Syllabus

Instructor: Jessamyn West
Semester/Year: Summer 2017
Phone: 508-415-9074 (texting preferred)
Skype: iamthebestartist
Email: jessamyn@gmail.com (jess3000@hawaii.edu forwards to this)
Office Hours: Tuesday 1:30-2:30 HST Any other day by appointment (email/skype/phone/Slack)
My Time Zone: EDT (six hours later than HST)
Course website: http://librarian.net/tools

Do you need acccomodations for your disability? First check in with the Kokua Program and then come talk with me about it. Details at this link: hawaii.edu/kokua/about.htm

This session will be broken down into themed weeks, all of which will help prepare students for their final project: an advocacy plan on a subject of the students' choosing, incorporating statistics, stories, research and design. There will be reading and writing assignments every week. All Write assignments are 200-400 word essays about the given prompt(s), sent directly to me, due by midnight Friday. All Share topics will be discussions which take place asynchronously in the course Slack channel. Topics will go up on Tuesday and students are expected to contribute to the discussion.

This is a textual outline of what the semester will look like. Print syllabus is here. This web page is considered the authoritative syllabus. An email at the beginning of each week will outline the week's work.

Week 1 - Intros, outlines, choosing topics

• Make - Set up Slack. Make sure we can share Google docs. See if we can find a one hour meeting time.
• Research - Learn and practice Slack.
• Read - ALA OLOS Outreach Issue Briefs, The Political Librarian Volume 2 (each person will be assigned a chapter to summarize in a short paragraph.)
• Write - What brings you to this topic? Do you have an interest area you are passionate about?
• Share - Introductions and interactions with other students in the Slack channel. Summary of a OLOS brief & TPL article.
• Emails: Monday Assignments, Wednesday Checklist

Week 2 - Research

• Make - List of key writers/agencies on your topic.
• Research - Locate people and groups working on your interest area.
• Read - "If it is too inconvenient I'm not going after it:" Convenience as a critical factor in information-seeking behaviors & The Convenience Factor in Information Seeking (both available from UH libraries--keep track of your path to obtaining those articles)
• Write - How is Googling different from finding information in a library? Is it different for you as a (burgeoning) information professional?
• Share - What was your process accessing those two documents? Let's discuss how the library worked for you and what you thought about those documents.

• Make - A few useful statistics about your own topic, shared with the class on this Google document.
• Research - Compile a source list for good places to learn about your topic statistically.
• Read - How to Talk Back to a Statistic (Chapter Ten of How to Lie with Statistics), Action Plan chapter (pp 101-112) from Lankes' Expect more book (on the readings page linked up top)
• Write - Think of a notable statistic that you remember. It could be one you heard recently. Explain the effect it's had on your thinking about that topic.
• Share - Discussion of the week's readings, mid-semester check-in

Week 4 - Telling stories

• Make - Create a profile of someone affected by your topic area.
• Research - Find one or two "This is so-and-so..." pages from non-profits, libraries and other do-gooder organizations to use as models for the Make assignment.
• Read - Journey maps and customer hacks: redesigning services at the State Library Victoria, this comment about a digitally divided public library user, on MetaFilter
• Write - Everyone has their "Why I decided to go to library school" story. I'd like to hear yours.
• Share - Discussion of the week's readings and elevator pitch for your topic!

• Make - Infographic about your topic including facts, illustrations AND citations. Copy to this Google Doc. Be sure to include your name!
• Research - Find an infographic that you find compelling.
• Read - Buzzfeed on Snapchat, How to Create Infographics (and resource list) by Library Research Service, A Philosophy of Bold Promotion in Arkansas, How Typography can Save Your Life
• Write - Tell me about a business or brand you have interacted with on social media (or email if you don't use social media) and the positive and negative aspects of that interaction.
• Share - We'll discuss how advocacy organizations employ design and social media to create appealing/engaging environments for funders, clients and the public.

• Make - Final Project Due - based on template provided in Week Three.
• Research - None, you are good!
• Read - The Book-Burning Campaign That Saved a Public Library, Other students' projects.
• Write - Course evaluation in eCAFE and short summary of what worked for you and what didn't in an email to me.
• Share - Give other students feedback on their final projects.