Fall 2006: LIS 505 Information Systems and Technology

Syllabus
Instructor: Dr. Hong Cui, NCB 254, phone: 86548, hcui7@uwo.ca

Office hours: 9:30-11:30 Monday and Tuesday or by appointment.

Lecture: 6:30-9:20pm Tuesday, NCB 295

Lab: 12:00-1:00pm Monday, NCB 105

TA: Olga Buchel oburchel@uwo.ca

Course Website: via WebCT Vista.

Course Description: Information technology applicable in library and information

science: computer hardware and software; networks, including the Internet; and relational
databases. Techniques for planning, construction, implementation, and management of
information systems for libraries and information services. Practice using and evaluating
selected software.

Course Objectives: 1. To provide an understanding of the general characteristics and

functions of information technology: computers, networks and electronic communication
media, software, storage media, relational databases, and the Web. 2. To have familiarity
with the techniques for planning, construction, and implementation of information
systems with examples for libraries and information services.

Approach: This course has lectures and labs. Lectures give a general overview of
information system and information technology. Labs are used to give hands-on help and
experience with various software, relating directly to the assignments given. If you have
enough experience with the software being used, you do not have to attend the labs
except for the first one. TA will run the lab. There are also a couple of quizzes, which
help you earn credit in ten to twenty minutes. The course uses WebCT Vista as the
instructional support environment. Students will get familiar with the environment in
their first lab session.

Expected audience: Students with limited exposure to information technology are the
intended audience for this course. Students with substantial knowledge/experience with
most of the topics covered in this course are encouraged to petition for an exemption.

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Course Policies: Students are required to read the following sections in the MLIS
Graduate Student Handbook: http://intra.fims.uwo.ca/students/handbooks/mlis/index.htm

FIMS Code of Conduct

LIS505 Exemptions

Attendance Requirements: Note in particular, chronic lateness, defined as 10

minutes late on two occasions to the lectures without legitimate excuses, may
result in up to 10% deduction from the final grade. The student is responsible to
communicate with the instructor on the causes of the lateness in a timely manner.

Grading Guideline: Note in particular, due to the nature of the subject, not all
assignments can be measured against the “originality” standard. But the work in
80-89 range must show a clear grasp of the related material, the ability to apply
the principles in different settings, and the ability to analyze critically. The work
in 90-100 range are considered close to perfect: It not only has no significant
defects, but also is an exemplary treatment of the topic, capable of being used as a
standard of highest excellence.

Plagiarism: Note in particular, LIS505 has individual assignments and group

assignments. For individual assignments, students are encouraged to discuss with
others on unclear topics, but the assignments must be written (or conducted, in
case of lab work) individually. It is not acceptable for the students to check
their answers with other students. If it is found that someone knowingly
provided an assignment for use by another student, both provider(s) and user(s)
may be penalized. Be prepared to defense your answers orally and in front of
the class. All submitted works may be subjected to plagiarism checking tools
available to the instructor.

For references the APA style is good

(http://www.lib.uwo.ca/weldon/services/apastyle.shtml) but you may use any
style as long as it is correct and consistent
(http://intra.fims.uwo.ca/grc/style_guides.htm). It is better to give references in a
non-standard style than not to give references at all, which is considered
plagiarism.

Assignments

Assignments must be submitted via WebCT Vista. Students are sometimes required to
submit an URL to their work (e.g. Web Site assignment and database assignments). In
these cases, students must make sure the correct URL is provided. Incorrect URL may
result in a zero for the assignment.

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Late assignments without a valid excuse will be lowered 5% (of the earned mark) for
each day late and will not be acceptable five days after the due date. For an excuse to be
considered "valid", students must seek the approval from the instructor before the due
time.

Some assignments is done individually, others could be done in pairs.

• Asg 1 (Individual) Excel (5%)

• Asg 2 (Pair) Web site construction and evaluation (25%)
• Asg 3 (Individual) Relational Database Theory and Construction (25%)
• Asg 4 (Pair) Choice of library visit, mini RFP, usability testing (20%)
• 3 Quizzes (Individual) (15%)
• Class Participation: prompt attendance and participate in class activities
(10%)

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Schedule*: (Topic shown in italic will be taught in lab).

Date Lecture Lab Assignment Due

9/5 1. Introduction to the course
2. WebCT Vista
3. Computer hardware
9/12 1. Computer software 9/11: Mandatory lab: basic Asg1: Excel
2. Computer Network and World Wide Web computer skill examination.
9/19 1. Introduction to XHTML 9/18: Spreadsheet**
9/26 1. XHTML editors 9/25: XHTML 1 Asg2: Web Site Asg1
10/3 1. Information Architecture 10/2: XHTML 2/photoshop
2. Web site evaluation
10/10 1. Introduction to Usability Tests (Happy Thanksgiving!)
10/17 1. Quiz1: XHTML (Meet in class first) 10/16: PowerPoint Asg3: Database Asg2
2. R. Database: Table
3. R. Database: Relation
10/24 1. R. Database: Form and Report 10/23: Database 1
2. R. Database: Query
10/31 Research Week (No class) Information
Systems Design and Implementation
(Reading)
11/7 1. Introduction to IR (Olga will lecture) 11/6: Database 2
2. Introduction to XML
11/14 1. Quiz2: R. Database 11/13: library visit Asg4: Pick one Asg3
2. Library automation and RFP
11/21 1. RFP
2. ILS guest lecture
11/28 1. Major ILS 11/27: library visit
2. Digital libraries

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12/5 1. Quiz3: XML, IR, Usability, ILS Asg4
2. Online communication
3. Course Wrap-up

*Schedule subject to minor changes.

**James, B. Spreadsheet Tutorial http://www.usd.edu/trio/tut/excel/1.html (Starting with basic concepts of in spreadsheet.)

**Florida Gulf Coast University. Excel 2000 Tutorial http://www.fgcu.edu/support/office2000/excel/ (Excel tutorial, from basic
functions to more advanced. We have Excel 2003, the differences between the two versions are minor)

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Bibliography (interesting readings are always coming)

*= On reserve

Blalock, L.(2003) XML Overview. http://creativelibrarian.com/86/xml-overview/

accessed Aug 21, 2005. [with pointers to other useful sources]

Breeding, Marshall. (2004) “Migration Down Innovation Up: Automated System

Marketplace 2004”.Library Journal (April 1, 2004). [annual survey]
http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/ca405393, accessed 2005-01-03.

*Capron, H.L. and Johnson, J.A. (2002) Computers: Tools for an Information Age 7 ed.
Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Prentice Hall. IMSRES QA76.5.C363 2002 [3 copies] Prentice
Hall slides

*Cohn, J.M., Kelsey, A.L. & Fiels, K.M. (2001). Planning for integrated systems and
technologies : A how-to-do-it manual for librarians. New York : Neal-Schuman
Publishers. IMSRESZ678.93.I57C64 2001

Harris, R. (1997) Evaluating Internet Research Sources [Available Online

http://www.virtualsalt.com/evalu8it.htm, Accessed July. 7, 2005]

*Kochtanek, T.R. & Matthews, J.R. (2002). Library information systems : From library
automation to distributed access solutions. Westport, Connecticut : Libraries Unlimited.
IMSRESZ678.9.K59 2002

Lamb, A. (2004) Visualizing Information Architecture. Information Architecture for the

Web: Web Development for Schools and Libraries. [Available Online
http://eduscapes.com/arch/visualizingia.html, Accessed July. 7, 2005]

Laudon, K.C.& Laudon, J.P. (2000) Management Information System : organization and
technology in the networked enterprises. 6ed Prentice-Hall. IMSRES T58.6.L376 2000.

McGuire, Mary et. al. Internet handbook for writers, researchers and journalists.
Revised. IMSRESERVE ZA4201.I573 2002

*Norton, Peter. (2003) Computing fundamentals. McGraw-Hill. IMSRES QA76.5.N675

2003

*Osborne, Larry N. (2000)Systems Analysis for librarians and information professionals.

2ed. Libraries Unlimited. IMSRES Z678.9.O83 2000

Parker, Charles S. (2000) Understanding Computers: Today and tomorrow. Dryden

Press. IMSRES QA76.5.P318 2000

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Pemberton, S. (2004) HTML and XHTML Frequently Answered Questions. [Available
Online http://www.w3.org/MarkUp/2004/xhtml-faq, Accessed July. 7, 2005]

* Rosenfeld, L. &, Morville, P. (2002). Information Architecture for the World Wide
Web: Designing Large-Scale Web Sites (2nd ed.). O'Reilly & Associates.

Smith, Alastair G.(1997) "Testing the Surf: Criteria for Evaluating Internet Information
Resources." The Public-Access Computer Systems Review 8, no. 3. [Available Online
http://info.lib.uh.edu/pr/v8/n3/smit8n3.html, Accessed July. 7, 2005]

*Smith, Bud E. & Arthur Bebak. (2002) Creating Web pages for dummies. 6th ed. New
York, NY :Hungry Minds. IMS TK5105.888.S65 2002