USM School of Library & Information Science
LIS 201: Introduction to Information Literacy, Section H002
Fall 2009: LIB 207, Mon & Wed, 2:00 - 3:15p.m.

"Information is the new world currency and wealth will be measured by how much information a company, individual, or country can create, distribute, accumulate, and mine."

Mark Dean, PhD, IBM Fellow, Inventors Hall of Fame
computer mouse

Instructor
Teresa Welsh, Ph.D., Associate Professor
The University of Southern Mississippi
School of Library & Information Science
Cook Library, Room 206H
Office Hours: Mon-Thurs, 1:30-4:30 pm or by appointment
Phone: 601.296.0528
Teresa.Welsh@usm.edu
http://ocean.otr.usm.edu/~w146169/

Description
This three hour course follows the guidelines of ACRL's Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education. According to ACRL, information literacy is a set of abilities requiring individuals to "recognize when information is needed and have the ability to locate, evaluate, and use effectively the needed information."

Required Text may be purchased from
the USM Bookstore or an online vendor.
Bolner textbook
The Research Process, 4th edition
M. Bolner & G. Poirier, 2006

Course Goals (From ACRL's Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education)

After completion of the course students should be able to:

  1. Determine the nature and extent of needed information

  2. Access information effectively and efficiently

  3. Evaluate information and its sources critically and incorporate selected information into a knowledge base and value system

  4. Use information effectively to accomplish a specific purpose

  5. Understand the variety of economic, legal, and social issues surrounding the use of information and to access and use information ethically and legally.

Course Outcomes

After completion of the course students should be able to demonstrate a basic knowledge of:

  1. Standard systems of organizing recorded knowledge

  2. The use of standard electronic resources, including online catalogs, databases, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and the Internet

  3. Methods of identifying specific information needs

  4. Methods of determining appropriate material formats

  5. Methods of identifying and retrieving appropriate materials

  6. Methods of evaluating the reliability or quality of materials

  7. Methods of organizing and documenting materials for a specific purpose

  8. Ethical issues including copyright, privacy, equity, etc.

Teaching Strategies
This course will be taught in a lecture/discussion mode with supplementary online discussion and assignments. Weekly exercises and other assignments are structured to provide practical experience and a basic knowledge of information-related issued. Most readings will be from the required text and online lecture notes, but supplemental readings from journals and the Internet will be included as appropriate.

Course Requirements

  1. Weekly exercises: 20% (2000 points)
  2. Blog: 10% (1000 points)
  3. Web page: 5% (500 points)
  4. Midterm: 15% (1500 points)
  5. Final paper: 25% (2500 points)
  6. Presentation: 10% (1000 points)
  7. Attendance & participation: 15% (1500 points)

    Total points = 10,000

Grading %

  • A = 93-100
  • B = 84-92
  • C = 73-83
  • D = 64-72
  • F = 0-63

Weekly Schedule of Topics
Subject to Revision

Week 1
Course Introduction, Course Syllabus
E-mail, Netiquette, Blackboard Basics

Week 2
Cultural Literacy, Library Literacy
Bolner, Chapter 1

Week 3
Reference Sources
Bolner, Chapter 7

Week 4
Classification Systems, Library Catalogs
Bolner, Chapter 4

Week 5
Periodicals, Databases
Bolner, Chapters 3, 8

Week 6
Internet, Web
Bolner, Chapter 5

Week 7
Evaluating Information Sources
Bolner, Chapter 6

Week 8
Database Searching
Midterm

Week 9
Academic Code of Honor, Plagiarism

Week 10
Government Info, Statistics
Bolner, Chapers 9, 10

Week 11
Visual Literacy, Media Literacy
Bolner, Chapters 11, 12

Week 12
Research papers, Microsoft Word
Bolner, Chapter 2

Week 13
Financial Literacy, Microsoft Excel

Week 14
Microsoft PowerPoint

Week 15, 16
Final Presentations

Course Policies

  1. Students are expected to read the text and other required readings.

  2. Class attendance is expected. Attendance and participation are 15% of the grade and students must be present during the entire class time to receive attendance credit.

  3. All assignments must be typed or in legible handwriting. Late assignments will not receive full credit.

  4. All major course documents (syllabus, lecture notes, assignments, etc.) will be posted on the Blackboard site.

  5. Writing skills: Any student who suspects that he/she has a deficit in grammatical skills or whose work in the early stages of the term indicates a weakness in such skills is encouraged to seek assistance from the writing lab offered through the Department of English. All work must be in Standard English; inappropriate grammar, punctuation, and/or spelling will result in lower grades.

  6. Plagiarism is a serious offense and will not be tolerated.

Academic Code of Conduct
Students are expected to follow the Academic Code of Conduct, which includes mutual respect and academic honesty.

"When cheating is discovered, the faculty member may give the student an F on the work involved or in the course. If further disciplinary action is deemed appropriate, the student should be reported to the dean of students. In addition to being a violation of academic honesty, cheating violates the Code of Student Conduct and may be grounds for probation, suspension, and/or expulsion. Students on disciplinary suspension may not enroll in any courses offered by The University of Southern Mississippi." USM Undergraduate Bulletin, p. 72.

"Plagiarism is scholarly theft, and it is defined as the unacknowledged use of secondary sources. More specifically, any written or oral presentation in which the writer or speaker does not distinguish clearly between original and borrowed material constitutes plagiarism. Because students, as scholars, must make frequent use of the concepts and facts developed by other scholars, plagiarism is not the mere use of another's facts and ideas. However, it is plagiarism when students present the work of other scholars as if it were their own work. Plagiarism is committed in a number of ways:

  1. Reproducing another author's writing as if it were one's own.
  2. Paraphrasing another author's work without citing the original.
  3. Borrowing from another author's ideas, even though those ideas are reworded, without giving credit.
  4. Copying another author's organization without giving credit.
Plagiarism is a serious offense. An act of plagiarism may lead to a failing grade on the paper and in the course, as well as sanctions that may be imposed by the student judicial system." USM Undergraduate Bulletin, p. 72.

Disability Statement
If a student has a disability that qualifies under the Americans with Disabilities Act and requires accommodations, he/she should contact the Office for Disability Accommodations (ODA) for information on appropriate policies and procedures. Disabilities covered by ADA may include learning, psychiatric, physical disabilities, or chronic health disorders. Students can contact ODA if they are not certain whether a medical condition/disability qualifies. Mailing address: 118 College Drive, # 8586; Telephone: 601- 266-5024; TTY: 601-266-6837; FAX: 601-266-6035.



Note: This is an abbreviated version of the course syllabus.
The complete syllabus is posted on the Blackboard LIS201 course site.

Web page Design
Teresa S. Welsh
e-mail: drtwelsh@yahoo.com
Updated 8/18/2009