SILS 523/529/530: Core Knowledge

Introduction

This document is the Homepage for the first of the evolving core courses at the School of Information and Library Studies at the University of Michigan. This course is partially funded by a grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation and is a part of the evolution of a new core curriculum for the information professional. Information about the Kellogg-sponsored CRISTALED (Kellogg Coalition on Reinventing Information Science, Technology and Library Education) program objectives and links to many of the activities of this grant are available on the Web. It is organized in several key sections:

Course Description

This course deals with three themes: the life cycle of information from creating through editing and publication, collection, organization, representation, retrieval, reading, and back into creating through use integration of all of these, with particular emphasis on organization, retrieval, use and decision-making on the part of professionals, and the importance of context in understanding why certain formats, sources, and organizational structures arose.

Suggested Objectives

  1. Understand the principles that underlie information storage and retrieval systems and appreciate the interrelationships between effective information searching and the organization and description of information, interfaces, and command structures.
  2. Develop the ability to think critically about why and how we provide intellectual access to information.
  3. Gain familiarity with some established tools and models for organizing information; develop familiarity with, and ability to search in, a basic core of general, print and electronic-based sources of information
  4. Develop skills in the evaluation, selection, and use of sources including formulating effective search strategies
  5. Consider the changing nature of information resources and the process by which such sources are/will be published, organized, represented, retrieved, used and archived.

Conduct of the Course

This course is the product of a great deal of discussion and thinking not only about the particular topics we will discuss and the way this course will be taught, but also about the future of the information professions and how to prepare people to be part of an exciting but uncertain future. In deciding to merge three existing courses into one, we are recognizing the important interconnections between the individual themes and the unique aspects of their combination.

Logistically, here's what all this means. You have registered for three courses, each of which bears 2 credits. We have designed a single, integrated course for which all three of the instructors take equal responsibility. You will receive the same grad efor each of the three courses, so effectively this is one six-credit course.

Questions about course material may be directed to any one of us. As we move through the course, you will probably discover each of our areas of experience and interest, and that may help you decide who to ask about a particular topic. Questions about grading, policy and administration of the course may also be directed to anyone; Prof. Janes is responsible for overall coordination.

Our hope is that this will be an englihtening and exciting experience for everyone involved, and we will ask you for feedback at various points through the course. You should always, though, feel free to share your thoughts, ideas, suggestions, and question with any of us, anonymously or not, through whatever means you prefer. You are our best source of information about how things are going and what we can do to improve.

Instructors

Recommended Texts

Bopp, Richard E. and Linda C. Smith. Reference and information services: an introduction. 2nd ed. Englewood, CO: Libraries Unlimited, 1995.

Rowley, Jennifer.Organizing knowledge: an introduction to information retrieval. Brookfield, VT: Ashgate Publishing, 1992.

Walker, Geraldene and Joseph Janes. Online retrieval: a dialogue of theory and practice. Englewood, CO: Libraries Unlimited, 1993.

Helpful Reference Sources

Syllabus

9/5

9/11-12

9/18-19

9/25-26

10/2-3

10/9-10

10/16-17

10/23-24

10/30-31

11/6-7

11/13-14

11/20-21

11/27-28

12/4-5

12/12

Academic Integrity

The essence of academic life revolves around respect not only for the ideas of others but also their rights to those ideas and their promulgation. It is therefore essential that all of us engaged in the life of the mind take the utmost care that the ideas and expressions of ideas of other people always be appropriately handled, and, where necessary, cited.

Many of the assignments you will be working on will require you to work in pairs or small groups. We emphasize this because we feel it important to be able to work in such groups and learn from each other. We also recognize that this doesn't always work perfects. We expect that you will work honestly and equitably and be respectful of each other's work.

In working on individual assignments for this course, you may feel free to work together with other students in looking over the assignments, discussing possible approaches, and so on. However, when actually doing the work or writing up the results for submission for a grade, you are to do them alone.

In assignments which require writing, when ideas or materials of others are used, they must be cited. The format is not that important--as long as we can locate the course material and verify the citation AND you use a consistent format, it's OK. What is most important is that the material be cited.

In any other situations, if you have a question, please ask. Such attention to ideas and acknowledgement of their sources is central not only to academic life, but life in general.

Assignments and Evaluation

Lab Exercises

  • Organization (20%) Six assignments will be made throughout the term; see syllabus for schedule.
  • Retrieval (20%) Seven online assignments will be made throughout the term. See syllabus for schedule; one reference/retrieval assignment will also be made.
  • Individual Work in Print Sources(20%)
    • Description: Review the assigned print sources , examing them as per discussion in class. Create a single question/answer for each source per Final Product and Example.
    • Evaluation: The appropriateness of the question to the fit the source, the explanation of why and how the source was used, and the correct citation of that source will be examined and graded.
    • Reason: The ability to think critically about what the question really is and to match its need to a reasonable source to generate an answer is imperative in the reference process. This assignment focuses of representative, basic sources which every student should know well.
    • Final Product: A set of 60 questions which can be answered from each of 60 printed sources assigned on Source List. Each source will be reported per the following example with Question, Answer, Source (including specific page/file name with date of update or access), Reasoned Answer and Information Path.
    • Hypothetical Example:
      • Question: When will the next eclipse of the sun occur that will be visible in Ann Arbor?
      • Answer: May 10, 1994 at 1:45 p.m.
      • Source: World Almanac 45th ed. Baltimore, MD: Almanac Publishing Company, 1994. (p. 855)
      • RA: Almanacs give such general information about the universe. WA's index allows approach by general topic, namely eclipse, and provides a table of data which covers upcoming solar events through 2000. (Note: this reasoning will actually precede your developing a question. You will be considering what the basic organization and reference approach of each source is.)
      • Information Path: Almanac/Index/Eclipse/Table of Data.
    • Due: December 5
    • Weight: 20%

    Final Project: The Encyclopedia Reticulata

    • Description: The Final Project for this course will consider the design and structure of an encyclopedia native to the distributed networked environment. The history and development of encyclopedias in the print domain have involved most of the most important issues about the organization and retrieval of information. Thus, as more information is created in digital form, and as such digital information is widely shared, it makes sense to comtemplate what an 'encyclopedia' would be like in this world.

      Students will work in groups of 4-6 on this project. AFter some initial examination of encyclopedias and the World Wide Web, groups will select a topic area and a target audience, and describe of the scope for their work. The work can make many forms, but the following questions must be addressed:

      • How will your encyclopedia take advantage of content already on the Net, if at all?
      • How will your encyclopedia add value to this content?
      • How will it be maintained and kept current?
      • How will it be organized?
      • How will people access the content? (interface issues)
      • How will it be implemented? (technological issues)
      • How will it be marketed, funded, promulgated?
      • How will issues of intellectual property and copyright be addressed?
      • How will user feedback be accounted for?
      • How will graphics, maps, sound, video be incorporated?
      • How will you assure quality, authority, comprehensiveness?

      We do not expect that you will produce a functional encyclopedia by the end of the course. Rather, we expect that you will think through the issues above (and other ones, probably) and produce a design document which reflects your best ideas. This document will be Web-accessible and will outline specifications and design details for your version of the encyclopedia.

      Due:

      Sept. 19: analysis of print encyclopedias due: what are the important features of print encyclopedias? What makes a resource "encyclopedic"?

      Sept. 26: exploration of World Wide Web due: what are the important characteristics of this environment for this project? Are there resources currently available which look like or share characteristics with what we think of as encyclopedias? See this additional information from class on 9/19/95.

      Oct. 3: selection of scope, topic, audience due: identification of a general topic area (along with broader and narrower alternatives), scope (how broadly you will cover), and audience (academic/research, K-12, general, specialized, etc.) Here's a new 'encyclopedia' to check out now: The Free Internet Encyclopedia

      Nov. 7: First draft: A preliminary version of the design document, containing at least an outline of your design for the encyclopedia. This draft will be evaluated by two other groups in the class (as well as by the instructors) to give you feedback for your further work.

      Nov. 28: Second draft: A second version of the design document, with a complete design for the encyclopedia. This draft will also be evaluated by two other groups (as well as by the instructors) to give you feedback for the final version.

      Dec. 5: Critiques of other groups' work due

      Dec. 12: Final version due, 12 noon.

      Core Encyclopedias

      SOLar
      Diderot/Rendezvous
      Diderot/Netscape 2.0
      EoTS/A2 6
      Fairy Tales/Group Therapy
      Alternative Health/S
      Mammals/Bizarre Lives
      University of Michigan/4-L Quads

    • Evaluation: All three instructors will examine the work presented, taking into account the degree to which the project addresses the questions posed, the quality of the ideas presented and the originality and thoroughness of the design presented.
    • Weight: 40%
    Final Note: Attendance in this class is assumed. Assignments are due as schedule; -5% of grade for late assignments
    mholland@umich.edu (8/30/95; updated 12/3/95)