Credit Hours: 3 credits
Meetings: Tuesdays, 5:40pm-8:10pm
Prerequisite: None
Office: CSL 422A
Phone: 202-319-6277
Email: syn [at] cua [dot] edu
Office Hour: By appointment
This course introduces students to the theory, principles, standards, and methods of information organization. Through lectures, discussions and hands-on practice students learn to provide intellectual and physical access to information objects. Topics covered include information architecture, user information needs and behaviors, tools for information access, principles of information representation, metadata schemas, controlled vocabulary, folksonomy, classification, taxonomy, encoding standards, bibliographic networks, applications of technologies in information organization, and design of information systems to facilitate access and retrieval.
Introduce the theory, principles, standards, and methods for information organization.
Discuss approaches for understanding users and organizing information to meet their information needs.
Examine the relationship between information organization and retrieval and access to information.
Demonstrate how technologies can be used to support information organization and facilitate access to information.
Promote critical thinking and problem solving abilities for addressing challenges of organizing information in the digital age.
At the end of the course students will be able to:
Demonstrate an understanding of principles of information organization, standards, methods and important concepts related to information organization, including cataloging, authority control, controlled vocabularies, indexing and abstracting, and classification.
Articulate the importance of information organization and the roles of metadata in information organization and understand terminology often used to discuss metadata, such as metadata schemas, encoding standards, crosswalks, and interoperability.
Explain approaches for obtaining information on users’ information needs and information seeking behavior.
Create metadata records for information resources.
Demonstrate an understanding of the principles and applications of controlled vocabularies for information access and retrieval by developing a mini-thesaurus.
Demonstrate critical thinking and problem solving abilities in relation to information organization.
Have the ability to track and assess relevant innovations and interpret and apply research findings for better information organization.
Required Textbook: Joudrey, D.N. & Taylor, A.G. (2017). The Organization of Information. 4th Ed. Santa Barbara, CA: Libraries Unlimited. (ISBN: 9781598848588) (The textbook is available at the CUA bookstore.)
Reading Materials: Additional readings are assigned as necessary for each week's topic.
The following capabilities are required for course delivery:
This course will communicate mainly through the Blackboard. Make sure you get familiar with Blackboard features.
For course preparation, you need to be able for find assigned reading articles from the university library catalog system. Make sure you know how to search and find articles and books from library system and databases.
The following technologies are taught as an essential part of this course:
This course will introduce software and tools supporting information organization such as Connexion, Cataloger’s Desktop, Classification Web, etc.
The course will introduce encoding technology for describing information resources such as MARC and XML.
Each assignment contributes to your final grade. All assignments are individual exercises (no group work). Follow instructions of each assignment for submissions. The submission dates are strictly applied. Assignments submitted after the due dates will be applied with last submission policy (see below), unless permission for late submission from your instructor is obtained before the due date. Detailed description of each assignment will be provided when the assignments are given
Assignment 1: Metadata Exercise (15%)
Assignment 2: Analysis on a Library Information Organization System (15%)
Assignment 3: Research Paper (20%)
The final project is a group project with a member of two (It can be an individual project, if necessary. Consult with the instructor). Make sure you communicate with your group members and instructor frequently during the project process. On the last week of the term, you or your group will present the final project product. The presentation will provide an opportunity to introduce the product of project with your classmates. A written report will be submitted as the final deliverable.
The class participation includes attendance, discussion participation and completion of class activities and exercises. Each week’s class participation adds up and as a total, it will contribute 20% of your final grade.
All assignments must be submitted by 11:59 pm on the day they are due, unless otherwise noted.
Late submissions: If the assignment is submitted late, your grade will be reduced by 10%. Each day it is late thereafter you will lose an additional 5% point (e.g., submitting one day late would reduce your grade by 15%). You need to make a prior arrangement with the instructor if any cause of delayed submission is expected with legitimate reasons. The last submissions may not be graded until the end of the term.
Makeup work: If a student has a legitimate reason, such as a medical or family emergency, the instructor may allow a student to do makeup work. The amount and nature of the work is up to the instructor's discretion. It will be graded at term's end. Documentation of the emergency (e.g. a doctor's letter) may be required.
This course requires three assignments, a final exam, six reading reflections, and class participation. Each of these contributes towards your final grade. The individual contributions are as below.
Assignment 1: 15%
Assignment 2: 15%
Assignment 3: 20%
Final Project: 30%
Class Participation: 20%
Final grades will be assigned as follows:
A: 94-100
A-: 90-93.99
B+: 86-89.99
B: 82-85.99
B-: 78-81.99
C: 70-77.99
F: Below 70
The University grading system is available at http://policies.cua.edu/academicgrad//gradesfull.cfm#iii for graduate students. Reports of grades in courses are available at the end of each term on http://cardinalstation.cua.edu.
All members of the Catholic University community have a shared responsibility to know and to abide by the University’s policies, especially relating to:
Academic Integrity
Accommodations for Students with Disabilities
Attendance
Conduct
Final Exams
Grades and appeals
All of Catholic University’s policies are detailed at https://policies.catholic.edu/index.html. Please follow up with the instructor if you have any policy-related questions.
Of particular note are the policies regarding Academic Integrity, Accommodations for Students with Disabilities, and Final Exams, which are described below.
Academic dishonesty at The Catholic University of America is not tolerated (https://policies.catholic.edu/students/academicundergrad/integrityfull.html and https://policies.catholic.edu/students/academicundergrad/integrityprocedures.html)
As such, academic integrity is not merely avoiding plagiarism or cheating, but it certainly includes those things. Academic integrity means, above all else, taking responsibility for your work, your ideas, and your effort, and giving credit to others for their work, ideas, and effort. If you submit work that is not your own – whether test answers, whole papers, or something in-between – that is considered to be academic dishonesty. University procedures related to academic dishonesty are conducted with respect and dignity, while also preserving accountability, and they presuppose that all participants will treat each other with respect and dignity.
The following sanctions are presented in the University procedures related to Student Academic Dishonesty:
“The presumed sanction for undergraduate students for academic dishonesty will be failure for the course. In the context of graduate studies, the expectations for academic honesty are greater, and therefore the presumed sanction for dishonesty is likely to be more severe, e.g., expulsion. ...In the more unusual case, mitigating circumstances may exist that would warrant a lesser sanction than the presumed sanction.”
At times, you may do group work for an in-class presentation or group project. For that specific assignment, you are allowed to share material, ideas and information; however, for any related work that is to be submitted on an individual basis, I expect your submission to be your own in its entirety.
For more information about what academic integrity means at CUA, including your responsibilities and rights, visit https://integrity.catholic.edu/index.html.
Any student who feels s/he may need a reasonable accommodation based on the impact of a disability should contact the Office of Disability Support Services (https://dss.catholic.edu/index.html) by email at CUA-DSS@cua.edu or call 202-319-5211 to make an appointment to discuss possible accommodations. DSS recommends that a student with a disability meet with DSS staff during the first week of every semester since accommodations are not retroactive. Please note that instructors will only provide those accommodations included in the DSS accommodation letter. DSS is located in PRYZ 127.
Libraries https://libraries.catholic.edu/
Center for Academic and Career Success https://success.catholic.edu/
Office of Disability Support Services https://dss.catholic.edu/index.html
Counseling Center https://counseling.catholic.edu/index.html
Student Health Services https://health.catholic.edu/index.html
Dean of Students Office https://deanofstudents.catholic.edu/index.html