Syllabus
This seminar covers selected topics in public libraries and public
librarianship. Topics may include, but will not be limited to, its
history, services, systems, marketing, management, technology, user
groups, and trends. The interests of the participants will strongly
influence the course of the seminar.
We will spend most of our time discussing topics related to the subject. Our first four weeks will be spent thinking about why the public library exists, what its milieu is, and how the librarianship profession has related to it. Our goal will be to develop a nuanced understanding of the public library as an institution, a big picture appreciation of the concept, which will lead into a more fine-grained introduction to issues of concern to public libraries today.
This will be less a "how-to" seminar and more a "why" seminar. There are no pat answers, but there are topics that deserve wide-ranging exploration.
Readings
There is no text for this seminar. All readings will be made available online. If you select a reading for your session that is available at present only in print format, you will convert it into a PDF document and make the PDF available online. The instructor will work with you to make this happen.
Evaluation
The course grade will be based on two assignments and class participation:
40% Shared topics: After the initial context discussions conclude, we will step off into topics of your choice. Each of you will select preparatory readings and make them available online. You will plan to start the session with a presentation, followed by a guided discussion.
40% Final project: Your major product for this seminar will be a fuller exploration of your special interest topic. We will, as a group, develop an annotated bibliography of significant sources of information on public libraries. Our model will be American Library History: A Bibliography by Michael H. Harris and Donald G. Davis, Jr. (which includes a foreword by Edward G. Holley), published in 1978 by the University of Texas Press. Each of you will contribute a section to the bibliography, expanding on your special interest topic. We will seek to have the bibliography published as a SILS Technical Report and use it to update it inputs from previous public library seminars.
20% Daily expectations: Read the linked file and write a more-or-less single-page, double-spaced consideration of what you have read. There is no set format to what you write; it should just reflect your thoughts on the topic. Send the consideration to me as an email attachment by 0800 on the day of each session. Then plan to engage in a free-ranging discussion of the topic during the session.
We will use the normal P & H system, with gradations as appropriate.
Keeping in contact
We will keep in routine contact via our class blog and our class listserv.