1.

TITLE OF COURSE:

Reference Materials

PREFIX/NUMBER:

LTN 210

CREDIT HOURS:

3

2.

PREREQUISITE:

None

3.

RESOURCES NEEDED:     A computer and Internet access; access to a library.      

Online Resources:

Textbook:

Students have access to the online resources of the Pueblo Community College Library. Students who do not live in Pueblo or Canon City may access these resources by going to the PCC Library Home Page and filling out the online patron registration form. /CampusResources/Library/Registration.htm  If you have registered with the Library in a previous semester, please e-mail Effie.Romero@pueblocc.edu and ask that your permissions be updated for the semester. 

There is no textbook for this course.

Required Readings:

Each week there are reading assignments for that lesson in “Lectures” then “Assignments Overview.”  These readings are essential for your learning and take the place of a textbook.

Discussion:

After the first week, each Discussion assignment will cover a two week period.  You will post to Discussion two Reference Sources that you discovered while completing that unit's assignment.  This will be our “class time” where you can learn from each other.

4.

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

How to select reference materials.  How to use at least 100 reference resources, the reference interview, and the role of resource sharing (interlibrary loan) in reference.  Students will prepare a bibliography of the 90 reference book titles they would want in their reference collection and 10 online sources they find useful.

5.

COURSE GOAL:

Provide skills to enable student to offer professional, competent reference services and the basis to develop a strong, effective reference collection.

A.

Learner Outcomes:

Upon completion of this course, students should be able to:

1.

Understand the functions of reference work.

2.

Relate reference functions with those of the library and its role in serving the institution and the community.

3.

Develop a skill and method of identifying reference queries.

4.

Carry out a reference interview with tact and professionalism.

5.

Identify and locate reference material and connect the patron with the required information.

6.

Differentiate between types of information obtained from varying sources.

7.

Select, evaluate and weed reference materials using valid criteria and evaluative guides.

8.

Recognize current and changing trends in reference services and sources.

  9.

Practice writing skills.

10.

Learn to cut and paste using WEB resources.

B.

Process for measuring each learner outcome:

1.

Identify the function of reference work.

2.

Articulate the importance of the reference librarian to the library and to the community.

3.

State and understand the categorizations of the four types of reference questions.

4.

Identify the four basic stages of the successful Reference Interview; interview librarians regarding the reference interview..

5.

Become familiar with reference sources by looking through many books and on-line resources and evaluating them for class assignments.

6.

List five (5) varying sources and the types of information most often obtained from each source.

7.

Using the Reference Book Consideration Checklist, compare, evaluate and select 90 book resources for a particular library; in addition, evaluate 10 online sources. 

8.

Discuss how technology is changing Reference Work and how trends change.

9.

Write evaluations for reference sources and paragraphs for assignments which will be graded on writing skills.

10.

Complete one cut and paste assignment using WEB resources.

6.

ASSESSMENTS:

Each week assignments using the Quiz tool and some quizzes will evaluate comprehension of the lecture.

Bi-weekly you will also share two interesting book reference sources and one URL with the class utilizing Discussion. 

You will interview one librarian to find out his/her favorite five (5) reference sources and two (2) favorite on-line sources.  You will evaluate these sources.

You will choose a "home" library (having at least 750 reference titles) and will also visit two other libraries and evaluate each library's Reference Section.

The final project, which is a culmination of all the weekly assignments, is worth 275 points.

7.

EVALUATION PROCEDURES:

Grading Scale based on cumulative points

Percentage

Letter Grade

90 to 100

A

80 to 89

B

70 to 79

C

60 to 69

D

F

8.

COURSE CONTENT:

Unit

1.

Quizzes, Assignments, E-mail, and Discussion

2.

Basic Tenets of Reference

3.

Collection Development Resources Overview

4.

Bibliographies

5.

General Reference Books

6.

Yearbooks, Directories, Indexes, and Business Resources

7.

Library Organizing

8.

Periodicals

9.

Reference Interview

10.

Business Resources

11.

Legal Sources

12.

Government Documents

13.

Ethical Considerations

14.

Statistics and Housekeeping; FINAL PROJECT DUE

15.

Reference Sources Review 

9.

MAKE UP POLICY:

All assignments are due by Friday at midnight.  If you are unable to make this deadline due to illness or another problem, I expect you to make arrangements with me IN ADVANCE.  Late Quiz assignments will lose 5 points per day.

10.

INSTRUCTOR INFORMATION:

Name:  Jeanne Gardner
Email:  Jeanne.Gardner@pueblocc.edu 

Office location:   MDAB110A
Office hours:  9 am - 6 pm, Monday thru Thursday

11.

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY:

The very nature of higher education requires that students adhere to accepted standards of academic integrity. Therefore, Pueblo Community College has adopted a policy of academic conduct as described in the Student Handbook. Violation of academic integrity may be defined to include the following: cheating, plagiarism, falsification and fabrication, abuse of academic materials, complicity in academic dishonesty, and personal misrepresentation. It is the student’s responsibility to be aware of the behaviors that constitute academic dishonesty. Sanctions for violating the standards of academic integrity may include warning, probation, suspension, and/or failure of the course or assignment at the discretion of the instructor.

12.

ADA NOTICE:

Students who have a documented disability may be eligible to receive accommodations for this class. Please contact the Disability Resources Center at 549-3446 for further information.