The following are assignments for this class:
- Article Summaries: Select one article from each day’s assigned readings marked with a pound sign (#) and write a two page summary (750 to 1000 words) of the main points of the author and what you learned from the article. The last paragraph of each summary is to contain your critical comments (favorable or unfavorable) of the overall gist of the paper. To be counted, each summary must be posted to your blog on the day in which that topic will be discussed. Each summary will count as 1% of your final class grade.
- RSS Assignment (Bloglines): Create a Bloglines account and locate and monitor at least 30 blogs related to the health sciences. These should include a variety of blogging contexts, including those associated with health sciences libraries, free-lance librarian bloggers, phyisicans, patients, administrators, etc. Info about finding blogs can be found here (for library blogs) and here (for medical blogs - see right hand column). If you find other good sources for finding library and/or medical blogs, login into your del.icio.us account and bookmark the site with the tag "LS534_Blogs". At the end of the semester, I would like an informal two page description of your impressions of using an RSS feed aggregator tool such as Bloglines.
- Presentation on Library 2.0 Application: On your assigned day, you and a team member will each make a 15 minute presentation on the Library 2.0 application assigned to you. Describe what the application is, how it is (or might be) used in medicine, and give a short instruction on how to use the application to your fellow students. Your presentation will be accompanied by:
- instructional materials that you develop (e.g., a one page handout)
- an entry in the SLIS ASIS&T Technopedia
- a set of del.icio.us bookmarks tagged accordingly.
I am available to assist you in development of your presentation. All collaboration should be done using a social collaboration tool such as Writely (more tools of this type will be discussed in class). By the end of the semster, you will have a collection of handouts from your colleagues concerning various Library 2.0 applications.
- MEDLIB-L Analysis: Subscribe to the MEDLIB-L listserv and monitor traffic for at least a four week period after the MEDLIB-L lecture on January 30. Select any 5 reference questions from this time period and perform the research necessary to answer the question. BEFORE beginning to answer any particular question, please email it to me for approval. I can help you to decide how "do-able" a particular question is.
- Short Paper: Write a short paper (5 standard 12 pt font double-spaced pages) on the topic of the "ethics of providing health information in health sciences and/or public libraries." You may want to consult the following resources to aid you in writing your paper:
- "Code of Ethics for Health Sciences Librarianship" on the MLA website
- "Code of Ethics of the American Library Association" on the ALA website
- My del.icio.us bookmarks on Ethics (feel free to add additional web resources by using the "LS534_Ethics" tag!).
Please follow the MLA Style Guide when formatting your paper.
- Presentation on Specialized Database: On the final day of class (May 8), you will make a 10 minute presentation on an assigned specialized search engine. Please prepare a one page handout that details the tool, including way(s) to access content. See this page for further instruction.
- Term Paper: Papers should adhere to the requirements of the Rittenhouse Award (an MLA award for student paper writing). Here is a list of past award winners and their topics. Please clear topic with me prior to spring break (3/17/06). When formatting your paper, please follow the MLA Style Guide.
GRADING (Please note: All assignments MUST be turned in by 5 pm on Friday, May 12!!)
Article Summaries 12% RSS Assignment 6% Library 2.0 Application Presentation 11% MEDLIB-L Analysis 15% Short Paper 15% Specialized Database Presentation 11% Term Paper 25% Class Participation 5% 100% Copyright 2006 by Steven L. MacCall
smaccall@bama.ua.edu