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The curriculum is broken down into 5 units:

1. Why Librarianship?

2. Global Information Environment

3. What do Librarians Do Anyway?

4. Organizational Management

5. Values

Readings available through Blackboard link to ERes. Please obtain your login information from your Campus Coordinator. Also, the ERes course includes plenty of optional readings if you are especially interested in a certain topic.

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Curriculum Unit 1: Why Librarianship?

Session 1 - Orientation and team building/group dynamics

Purpose: To give an overview of the mini-course: content, timeline, expectations. To allow students to get to know one another, the campus coordinator, and other staff.

• Welcome and introduction to the curriculum and the program as a whole, including the syllabus, online resources, and expectations.

• Introduction to and distribution of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)

Assignment: Values Card Sort (use Facilitator’s Guide that comes with cards).
Have the students complete these as homework and score them, and be ready to come to the next session and discuss findings. Do the readings for session 2.

Readings:

• “Librarians: Information Experts in the Information Age,” Occupational Outlook Quarterly Winter 2001, p. 3-15. Available http://www.bls.gov/opub/ooq/2000/winter/art01.htm.

Session 2: Discuss results of the Myers-Briggs and Values Card Sort; overview of librarianship and librarian career paths

Purpose: To reflect on the assessments, mapping students' skills and preferences to types of library work. To talk about broader role of libraries and what they do: importance for public good and democratic society. To demonstrate the options in library careers and show the diversity of library work and librarians/workers, librarian salary and compensation, the societal role and importance of libraries.

Readings:

• Holt, Rachel and Adrienne L. Strock. “The Entry-Level Gap.” Library Journal v. 130 no. 8 (May 1, 2005) p. 36-9.

• Lynch, M.J. “Librarian Salaries Increase Less Than Other Civilian Workers.” American Libraries v. 35 no. 10 (November 2004) p. 49.

• Maatta, Stephanie and John N. Berry III. “Jobs! (Eventually).” Library Journal v. 129 no. 17 (October 15, 2004) p. 28-35.

• Lance, Keith Curry. “Racial and Ethnic Diversity of U.S. Library Workers.” American Libraries v. 36 no. 5 (May 2005) p. 41-4.

Session 3 – What makes a great librarian?

Purpose: To discuss the qualities needed by librarians and the importance of diversity to the library profession. Break down any stereotypes using stories, discussion, examples.

Handout: Notable Librarians - Past and Present

Readings:

• Long, Kat. “Revenge of the Librarians” Bust, Spring 2004.

• "Breaking the Mold: Information Professionals as Action Figures and Reality Show Characters. What's Next...a Nude Librarian Calendar? Yes!" Information Outlook, Feb 2004.

Optional Readings:

• What Are The Issues Affecting The Image Of Librarians http://home.earthlink.net/~cyberresearcher/overview.htm.

• The Librarian Stereotype And The Movies. Available http://wings.buffalo.edu/publications/mcjrnl/v1n1/image.html, accessed 11/4/03, by Stephen Walker and V. Lonnie Lawson MC Journal: The Journal of Academic Media Librarianship, v1 no.1, Spring 1993:16-28.

• You don't look like a librarian! http://atst.nso.edu/library/perception/.  A collection of talks and resources relating to the image and perception of librarians in the Internet age.

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Curriculum Unit 2: The Global Information Environment (aka the Global Information Behemoth).

Session 1: Papyrus to Print to Pixel - A Brief History of Communication

Purpose: To give multiple perspectives on libraries and technology, including historical, cultural, geographical perspectives and varied formats.

Readings:

• Bush, Vannevar. “As We May Think.” The Atlantic, July 1945. http://www.theatlantic.com/unbound/flashbks/computer/bushf.htm.

• James O’Donnell. 1998. Avatars of the Word: From Papyrus to Cyberspace. ch. 3 “From the Codex Page to the Home Page,” pp. 50-63.

Session 2: Getting the Word Out: Disseminating information

Purpose: To explore how information is disseminated, particularly among scholars; explore publishing, sources, costs.

Readings:

• Giles, Michael. 1996. "From Gutenberg to Gigabytes: Scholarly communication in the age of cyberspace." Journal of Politics, 58, 613-626 (available on JSTOR).

• Turner, Scott J. "Library Sees Red over Rising Journal Prices." George Street Journal vol. 24 (March 10-16, 2000). http://www.brown.edu/Administration/George_Street_Journal/vol24/24GSJ19c.html.

Session 3: Bigger than a Breadbox: How much information is there, and how do you know if it’s any good?

Purpose: To explore the volume, breadth, depth, quality; information versus knowledge.

Readings:

• Tom Valovic. 2000. Digital Mythologies: The Hidden Complexities of the Internet, pp. 50-53 “Quality of Information: The Human Bandwidth Problem” and pp. 54-59 “Information Overload: A Challenge for Human Productivity?”

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Curriculum Unit 3: What Do Librarians Do Anyway?

Session 1 – Acquisition and Collection Development

Purpose: To build a mental model for the students of what is involved in acquisitions.

Readings:

• Gessesse, Kebede. “Collection development and management in the twenty-first century with special reference to academic libraries: an overview.” Library Management, vol. 21, iss. 7, pp. 365-372.

Session 2: Organization

Purpose: To learn about basic principles and methods for organizing collections of information -- from books to music to online resources.

Readings:

• Mann, Thomas. "Why LC Subject Headings are More Important than Ever." pp. 52-54. American Libraries, October 2003.

• Taylor, Arlene. “The Information Universe: Will we have chaos or control?” pp. 629-632. American Libraries, July/August 1994.

Session 3: Using information

Purpose: To give interns a window onto the public face of the library, interweaving the role of technology and systems throughout.

Readings:

• de Souza, Yvonne. 1996. Reference Work with International Students: Making the Most Use of the Neutral Question. Reference Services Review, 24 (4): 41-48.

• Lipow, Anne G. 1999. ‘In Your Face’ Reference Service. Library Journal, August 1999, 50-52.

Session 4: Preservation

Purpose: To examine the importance of preservation and learn methods and issues.:

Readings:

• Hain, Jennifer E. A Brief Look at Recent Developments in the Preservation and Conservation of Special Collections. Library Trends, Summer 2003, Vol. 52 Issue 1, p112, 6p

• Morrow, Carolyn Clark. "Defining the Library Preservation Program: Policies and Organization," chapter 1 (pp. 1-27) in Preservation: Issues and Planning. Chicago: American Library Association, 2000.

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Curriculum Unit 4: Organizational Management and Leadership

Overall Purpose for the Unit: To give students an overview of management and leadership concepts and functions. To engage them in exercises that let them explore their personal preferences and characteristics as they relate the management and leadership.

Session One: Organizational Dynamics, Managing the External Environment

Readings:

• Hernon, Peter, Ronald R. Powell, and Arthur P. Young. “Academic Library Directors: What Do They Do?” College & Research Libraries, November 2004, Vol. 65, No. 6.

Optional Readings (Instructor's Choice):

• John Lubans and Sheryl Anspaugh, “The Private Academic Library and Its Political Environment,” in Politics and the Support of Libraries, E.J. Josey and Kenneth D. Shearer, eds., New York, Neal-Schuman, 1990, pages 154-163.

Session Two: Leadership

Readings:

• Conger, Jay. "The Necessary Art of Persuasion." Harvard Business Review, May-June 1998, pp. 84-95.

• White, Herbert S. "Should Leaders Want to be Managers and Give up all that Freedom?" Library Journal, v. 122 n15, Sept. 15, 1997, pp. 48-50.

• “The Difference Between Managers and Leaders,” 1 page, excerpted from Abraham Zalezik, Managers and Leaders: Are They Different?” Harvard Business Review, March-April 1992.

• Power and Influence Case Study [required]

Optional Reading (Instructor's Choice):

• Fran Rees, “From Controlling to Facilitating: How to LEAD,” The 1992 Annual: Developing Human Resources, Pfeiffer & Company, pp. 213-222.

Session Three: Interpersonal Communication, Effective Groups and Teams

Readings:

• Association of Research Libraries, “Interpersonal Communication Skills” 3 pages

• Association of Research Libraries, “Guidelines for Effective Listening” 1 page

• Case study on group dynamics

• White, Herbert S. "Never Mind Being Innovative and Effective--Just Be Nice." Library Journal, September 15, 1995, pp. 47-48.

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Curriculum Unit 5: Values

Session 1 – Reviewing what we have learned in the context of values

Purpose: Recapping the whole curriculum in terms of values and the “big picture.”

Session 2 – Final presentations

Your instructor will bring this up early in the curriculum so you can think about it as the semester progresses.

Resources will be available for students to use in researching their topics.

We have been learning about libraries and librarians for the past weeks, but what does it all mean? Why have libraries? Why be a librarian? What does the library profession value and how does that relate to your own values? Based on your experiences and knowledge gained during this curriculum and the ALA Bill of Rights and Code of Ethics, we will identify the core values of librarianship together through brainstorming and discussion today. Each student will select a value from the resulting list and prepare a 15-20 minute presentation for the final session. The purpose of this assignment is to educate one another in more detail about the values discussed today. In addition, you will have the opportunity to practice public speaking and presentation skills, which are a valuable professional asset in any field.

For this presentation you will:

• Identify and use appropriate information resources to learn about your topic. We have prepared a resource list as a starting point, but you may also wish to explore other books, articles, and websites, or even interview a librarian about the issue. The presenter for this unit and other library staff members can assist you in your research.

• Include both theory and practice in covering your topic. What is the value at a conceptual level (for example, as expressed by the ALA Code of Ethics or Bill of Rights)? How does it play out in the every day world of library practices and patron interactions? How do libraries connect theory and reality through setting and following through with library policies that reflect library values?

• How are libraries and librarians doing in living up to the value about which you are presenting? Is there more that needs to be done? Where do you think librarians should be on this issue and how do we get there as a profession?

• Synthesize what you have learned into a 15-20 minute presentation for your peers at the next session. Be sure to practice your timing to make sure that your presentation is the appropriate length.

• Visual aids are a great enhancement to any presentation. Consider using some sort of visual component (poster, Power Point, video, web pages, pictures) and consult this unit’s presenter and/or your campus program coordinator as soon as possible about arranging the proper equipment to support your presentation needs.

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