Evaluating Information Sources
Library 103
 
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 Course Syllabus

Course Description:   

Library 103 teaches students how to determine the information requirements for the research question, problem or issue at hand, and how to analyze and evaluate print and electronic information sources, with special attention to evaluation and critical treatment of information received from the Internet and the mass media.

Course Objectives: 

By the end of the course, students will be able to:

  1. Understand the difference in focus between university presses and popular presses and between scholarly journals and popular journals.

  2. Differentiate the focus between local and national newspapers.

  3. Analyze the differing editorial stances of a number of journals of opinion.

  4. Understand that publication date can affect both viewpoint and accuracy of information, and appreciate the virtues of currency and of primary source material.

  5. Differentiate between scholarly, popular and commercial websites.

  6. Evaluate which sources, print or electronic, best fill specific information needs.

  7. Access key government information sources, local, state and national.

  8. Locate information sources within the community.

Course Materials:

TEXT:  Berkman, Robert I. Find it Fast. 5th ed. New York: Harper Collins Publishers, 2000.

The text is available in the COS Bookstore .If you purchase the text, the bookstore will not buy it back as an used textbook The textbook is on reserve in the COS Library (001.4 B512).

Additional readings may  be supplied online and/or as links from the COS Library home page.

Course Requirements:

There are a total of 200 points possible in this course divided as follows:

Library Catalogs and Book Evaluation    25 Points
Scholarly and Non-Scholarly Periodicals   25
Newspaper Comparison   20
Web Evaluation   30
Web/Reference Comparison   20
Open-book, open-note quiz   30
Final Project - Annotated Bibliography   50
Total Possible Points 200

Course Grading:

180-200                        A   
160-179                        B
140-159                        C
120-139                        D
0-119                            F

Cheating is a violation of the Code of Student Conduct and will NOT be tolerated. Cheating on an exam or assignment will result in receiving a zero for the entire exam or assignment and can lead to expulsion from the class or College of the Sequoias.

The student  is responsible for dropping the class if necessary.   

 

Topics and Assignments:

Week One
Introduction to Course
Information Competency
Types of Libraries
Library Catalogs
Publishing Industry
Copyright
Book Evaluation Guidelines
Assignment:

Week Two
Review Book Catalogs
Review Book Evaluation
Review Book Publishing
Introduction to Periodicals
Commercial Indexes- Print & Electronic
Scholarly and Non-Scholarly Periodicals
Assignment:

Week Three
Review of Electronic Magazine/Journal Indexes
Print and Electronic Newspaper Indexes
Assignment:

Week Four
Introduction to the Web
Web Evaluation Guidelines
Assignment:

Week Five
Web Evaluation Group Discussion
Comparison of Web and Print Sources
Annotated Bibliography 
Citations
Assignment:

Week Six
Comprehensive Quiz
Compiling Annotated Bibliography
Assignment:

 

Course Instructor:

The Instructor is on campus from 7:00 to 4:00 Monday thru Thursday. It is best to call ahead of time for a specific appointment as the  instructor is active on campus-wide committees and may not always be available in the Library. E-mail communication is encouraged. 

Gina Haycock
Reference Librarian

Office Telephone: (559)737-6172
Fax Number: (559)737-4835
E-mail: ginah@cos.edu
Snail Mail:
 College of the Sequoias 
915 South Mooney Blvd. 
Visalia, California 93277

Gina Haycock is a Reference Librarian with the College of the Sequoias and has been with the College since the fall of 1995. She graduated from UC Davis with a B.A. Degree in history and completed her Master in Library Science Degree with San Jose State University in 1989. Gina has worked in public and academic libraries since 1975.

The Library 103 Course, Evaluating Information Sources, was offered for the first time in the spring of 2001. It was developed especially to meet the students' need for information competency due to the current explosion of available information. Critical thinking skills in evaluating materials have never been more necessary.

 

Since October 8, 2003, your are visitor:Hit Counter

Date Last Updated:04/16/07
For questions and comments please E-mail ginah@cos.edu