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LBSC 671 - Creating Information Infrastructures
Spring 2014 - Section 0101
Course Description


Official Catalog Description

Foundations of acquiring and managing collections, information structures, indexing and discovery systems needed by information professionals. An introduction to the theoretical concepts, trends, systems, and technologies central to the information field.

Learning Outcomes

Approach

We will focus on first on fundamentals, drawing inspiration broadly from physical and digital practice in libraries, archives and schools. The first half of the course is organized around three broad tasks: We will then focus on some key technologies that can be used to support these activities. Throughout the course, the textbooks and other readings will provide both a conceptual foundation and access to supporting details, lectures and class discussions are intended to help achieve focus and to support conceptualization, and homework assignments will provide an opportunity for hands-on learning in the context of different collections selected by each student. Students should plan to spend 9 hours per week outside class on readings, homework assignments, and other activities.

Instructional Staff

Instructor
Name Doug Oard
Email oard@umd.edu
Office HBK 2118F
Office Phone (301)405-7590

Schedule

Here are some useful times:
Day Time Activity Room Instructor
Monday 4:30-5:20 Office HoursHBK 2118FDoug Oard
Monday 5:30-8:15 Section 0101HBK 2119 Doug Oard
Tuesday 2:00-4:45 Section 0102HBK 2119 Katy Lawley

We will meet once a week in HBK 2119. A schedule that summarizes what we will cover each week and gives a preview of the homework assignments and a reading list showing the reading for each week can be found on the class Web page. Most sessions will be recorded using panopto (audio, video, and slide capture); links will be made available from the schedule after class.

You are responsible for making your own decisions regarding when circumstances in your life require you to miss class. You do not need permission from me to miss all or part of a class. However, you are responsible for all material that is discussed in class, regardless of whether the video works in a particular week, for completing all homework assignments, and for being prepared to demonstrate mastery of all tested material on exams and quizzes. Experience indicates that attending class each week will help you to meet each of these requirements. When you unavoidably must miss all or part of a class, you should still complete the readings before the class session (to avoid getting behind), you should watch the video (if it is available), and you should then (before the next class session) discuss substance of what was discussed in class with another student who was present in the class and who took good notes. If you have questions after doing that, I will be happy to meet with you to discuss what you missed.

Students in section 0101 may also make advance arrangements with the section 0102 instructor to attend that section on a day when they are covering similar topics if they are unable to make it to one of our sessions on our regular night. This takes some advance planning, however, because section 0102 may cover the topics in a different order. If you choose to do this, you remain responsible for the material as presented in section 0101.

I will usually be in my office before class if you would like to stop by to discuss anything, and I am also happy to meet with students after class or at any other mutually convenient time by appointment. If meeting in person is inconvenient for you, we can also set up a time to talk by phone. Email by far is the best way to reach me to set up an appointment or a phone call, and it is also a good way to get a quick answer to a simple question.

We will use ELMS for a few things this semester, but most of the class happens on the open Internet. If you use ELMS to send me a message, I may not see it just because I do not use ELMS regularly. So please use ordinary Internet email to reach me, not messages posted to ELMS.

Course Materials

The course Web site at http://www.umiacs.umd.edu/~oard/teaching/671/spring14/ contains the most recent copies of all material produced for this course. This course description, the schedule, slides and other resources class, and other materials can be found there.

The two required textbooks are:

There are also additional required reading assignments linked from the syllabus (none of these cost anything to access). Material from all of the assigned readings is testable, regardless of whether the specific information is discussed in class. All exams are open book, so memorization is not required. But it is important that you understand the content of those readings and that you know where to find specific information when you need it because the time limitations on the test are sufficiently stringent that it will likely not be possible to begin to learn about a topic during the test!

All students registered as of January 12, 2014 will be automatically signed up for the course mailing list using the email address that is on record for them with the university. If you do not receive email on that list by January 14, please contact the instructor to confirm which email address you wish to have on that list. Students are encouraged to post to the list (you'll get the address the first time you receive an email) when you have something that you believe that your classmates might wish to see. Questions sent to the professor by email may be answered using the mailing list when the answers might be of general interest (unless you specifically request otherwise).

Grading

Course grades will be assigned based on homework assignments, a quiz, and midterm and final examinations. Scores on each component will be combined to produce a single overall score for each student as follows:
Component Percentage Computation
Midterm and Final 52% Best=35%, the other=17%
Homework/Quiz 48% 4% each for best 12
Scores for each course requirement (homework assignment, exam, project, class participation) will be assigned on a 100 point scale (with 90-100=A, 80-89=B, 70-79=C, etc. Breakpoints for + grades are at 98 and 88; breakpoints for - grades are at 92 and 82. No curve will be used when assigning final grades. Note that a grade of B or higher (i.e., not B-) is required in all core courses; the minimum final point score to achieve a B or higher is 82.

There will be one take-home quiz, one in-class midterm exam, and one in-class final exam. Quiz grading is described below; the principal purpose of the quiz is to support self-assessment and demystify the midterm exam.

Homework is due before the start of class. There will be 12 homework assignments and one take-home quiz. Credit for partial work will be given. Late assignments will not receive credit. The lowest two homework or quiz grades will be dropped, so only the best 12 of those 13 grades will be used to compute the average. All material included in the homework is testable, however, so skipping an assignment is a bad idea. Questions about exam and homework grading should be discussed with the professor.

Students may work together on the homework assignments, but all of the material that is turned in for grading must be produced individually. For example, students may form study groups and work out solutions together on a whiteboard, but it would not be permissible for one student to create a computer file containing the answers and then for other students to copy that file and submit it as their own work. The goal of this policy is to encourage the use of homework as a learning aid. A concentration on grades to the exclusion of learning when working on the homework can be counterproductive, since each exam is worth at least as much as all of the homework assignments together.

For the quiz and the two examinations, students may not receive assistance from any other person. For the take-home quiz, students must complete the exam in the allotted time, and must truthfully record their start and stop times. The University of Maryland has a nationally recognized Code of Academic Integrity, administered by the Student Honor Council. This Code sets standards for academic integrity at Maryland for all undergraduate and graduate students. As a student, you are responsible for upholding these standards. More information is available at http://www.shc.umd.edu/.

Computing Knowledge and Facilities

You should plan to bring a laptop with you to class each week. I teach using a PC, but you can use a Mac if you know how to use it (note the caveat!). If you don't have a laptop, let me know when you come to the first class and we will have a few loaners available that week. Cheap laptops cost about $200, and if you don't have one you may want to buy one. You will also need a TerpConnect account, which should have been activated for you when you first matriculated as a graduate student. Every semester we find a few that weren't, however, so check this immediately after the first class (when I will show you how).

Students are expected to demonstrate mastery of the following prerequisite knowledge throughout the course. These skills are not taught as a part of this course. Students concerned about their mastery of specific skills on this list should discuss the matter with the professor prior to the second class of the semester.

It is required that students arrange for regular access to a computer with an Internet connection, either at home or at work, unless they will be on campus daily. There is a tremendous amount of detail to be mastered in this course, and experience suggests that there is no way to learn it all if you only have access to computing facilities only one or two days a week. For this reason, you should plan to use a computer in an intellectually meaningful way at least five days a week. Furthermore, since much of the information in the course will be distributed only online, access to a computer throughout the week will be important to ensure that you have timely access to this information. Any type of computer and any speed network connection will do. New computers that will do everything you need are available for under $300. If you have a broadband Internet connection at home (cable modem or a Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) connection) then you should be able to reach the University's computers through that connection. Help getting connected is available from the OIT Help Desk at (301)405-1500.

When not scheduled for use as a classroom, The iSchool computer lab (HBK 2108) can be used by students during the posted hours (which may vary). Computers are also available on campus in several Open Workstation Labs. You will most likely also want a USB thumb drive (i.e., a "memory stick") since that's often the easiest way of moving files between computers. If you want to print on campus (which is not required if you have a printer at home), you will need a "Personal Print Account" (which requires an initial deposit).

Important Notes

Students with disabilities who require academic accommodations must inform the instructor of their needs and provide written documentation about the appropriate academic accommodations from Disability Support Services (http://www.counseling.umd.edu/DSS) at the beginning of the semester.

LBSC 671 is a core course in the Master of Library Science (MLS) program. MLS students who, after examining the syllabus, believe that they have previously mastered the material that would be learned in this class through some combination of coursework and experience can apply for a waiver of this requirement, although such waivers are rarely given. If you plan to pursue this option, you should do so before the first day of classes so that adequate time will be available to adjust your schedule.

If the university is closed for any reason (most often, the reason is weather) at the time class begins, the entire session will automatically be canceled and I will revise the future schedule as expeditiously as possible. If the university closes for any reason while the class is in session, the class will end at that time. A single missed session will not normally be rescheduled; multiple sessions missed in the same semester due to university closures may result in scheduling a make-up session on a weekend. Information about emergency preparedness is available from the University.

Course evaluations provide important feedback about what is working well and about improvements that could be made to the course in future semesters. Additionally, students who complete an evaluation for every course they have taken are able to see summaries of course evaluation that were completed by other students, which can be useful when selecting future courses. Students are therefore very strongly encouraged to complete course evaluations and to provide detailed comments.


Doug Oard
Last modified: Fri May 16 17:23:52 2014