Library Research 101 Purpose And Objectives

How can you benefit from taking Library Research 101?

This course will help you develop the basic research skills of a confident and efficient library user. These skills should save you time looking for information, and give you a few touchstones for evaluating resources. It will not make you a scholar, but it will remove some of the barriers to identifying and locating the scholarship of others.

It is preferable to know how to get started on a research project before term papers are assigned, so your time will not be wasted when classes suddenly become more demanding. Even if you have used libraries extensively, there are still things you need to know about this library and academic libraries in general. Using information resources effectively is an essential skill for the liberally educated person who delights in the pursuit of truth and the art of civilized living on a small planet.

What should you be able to do by the end of the term?

• Select and use appropriate reference sources to find information
• Locate books and audiovisual materials
• Select and use the most relevant indexes to search for articles on a topic
• Be able to find government publications
• Know how (and when) to use basic World Wide Web or Internet resources
• Know how (and when) to ask a librarian for assistance.

What skills should you continue to develop after leaving the class?

Continue to think critically about the information you find in library books, journal articles, newspapers, and government documents. Develop the ability to discern good research and scholarship from opinion or poor research. Reflect on the market forces and academic pressures that shape what is published and what is collected by libraries. Question and explore. Never accept opinions or facts which have been hallowed merely by time or appearance in print or on the Web.

About the General Education requirement

Library Research 101 or 102 meet the General Education requirement for library research competency. You cannot receive credit for both classes. Library Research 101 is designed for Freshmen and Sophomores. Upper division students should enroll in Library Research 102.

Library Research 101 is a one-credit-hour course that meets twice a week for Term I only. Therefore, it will "feel' like a two-credit-hour course for the first half of the semester. However, you will have nothing to do in Term II, the last half of the semester because the class will be over. Remember this when you feel that you are doing too much work for one hour credit.

Grade replacement for U or F grades

A letter grade (A - F) is earned in this class. If you received a grade of U in Library Research 102, you must re-enroll in LR102 and earn a grade of S to complete the requirement. You may not replace a U in LR102 with a letter grade in Library Research 101. The Registrar does not equate the courses, since one is pass/fail and the other earns a letter grade. Conversely, you may not replace a grade of D or F in Library Research 101 with an S from Library Research 102; you must repeat LR101. (In case you didn't know, you may replace up to 15 hours of F or D grades by repeating courses.)

Class Policies

Attendance. You are expected to attend class regularly and participate. Be on time for class and bring your textbook (Making Sense of Library Research: A Guide for Undergraduate Students). Laboratory exercises or other assignments may be made up if you miss class because of illness or an emergency. If you are going to be absent because of illness or a dire emergency, please notify me (if possible) before class send e-mail to greene@bulldog.unca.edu or telephone 251-6632 (leave a message in my voice mailbox if I'm not there).

Withdrawals. Check the current class schedule for the last day to withdraw from a Term I class with a grade of W. The deadline is not the same as for a full semester class.

Academic Honesty. Plagiarism, cheating, or helping to cheat, will result in failure of the assignment or the course. See the UNCA Catalog for additional procedures in cheating cases.

Grading. Based on 100 percentage points:

Lab Exercises. These practical exercises are your most important learning tool; they will be graded. Most of them will be begun, and possibly completed, in the same class period. They are due at the next class period. Please ask me if you need help completing the lab. We will make an appointment to work together and I will extend the deadline if necessary.

Late work. Work is late after 5:00 p.m. on due date. Grades on late work will be lowered by the equivalent of one letter grade for each class overdue. Class projects must be finished and presented by class time Wednesday, 14 October (last day of class). No late projects will be accepted.

Top of document | Class 1 - Library Services | Syllabus

Ramsey Library UNCA