Syllabus for LIS 703: Organization of knowledge
Fall
2006
LIS 703: ORGANIZATION OF KNOWLEDGE
Catalog statement:
An overview of principles, methods and systems in the organization of
all types of library materials and information. An introduction to the basic
level use and interpretation of principles for AACR2 ,
subject headings, Dewey Decimal Classification, OCLC (
This is a tentative syllabus. If we need more time on some topics, we will
linger on them; if other topics need less emphasis, we’ll forge on. Please note especially that I will update the
readings for the last two classes (on metadata and RDA) during the semester
because so much is happening in these areas now.
Details on the readings (including full citations and
links) are available on the Blackboard course page under Course Information
/ readings and resources. Have a
look at that page for other information about the course (e.g. grading).
The assignments are posted in full on Blackboard, under Assignments. For each homework assignment, please download
the posted file(s), complete the assignment, and submit the completed
assignment via the dropbox.
See below for further notes on the
course.
“Cataloging
should be fun. And challenging. And useful.”
LIS 703 Syllabus
|
Session |
Date |
Topics |
|
|||||||||
|
1 |
9/8 |
Orientation: syllabus, assignments, grading, office
hours, repositories for course material. Introduction to the organization of information: where we
are today. What catalogs are. Traditional
catalogs. Descriptive cataloging. Rules and codes. LC, LCSH, Dewey. Authority control. MARC.
Role of the catalog in the library.
Extensions of the traditional catalog.
Metadata. Examples. Resources.
Some issues. The big questions
that we will examine throughout the course.
The historical and intellectual context. Discussion and overview of the bibliographic record. Overview of descriptive cataloging. Overview of AACR2, MARC, and metadata, focusing on Dublin
Core. |
[no assignments due, but it wouldn’t hurt to get a
start on the reading for next week!]
|
|||||||||
|
2 |
9/15 |
Introduction to AACR2: part 1, descriptive cataloging. Introduction to MARC fields for descriptive cataloging. This week we will consider books (primarily); next week
we’ll review book cataloging and will consider how to apply what we have
learned to websites.
|
Read: Student Guide, chapters 1-2. (intro, history, context); chapters 3 (AACR2, part 1) & 5 (MARC) Furrie: Understanding
MARC… Zeng, et al, Metadata
basics, at http://www.loc.gov/catworkshop/readings/metadatabasics/index.html Refer to Bib formats/standards--Marc sites listed in resources Look over AACR2, chapters 1-2 on Catalogers Desktop to get a sense
of what these chapters contain and how they are structured
1. introduction to descriptive
cataloging and Dublin Core |
|||||||||
|
3 |
9/29 |
Continuation of descriptive cataloging: review of book
cataloging; introduction to website cataloging.
AACR2, part 2: choice of access points. Name, title, series entries. Authority control. MARC bibliographic fields for access points.
Introduction to controlled vocabulary.
What is a “work?” (introduction); more on FRBR. |
Read: Student
Guide, Chapter 4 (AACR2 part 2) & chapter 7 (Authority
control) Gorman: The
Anglo-American Cataloguing rules… Tillett:
What is FRBR Coleman: A 21st century look…FRBR Look over AACR2,
chapter 21 Assignments due: 2a: descriptive
cataloging questions (9/21) 2b:
descriptive cataloging: find errors (9/28) 2c:
questions on readings (9/28) |
|||||||||
|
4 |
10/13 |
Continuation of controlled vocabulary discussion. Subject cataloging.
LCSH. |
Read: Student
Guide, chapter 6 (Subject headings) Litwin: Interview… Berman: Random… Assignments due: Assignment 3: Descriptive cataloging: books and websites;
authorities |
|||||||||
|
5 |
10/27 |
More on subject cataloging & LCSH. Review of authority control for names, titles, subjects. MARC bibliographic and authority records. |
Read: -Olson, Hope: Power to name -Berman,
Prejudices and antipathies, section 4 (Man/Woman/Sex). See assignment
5 for details. -Hyde,
Kara: From suffrage to postfeminism -Drabenstott: End-user understanding… note these articles are basis of paper due in last class
session; see assignment 8 Look over MARC authority format Student Guide, chapter 5 (MARC) Assignments due: Assignment 4: Subject headings Assignment 8: Paper.
You don’t have to write anything now, but come to class ready to
discuss the above readings in light of assignment 8. By 11/3, please submit
your paper topic plus a brief outline or discussion of your approach |
|||||||||
|
6 |
11/10 |
Dewey Decimal Classification Library of Congress classification |
Read: -Student
Guide, chapters 8-10 (Dewey and LCC) -Taylor,
chapter on Dewey Classification Assignment due: Assignment 5: Enhanced subject access |
|||||||||
|
7 |
11/17 |
Review of Dewey Decimal Classification Review of Library of Congress classification Review of the MARC bibliographic and authority records. Review of cataloging practice, procedures, tools thus far |
Read: -Mann: The changing nature of the catalog -Vizine-Goetz: FictionFinder -OCLC FictionFinder prototype (look at the prospectus & discussion, then try searching the database; compare with searching a large catalog such as Univ of California or LC). Assignments due: Assignment 6: Classification and
cataloging. Assignment 6a: Questions on reading Assignment 8a: Paper draft due |
|||||||||
|
8 |
12/1 |
Cataloging in context. Putting it all together:
arrangement and display, system design.
Role of bibliographic and authority records in online systems. The catalog and cataloging within the library. Role of catalogers within the library. What catalogers contribute. Pesky questions
and issues.
RDA. Metadata
revisited. FRBR. |
Read: -Student Guide, chapter 11 (Metadata) -Berman:
Jackdaws strut in peacock’s feathers -RDA:
Resource Description and Access (the powerpoint-style one, NOT the
prospectus) Review: Tillett: What is FRBR? Yee: FRBRization Zeng, et al, Metadata
basics Assignment due: Assignment 7: Cataloging Assignment 8b: Paper responses due |
|||||||||
|
|
12/12 |
(Post-class) |
Final exam and final version of paper DUE by midnight 12/12. |
Assignments, grading, and other notes
1. There will be frequent cataloging exercises, usually due
by noon the day of the class. Their purposes
include reinforcing lectures and class discussions, providing you an
opportunity to practice cataloging techniques, and serving as guides to
readings and course topics. Your text
has many exercises at the end of each chapter.
I’m not requiring you to submit those, but I highly recommend you
do those exercises prior to starting the assignments I post.
2. From time to time I may post questions on the readings
in addition to the formal assignments already scheduled for certain
readings. Depending on the reading and
the day, I’ll ask you to post a note on the class discussion list or reply
directly to me. These questions are
intended to guide your reading of the article and point up some of its critical
issues. I also am very interested in your assessment of the readings and the
class presentations, so I will be asking you for your feedback and assessment
from time to time. Please feel free to
comment on any aspect of the course anytime, for I would like to know how well
the course overall and particular topics, presentations, and assignments are
working for you. Please do not hesitate
to ask me any questions you have on any aspect of the course or
assignments. If you are unsure of your
work on an assignment, I’d be happy to look over your work and give you
feedback before the assignment is due.
3. Participation in group work, online discussions, and
in-class discussions is a very important part of the course. This class is not the place to be shy! However, it will be a safe place to ask questions,
propose answers, and raise issues. The
college principles of academic freedom and respect for the opinions of others
apply.
4. There is one
paper due (assignment 8). Although the
main purpose of this paper is to give you a chance to demonstrate your
knowledge of cataloging principles and of librarianship through your evaluation
of the authors’ writings, you may demonstrate this knowledge in any format that
is comfortable to you: an essay, letter, dialog, … and/or a non-traditional
format (such as a multimedia work). I’m
more concerned that you fulfill the spirit of the assignment rather than
how. Details are posted on the
assignment.
5. There
will be a take-home final. This will be an open-book final, and will cover
material from the entire course. It will
be a mixture of short-answer questions, essays, and cataloging. I will post it before the last day of class,
and it will be due after the last day of class, so you have a reasonable amount
of time to complete it.
6. Most homework assignments will be graded as √+, √, or
√-. The grade “√” means that, in my
judgment, you understand the material.
There may be some errors, large or small, but enough of the work is
correct and thoughtful so that you will be able to proceed comfortably to the
next assignment. The grade “√+”
indicates work of excellent quality.
There may be errors, but these will be minimal and will be minor. Generally, the work will be of high quality
throughout. The grade “√-“ indicates that there are many errors, and there likely are
serious conceptual misunderstandings. I will look at assignments that are up to
a week late, and will grade such assignments at my discretion. Assignments more than a
week late (or not done at all) will receive a grade of 0. When I calculate the course grade, I will
drop the lowest homework grade from the calculation.
The same general rubrics apply to the paper and to the final, but I will assign standard letter grades to them.
7. The approximate
weighting of course components for the final grade will be
Homework: 40%; Class participation, 20%, Final, 25%; Paper, 15%.
I strongly
prefer you submit all assignments to the course drop box.
8. We will do a lot
of cataloging in this course, but the cataloging itself is not the point of the
course. Rather, this course really is
about the intellectual aspects of cataloging including its history, its
relationship with its various cultural contexts, its role in libraries and
other information centers, and its function as the most public of library
activities. Hence the cataloging
exercises and the cataloging work we do during the class periods is designed,
first and foremost, give you the vocabulary—practical and theoretical—to understand
the intellectual and public role that cataloging and catalogers play. For those of you interested in studying
cataloging further, you will have a solid practical and theoretical foundation
for further coursework. For those of you
not so inclined, you will have the vocabulary and conceptual understanding to
be an intelligent participant in conversations and settings related to the
organization of information. By the end
of the course, I hope all of us have a renewed appreciation for the role of this
most central activity of librarianship.
--David
Lesniaski
August
2006
David Lesniaski
Office: CDC 047
Office phone: 651-690-8723
Home phone: 651-636-5753
Email: dalesniaski@stkate.edu
Web page: http://www.stkate.edu/~dalesnia/
Office hours: I usually am on campus from mid-day on, so
feel free to drop by. If you would like
a formal appointment, please phone or email me.