LIS 415: Information Organization

Contact Information

Photo of instructor and his dog.

Instructor: Professor Daniel N. Joudrey
E-mail: joudrey@simmons.edu
Office: B-204J

Office: B-204J (Palace Road bldg.)
Phone: (617) 521-2863
Pronouns: he/him/his

Class times:
Wednesday, 6-9pm via Zoom
Thursday, 6-9pm at SLIS-West

Office Hours:
Via Zoom, by appointment

Important Syllabus Links:

Course Description

The phenomena, activities, and issues surrounding the organization of information in service of users and user communities. Topics include resource types and formats, information service institutions, markup, descriptive metadata, content standards, subject analysis and classification, and the information life cycle. Required course.

Prerequisites: None

Audience (level, environment/setting): beginning; all setting


Relevant Program Learning Outcomes

These program learning outcomes are assessed in the course:

1. Apply professional standards, tools, and best practices in the information field and across specialized areas.

2. Communicate effectively across different audiences.

5. Demonstrate the technological skills required to help information professionals and organizations achieve their goals.

Students are also exposed to this program learning outcome in the course:

7. Be guided by professional ethics and values.


Course Learning Outcomes

At the end of this course, students will be able to:

A. Understand the role of information organization in library and information science (LIS).

B. Demonstrate knowledge of the core concepts and principles of information organization.

C. Understand the relationship between information organization concepts and information discovery.

D. Select appropriate approaches to organizing information in different types of environments.

E. Recognize and use information organization standards and tools.

F. Use the vocabulary commonly associated with information organization.

G. Effectively interpret metadata records.


Course Structure

This course includes the following approaches to teaching and learning:

  • lectures (in various formats: live and recorded)
  • lab sessions and in-class exercises
  • readings
  • discussions and discussion board postings
  • homework assignments

Most assignments will be partnered and there will be at least one group project.


Textbook

Required: Daniel N. Joudrey and Arlene G. Taylor, The Organization of Information, 4th ed. (Westport, Conn.: Libraries Unlimited, 2018).

ISBN: 978-1-59884-858-8 (Paperback)
ISBN: 978-1-59884-859-5 (Hardcover)

This title may be purchased from the Simmons University bookstore, Amazon, Libraries Unlimited, and other online retailers. A Kindle version is available through Amazon.

Please note: There are multiple editions of this work. Please obtain the latest version (2018).


Grading Scale

 

For some assignments, letter grades will be used and for others you will receive grades based on percentages.

Letter Grade Meaning Percentage Equivalents
A Excellent Performance 94 - 100 %
A- Very Good Performance 90 - 93 %
B+ Good Performance 87 - 89 %
B Satisfactory Performance 84 - 86 %
B- Marginal Performance 80 - 83 %
C+  Unsatisfactory Performance 77 - 79 %
C 74 - 76 %       
C- 70 - 73 %
D+ 67 - 69 %
D 64 - 66 %       
D- 60 - 63 %
F Failing Performance Below 60 %    

Course Outline

  • Unit 1: Introduction to Information Organization
  • Unit 2: Environments and their Tools
  • Unit 3: Introduction to Metadata
  • Unit 4: Encoding
  • Unit 5: Description
  • Unit 6: Access & Authority Control
  • Unit 7: Aboutness & Subject Analysis
  • Unit 8: Vocabulary Control
  • Unit 9: Categorization, Classification, & Arrangement