SC&I Courses

Learning Objectives

• Students will investigate the range of evaluative methods used in library and information science to assess institutional, system and service performance. Value issues and external validity issues will be highlighted during this review. Emphasis throughout the course will be on the impact of systems and services to end-users.
• Measurement issues will be explored as they relate to evaluation goals and objectives. Students will simulate the design of an evaluation program for targeted users and will analyze the results obtained using quantitative and qualitative research methods. Effective methods for graphing data results will be emphasized for this objective. Computer packages will be used to demonstrate data analysis and the creation of graphic displays. Computer laboratory sessions will be held as needed to supplement the course topics.
• Alternative methods to evaluate services and systems will be explored with a concomitant analysis of the advantages and disadvantages of each approach. Specific references will be made to the appropriateness of different evaluative methodologies and criteria.

Learning Objectives

Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

• Relate studies in change and transformational leadership to the success and impact of schools and school libraries.
• Analyze the context of the school library services through a scan of a specific community and school.
• Develop and write a strategic plan for the school library, including personas, vision and mission statements, goals and objectives, and an action plan.
• Evaluate the impact of and potential for a school library program in a school's learning culture.
• Respond to emerging trends and develop proficiency in using digital tools for productivity, creating, curation, collaboration, communicating, and managing workflow in the K12 environment
• Strategically address practical problems, critical and ethical issues, and policy matters in a school setting, paying particular attention to issues relating to access, participation, diversity, and inclusion
• Build a personal learning network to promote continual professional growth and engage in interconnected communities of practice.
• Develop strategies for advocay, engagement, and innovative leadership and growth in the K12 school learning culture and in the larger context of the profession.

Learning Objectives

Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

• Employ project management strategy design, development, and deployment in an information intensive setting.
• Describe the implications, challenges, and opportunities of organizational dynamics in project management.
• Develop effective approaches, communication strategies, and best practices for managing high-performance project teams.
• Utilize project management tools, techniques, and skills to effectively lead or participate in a project.
• Utilize key performance metrics for project success.
• Apply the steps that must be taken to complete projects on time and on budget.

Learning Objectives

Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

• Identify ethical dilemmas that may arise in professional or workplace situations related to information, technology, or data work;
• Demonstrate an ability to apply different ethical frames to real-world problems that arise in information professions;
• Evaluate how cultural norms have shaped the study of information ethics and values;
• Articulate how power operates within information society and identify avenues for change;
• Apply critical thinking skills in identifying the stakeholders involved in an organization’s decision making as well as the implications of a decision;
• Provide research, factual information, and the impact on stakeholders in arguing a case;
• Distinguish the relationship between ethical principles and codes of ethics in making sound decisions.

Learning Objectives

Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

• Compare and contrast diverse knowledge systems and understanding of their role in framing social worlds, moral codes, and practice.
• Understand knowledge systems from a historical and multicultural perspective.
• Assess the role of contemporary library and information agencies in providing access to knowledge systems through information infrastructure and the role of information professionals.
• Express their epistemological position and evaluate how it may affect their contribution to knowledge production in building information infrastructures (selection of materials, providing access to materials in information agencies).
• Examine historical artifacts in the context of production, dissemination, and consumption of knowledge.
• Evaluate representational systems and organizational schemes for access of knowledge artifacts in a variety of settings, with an emphasis on the traditional context of information work in libraries, archives, and museums.

Learning Objectives

Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

• Analyze and discuss the impact of Information and Communication technologies in various social contexts.
• Express and critically discuss how ICTs have impacted information service environments
• Make meaningful assessments of their participation in and use of virtual communities in personal and work related contexts.
• Engage with core concepts and underlying theory of social and community informatics
• Critically analyze the assets and liabilities that social media tools bring to the workplace and personal contexts

Learning Objectives

Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

• Understand the complexities of policy making in the United States.
• Assess the means of addressing information-related problems and processes through legislative, administrative, judicial and/or other government actions.
• Be equipped to identify key stakeholders and their viewpoints, underlying goals and values, principles, and strategies for promoting information policy changes.
• Demonstrate an understanding of major policy issues important to the information, communication, and technology professions and to the public at large regarding privacy, government information, secrecy, information equity, and copyright.
• Analyze policy issues to recognize the strengths, weaknesses, costs, consequences and tradeoffs of information policies.
• Recognize, evaluate and determine emerging policy issues.

Learning Objectives

Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

• Comprehend the foundational dimensions of the archival and preservation practice and theory in the historical and the changing perspectives and social contexts.
• Evaluate institutional frameworks, representational systems, and organizational schemes related to archives and preservation.
• Understand the politics of archives and preservation for the knowledge continuum in diverse contexts and media forms.
• Understand the contemporary practices involving archival material and curating a collection.

Learning Objectives

Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

• Understand the freedoms and limitations defined by the U.S. Constitution, statutes, and the Courts related to intellectual freedom.
• Articulate the professional, theoretical, and historical foundations of intellectual freedom in library and information services.
• Promote and explain arguments in favor of intellectual freedom through the library and information science professions.
• Identify contemporary, emerging challenges to intellectual freedom in library and information services.