA International Relations Roundtable, titles from the EMERALD database, etc.
Internet Search Engines
Citations

Summaries due by 9pm Sunday, July 20. Students should bring enough copies for all students or distribute electronically via the course listserv – total of 15 points or 5 points/per abstract.

3. Group/Team Assignment– Depending on the enrollment of the class, a likely 6 groups or pairs will be formed and each student will contribute to sharing the general topic and choose a specialized area to explore for a term/seminar paper. Small groups & big regions do not lend to much specificity but to identify comparisons of similarities and differences. On the last day of our course, each group will share their work with the rest of the class. Each member of the team will get the same number of points – thus peer pressure to influence the highest grade will be encouraged. Be prepared to each present for 15-20 minutes - you may want to utilize powerpoint, overheads, slides, or other audio visual aids. Presentations: Sunday, July 27. – 30 points.

Themes for the group assignment: How to develop an effective information delivery or library system for a continent based on parameters established in class. Obviously you will have to scale or structure your response to a highly focused situation. Groups will choose a geographical region they are most interested in, perhaps building on Assignment I and have some class time to work with partners to chart their research strategy and plans for presentation by formulating a general plan and then choosing specific elements to address for one of the following region.
Western Europe
Eastern Europe, Russia, CIS countries, Central Asia
South & Central America
Africa, South of the Sahara
Middle East and North Africa
Far East, Asia and Australasia

Explore and study the region and determine what the information economy will be like in 2008 based on what we currently know. Political, anthropological, social, economic issues will have to play out as will governance, relationships, languages, census shifts, etc. What is the historical structure, and what directions are likely to be followed. More details will be shared in class.

Remember that there are some important listservs and eConferences not to be overlooked - you can't be passive, but must take an active exploratory mindset with you to discover content on the web. Be brave in your assertive style and open to what you may find. Fugitive, grey literature, obscure interviews, a reality check at ground zero with a new population.

4. Seminar/Term Paper – based on group assignment, each student will write up a 7-10pp paper on the specific interest they have in this geography - should include a descriptive component as well a futuristic element. Due: Sunday, July 27 – 30 points.

5. Class Participation – this is a key component of this course, because it gives you a forum in which to hear other people’s ideas and develop your own ideas. You should come prepared to class. Each class meeting will begin with a very brief pick-up on the last session. 10 points.

6. There is NO course final exam.

These ideas about participation are adapted from the late Professor Rob Kling who taught at SLIS, Indiana University & in the School of Information & Computer Science at UCI.
There are obviously many ways that you can contribute to a class discussion. You do not have to have some fabulous insight or world shattering theory to contribute. Here are some suggestions for making useful contributions and high quality participation will include a variety of these types of contributions:

Making Comments
? Offering information
? Offering an opinion
? Giving examples or counter-examples
? Informing others about a source of information
? Providing evidence for or against discussion
? Pursuing and analyzing an argument, example, suggestion

Clearing Misunderstandings Up
? Revealing confusion
? Clarifying
? Indicating alternatives
? Testing for agreement
? Identifying areas of disagreement
? Suggesting an integrative agreement or compromise

Social & Emotional Work
? Relieving group tension
? Encouraging
? Expressing feelings, even when not fully developed
? Agreeing with another participant’s comment, question, feeling

Directing Traffic
? Bringing up a new topic
? Setting standards
? Pointing out prejudiced, narrow-minded or simplistic arguments
? Gate keeping
? Summarizing

Asking for Things
? Asking for clarification
? Raising new questions
? Paraphrasing another’s statement to test for understanding
? Seeing information from other participants
? Seeking opinions from other participants

Textbook and Recommended Readings – there is no one source for this course but instead the class will rely upon a variety of materials, many of which will be readily available via the University of Arizona Library or found online, or distributed.
Students are expected to read a national newspaper or keep up with media dissemination during this course and be aware of current world events. There will be lots of supplementary readings and most should be readily available at the University of Arizona Library.

Course Schedule, Reading assignments and Session Coverage – (subject to modest revision)

July 11
Welcome
Introductions of instructor, class members, course content overview
Review of Syllabus & distributed documents
Review of Glossary
Course goals, expectations, review of reading, writing & group assignments, introduction of guest speakers

Background - contemporary globalization & universality
Overview of World Geography & Contemporary Civics

Industrial Development, Urban, Rural, Virtual
Ranganathan - Five Laws of Library Science
Library Development Worldwide
Demography & Population Studies
Literacy
Diversity
Graphicacy
Language & critical thinking skills
Connectivity
Relationships to Publishing Output
Relationships to Information Exchange & Media Development, Telecommunications
Normalizing Exchange Rates

Assignment: Read Kagan, Alfred, "The Growing Gap Between the Information Rich and the Information Poor, Both Within Countries and Between Countries: A Composite Policy Paper," in IFLA Publication #102, 2002.

Barrett, Matthew B, and Lynch, Beverly P., "Freedom of Expression: A Comparison of Canada, Mexico and the United States," in McCook, Kathleen, eds et al, Libraries: Global Reach: Local Touch. Chicago: ALA, 1998.

July 12 - Covering the World
Western Europe
North America
South & Central America
Asia & Southeast Asia
Mediterranean
Eastern Europe
Brave New World

Review of Group Assignment

Defining new information needs - traditional "national" or hierarchical structures vs contemporary information providers or intermediaries, outsourcing agents, etc.

Engage in some role playing that will:
1. compare/contrast "inter"national with "trans"national information supply and demand - how do people around the world seek information? What about a decade ago, 25 years ago?
2. Demonstrate different reading habits
3. Explore values of information in different settings
4. Review different media treatment of information - postal communication, fax, audio/telephone, news broadcast via radio/television, satellites,

Assignment: Read "Connection Discrepancies: Unmasking further layers of the digital divide," by Elizabeth Davison and Sheila R. Cotton in First Monday, vol. 8, #3, March 3, 2003 at http://firstmonday.org/issues/issue8_3/davison/index.html

July 13 - Public Libraries; Childrens Services; Special Libraries
Guest Speakers: Romaine Ahlstrom from the Huntington Library, San Marino, CA and Dan Strehl from Los Angeles Public Library

Assignment: Complete #1 & submit; Conduct research for group assignment/paper; Read Riggs, Donald E., "The Influence of Information Technology Infrastructure and policies on Library Services in Developing Countries," in McCook, Kathleen, eds et al, Libraries: Global Reach: Local Touch. Chicago: ALA, 1998.

Time to meet with groups

July 18 - Review of Assignment #1; Developing Countries; Cooperation; Services

Assignment: Read Doust, R.W., "International Cooperation," in Carroll, Frances L. and Harvey, John F., International Librarianship: Cooperation and Collaboration. Latham, MD: Scarecrow, 2001.

Fogarassy, M. and Toth, G., "Two Eras; Two Influences," Carroll, Frances L. and Harvey, John F., International Librarianship: Cooperation and Collaboration. Latham, MD: Scarecrow, 2001.

July 19 - Digital Environment vs Earlier Times

Assignment: Read Borgman, C.L., "Multimedia, multicultural and multilingual Digital Libraries, or How Do We Exchange Data in 400 Languages. D-Lib Magazine at http://www.dlib.org/dlib/june97/06borgman.html

Kresh, Diane, "It's Just a Click Away, or is it? The Challenge of Implementing a Global Network," in Gorman, 2002-03 volume.

Lancaster, F.W., "Evaluation in the Context of the Digital Library," in Towards a Worldwide Library: Ten Year Forecast. Essen Symposium 21, 1997.

Banwell, Linda, "Information Behaviour in the Electronic Age," in Gorman, 2001.

Time to meet with groups

July 20 - Knowledge Management; National Policies & Information Infrastructure; National Catalogs, Resource Sharing; Focus on Europe

Assignment: Read Shanhong, Tang, "Knowledge Management in Libraries in the 21st Century," in IFLA Publication 102, 2002.

Niegaard, Hellen, "Libraries and National Information Policies and/or National IT Strategies: A Survey in IFLA Publication #102, 2002.

Read contribution/notes by Fred Friend, UCL, London - to be distributed by eMail as an attachment

Submit Assignment #2 either in print or electronically via class listserv

July 25 - Publishing Trends; Alternatives; Electronic Publishing Products; Professional Education for the Information Specialist

Guest Speaker: Chet Grycz, CEO of Octavo, Inc and co-founder of Library School in Turin, Poland

Time to meet with groups

July 26 - Looking at the Future; blogging; economics of information; Library of Tomorrow; Information Commercialization

July 27 - course wrap up; group presentations; course de-briefing and evaluation

Recommended References & Reference Works (Government Information will be very helpful) - much can be discovered or found online

Current Atlases of the World

Online Dictionary of Library & Information Science
http://www.wcsu.edu/library/odlis.html#P

dlib
http://www.dlib.org/

Library Leads
http://www.ala.org/Content/NavigationMenu/Our_Association/Round_Tables/IRRT/International_Leads/Archive2/Archive.htm

IFLA Publications
http://www.ifla.org/ipubs.htm

IFLA Journal
http://www.ifla.org/V/iflaj/index.htm

Chronicle of Higher Education – has an international page devoted to higher education developments around the globe in every issue – indexed in LexisNexis News.

World of Learning, Europa, annual

Regional Surveys of the World, Europa Publications, annual
Eastern Europe, Russia, Central Asia
Europe, Western
USA & Canada
Africa, South of the Sahara
Middle East & North Africa
Far East & Australasia

http://dir.yahoo.com/Regional/Countries

World Almanac, annual; Regional or Country Almanacs, etc

Yearbook of World Electronics, Elsevier, Annual.

World Bank, World Development Indicators, Annual (2001 is 50th ed)

Plunkett’s E-Commerce & Internet Business Almanac, 2001-02 – eBook via Sabio

Internet Industry Almanac

Computer Industry Almanac

Potential Texts & Sources of Recommended Readings - I have most of these in my possession and can share if not available at the U of A Library:

Altbach, Philip G. and Hoshino, Edith S., eds, International Book Publishing: An Encyclopedia. NY: Garland, 1995

Altbach, Philip, The International Academic Profession: Portraits of Fourteen Counties. NY: Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, 1996. (Australia, Korea, Japan, Brazil, Chile, US, England, Germany, Netherlands, Sweden, Russia, Israel)

Carroll, Frances L. and Harvey, John F., International Librarianship: Cooperation and Collaboration. Latham, MD: Scarecrow, 2001.

Crawford, Walt and Gorman, Michael, Future Libraries: Dreams, Madness and Reality. Chicago: ALA, 1995.

Drake, Miriam, ed., Encyclopedia of Library & Information Science, 4 vols. NY: Dekker, 2d ed., 2003.

Ershova, Tatiana V., and Hohlov, Yuri E., eds., Libraries in the Information Society. Munich: KG Saur, 2002, IFLA Publications 2002.

Feather, John and Sturges, Paul, eds, International Encyclopedia of Information and Library Science, 2d ed. London: Routledge, 2003.

Gorman, G.E., ed., International Yearbook of Library and Information Management 2002-03. Latham, MD: Scarecrow, 2003. (Digital Factor in Library and Information Services); 2001-2002 volume (Information Services in an Electronic Environment).

Jackson, Miles N., International Handbook of Contemporary Developments in Librarianship. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1981.

Kaula, P.N., ed, et al., International and Comparative Librarianship and Information Systems, vol. 2. Delhi: B.R. Publishing Corp, 1996.

Kessler, Jack, Internet Digital Libraries: The International Dimension. Boston: Artech House, 1996.

Line, Maurice, ed., Librarianship and Information Work Worldwide. London: Bowker Saur, 2002.

McCook, Kathleen, eds et al, Libraries: Global Reach: Local Touch. Chicago: ALA, 1998.

Ranganthan, S.R., A Librarian Looks Back: An Autobiography of Dr. S.R. Ranganthan. New Dehli: ABC Publishing House, 1992.

Simsova, Silva, and Mackee, Monique, eds, Handbook of Comparative Librarianship, 3rd ed. London: Clive Bingley, 1983.

Stam, David H., ed., International Dictionary of Library Histories. Chicago: Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers, 2001.

Selected Relevant Conference Proceedings:

IFLA (www.ifla.org)

IATUL (http://www.iatul.org/conference/proceedings.html)

International Conference on Asian Digital Libraries (ICADL) - published as Lecture Notes in Computer Science (LNCS by Springer Verlag - 5th, 1992 online)

International Essen Symposia

Selected Relevant Professional Associations, Commercial Suppliers & Government Agencies:

United Nations, NY & Geneva
UNESCO, Paris
OECD, Washington, DC
AAAS, Washington, DC
International Council for Science (ICSU), Paris
International Life Sciences Institute (ILSI Europe), Brussels
British Council, London
Alliance Francais, around the world
Goethe Institutes, around the world

CISTI, Ottawa
British Library, Boston Spa & London
Etc.