IRLS 588
Issues in Information Resources: Global Resources and Librarianship
University of Arizona, School of Information Resources & Library Science
Summer Session I
May 31-June 17, 2005
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 Ð office; 949-824-3114 fax
949-786-4842 Ð home; 949-559-5424 fax ; 949-307-6383 - cell
U of A office hours: before and after class at SIRLS or appointed meeting location
Course Description: This course will serve as an introduction to the trends and issues affecting the development of information transfer, information policy, government agencies, industries, cross-cultural communication, scholarly communication, as it effects libraries and cultural institutions, with a primary understanding of how information and communication technologies function around the globe. 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. In order to fully understand this, globalization Library Education, regionalization, barriers to information access, developing nations, industrialization, 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:
á participate in discussion
á keep up with course readings & assignments
á complete a couple of short exercises
á 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.
By the end of the course, students are expected to better understand:
1. how and in what ways (Information Communication Technologies) ICTs are expected to improve the development potential of nations, regions and sectors?
2. how is information created around the world?
3. what the information transmission methods and flow is in different contexts
4. what influences political, cultural and organizational change via ICTs?
5. how libraries and alternate information organizations adapt to globalization.
This multidisciplinary overview will touch upon worldwide viewpoints on:
á Communications
á Economics of information
á Informatics
á Information management
á Information policy
á Information professions
á Information society
á Information systems
á Information technology
á Information theory
á Knowledge industries
á Knowledge management
á Organization of knowledge
á Library education
á Digital developments
á Library technology
á Publishing trends and output
Course Meeting Room - All sessions will be in AME S324
Class Meeting Schedule Ð 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 32 contact hours with the remainder completed as a hybrid distance course. 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 be 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 during the summer.
Class will meet on Tuesday, May 31- Friday, June 3, 2005 from 8-5 with breaks both in the morning and afternoon sessions and for lunch. Please be prepared to bring drinks.
Continuing class discussion and work will be done online. Directions will be shared in class. All assignments must be turned in by June 17 in order for grades to be submitted.
Course Objectives:
1. Learn how to assess and evaluate specific populationÕs 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.
Student Competencies and Outcomes:
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 ÒtemplateÓ 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.
Content expected to be covered as it is relevant to most examples includes: population and distribution throughout country, urban/rural ratios, ethnic groups, religions, languages, education opportunities, extent of higher education, literacy, government structure, political parties, per capita income, cultural characteristics, nonverbal communication style & social tips, internal public and private media (radio, wire services, TV, cable, video distribution, film academies, etc), export and import dependence, computer ownership, information service providers, newspapers, book publishing, participation in international book fairs, and other relevant information that characterizes information and communication intensity and transfer within and outside of country.
Due to instructor by conclusion of last class meeting or via eMail (jgelfand@uci.edu) by 9pm, Friday, June 3, 2005 Ð 15 points.
2. Outside Reading Summaries Ð each student is expected to find, read or navigate:
3 journal articles or book chapters published within the last 5 years (2000-2005), 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 Ð what is studied
Methodology employed
Relevant environment or context of issues
Brief findings
Conclusion Ð 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:
Academic Search Premier
EconLit
PAIS
ABI
Business Source Premier
International Development Abstracts or GeoBase
ERIC
Expanded Academic ASAP
INSPEC
Library Literature
Library & Information Science Abstracts (LISA)
Current Contents / Web of Science / Social Science or Science Citation Index
PubMed
Sociological Abstracts
Lexis-Nexis Academic for News
Application of New Technologies in Libraries - archived at Citations are archived at http://pc40.libis.kuleuven.ac.be/LitAtt/zoek.cfm.
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, International Information & Library Review (on Science Direct), Journal of International Development (from Wiley), Library Leads from the ALA International Relations Roundtable, titles from the EMERALD database, etc.
Internet Search Engines
Citations and references
Scholarly Electronic Publishing Bibliography - available at HTML: http://info.lib.uh.edu/sepb/sepb.html or http://info.lib.uh.edu/sepb/sepb.pdf
Summaries due by 5pm, Wednesday, June 8, 2005. Students will distribute electronically via the course listserv Ð total of 15 points or 5 points/per abstract.
3. Group/Team AssignmentÐ 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 Ð 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 will be delivered via course website and are due by 5pm, Wednesday, June 15 - 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. This can be approached as a case study method where there are different scenarios and team members can handle different aspects. Or you can take a social problem in a region and address ICT issues surrounding that. Examples may be public health, AIDS, criminal justice, human rights, sustainable development, environmental analysis, food and nutrition, gender issues, etc. 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 2010 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 Ð 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: 5pm, Friday, June 17, 2005 Ð 30 points.
5. Class Participation Ð this is a key component of this course, because it gives you a forum in which to hear other peopleÕs 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.
7. All papers will be returned to students with evaluations and assessments.
Textbook and Recommended Readings Ð 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 or via the University of Arizona Library.
Course Schedule, Reading assignments and Session Coverage Ð (subject to modest revision)
Tuesday, May 31
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
Themes:
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 and currencies
Review first assignment and demographic analysis for ICT issues, census, and social, cultural indicators. Review content and structure of World Bank, World Development Indicators 2005 (available online); Penguin State of the World Atlas, 7th ed., 2003; Europa Publications (available online); Computer Industry Almanac 1998, CIA FactBook (available online), Yearbook of World Electronics Data by Reed Electronics, annual, etc.
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. http://www.ifla.org/VII/dg/srdg/srdg7.htm
"Measuring Globalization: Who's Up, Who's Down?" Foreign Policy, 134 (60), 2003: 60-72 - available online via Expanded Academic ASAP and EBSCO, Factiva, etc.
Warschauer, M., "Reconceptualizing the Digital Divide," First Monday, 7(7) 2002. http://firstmonday.org/issues/issue7_7/warschauer/
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.
Review World Commission on the Social Dimension of Globalization, A Fair Globalization: Creating Opportunities for All. Geneva: International Labor Organization.
http://www.ilo.org/public/english/fairglobalization/report/index.htm
Wednesday, June 1 - Covering the World
Western Europe
North America
South & Central America
Asia & Southeast Asia
Mediterranean
Eastern Europe
Brave New World
Review of Group Assignment & Form Groups
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 - wire services, postal communication, fax, audio/telephone, news broadcast via radio/television, satellites, Radio Free Europe to CNN
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
For background on Europe: review Bangemann, M., Europe and the Global Information Society: Recommendations to the European Council. http://europa.eu.int/ISPO/infosoc/backg/bangeman.html
Martin, B., "Information Society Revisited: From Vision to Reality." Journal of Information Science, 31(1), 2005: 4-12. (via Sage)
Virtual Guest Speaker from UK, Fred Friend, University Librarian Emeritus, University College London and currently Publishing Consultant - see http://www.ucl.ac.uk/scholarly-communication/articles/oneworld.htm and lecture will be distributed in class
Afternoon: Public Libraries; Childrens Services; Public Libraries, Special Libraries; Information Technology
Assignment: 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
Thursday, June 2 - International Librarianship
Overview of Foreign Libraries; Developing World; Publishing Strategies, Government sponsored programs; Role of Foundations, Library Organizations; Digital Libraries;
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
Hongladarom, S., Hope in the Information Society, 2002. http://pioneer.netserv.chula.ac.th/~hsoraj/web/Hope.pdf
Guest Speaker: Atifa Rawan, Social Sciences & Documents Librarian, Univ. of Arizona, "Libraries in Afganistan"
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.
Time to meet with groups
Friday, June 3 - Knowledge Management; National Policies & Information Infrastructure; National Catalogs, Resource Sharing; Library Education; Focus on Developing World
Assignment: Read Shanhong, Tang, "Knowledge Management in Libraries in the 21st Century," in IFLA Publication 102, 2002.
IFLA World Summit 2002, http://www.ifla.org/IV/ifla68/papers/150-85be.pdf
Niegaard, Hellen, "Libraries and National Information Policies and/or National IT Strategies: A Survey in IFLA Publication #102, 2002.
See Accenture, Markle Foundation and UNDP, Creating a Development Dynamic: Final Report of the Digital Opportunity Initiative. http://www.opt-init.org/frameword/DOIReportwithoutcover.pdf
Ethnic Lunch
Afternoon: - Publishing Trends; Alternatives; Electronic Publishing Products; Professional Education for the Information Specialist; Special Projects; Non-Profits; Foundations; New Libraries; Altruism & Philanthropy
Virtual Guest Speaker: Gracian Chimwaza, TEEAL Project & Africa Office, Zimbabwe
IFLA Journal 30(2) 2004:108-128 - special issue on Latin American Libraries prepared for IFLA 2004 in Argentina - http://www.ifla.org/V/iflaj/ij-2-2004.pdf
Time to meet with groups
Evaluation & Wrap Up
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
D-Lib Magazine
Library Leads
IFLA Publications
IFLA Journal
http://www.ifla.org/V/iflaj/index.htm
Chronicle of Higher Education Ð has an international page devoted to higher education developments around the globe in every issue Ð indexed in LexisNexis News.
World of Learning, Europa Publications, 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
Government studies available from most countries now on digital publishing, information society development, knowledge societies, ICTs, etc.
http://dir.yahoo.com/Regional/Countries
World Almanac, annual; Regional or Country Almanacs, etc
Yearbook of World Electronics, Reed Electronics, Annual.
World Bank, World Development Indicators, Annual (2005 is latest ed with 2004 data - available online)
PlunkettÕs E-Commerce & Internet Business Almanac, most current Ð eBook via Sabio
Internet Industry Almanac, 1998
Computer Industry Almanac, 1996
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 and online
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.
Kesselman, Martin and Weintraub, Irwin, eds., Global Libarianship. NY: Dekker, 2003.
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. Ranganathan. 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 ( ex. 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
European Community
International Council for Science (ICSU), Paris
International Life Sciences Institute (ILSI Europe), Brussels
American Schools
British Council, London
Alliance Francais, around the world
Goethe Institutes, around the world
United States Information Agency (USIA)
CISTI, Ottawa
British Library, Boston Spa & London
Etc.