This course serves to give students an overview of the field of library and information science.  Specifically covered are the history, purpose, functions, and processes of the field, its place in society, practice of the profession in various types of settings, and current issues and trends.

Basic principles of knowledge organization.  Emphasizes understanding the function of catalogs, indexes, bibliographies, and search engines and acquiring the ability to use and interpret these tools effectively.  Introduction to metadata, bibliographic utilities, online catalogs and indexes, world wide web, The Dublin Core, MARC formats, Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules, Library of Congress Subject Headings, Dewey Decimal Classification, Library of Congress Classification.

Application of standards and rules to the construction of tools for information retrieval, primarily web resources and catalogs in library and information environments. Overview of concepts of knowledge organization. Overview of metadata applications. Special problems in the organization of resources (archival and library materials in various forms, internet resources). Includes metadata formats (markup languages, Dublin Core, EAD), descriptive detail for different forms of material (MARC21); choice and form of entry for names and uniform titles; provision of authority control for names and titles (AACR2).

The following are covered: 1) theory of knowledge representation, including logic, semantics, ontology, epistemology, and taxonomy; 2) subject analysis, including standard and semiotic approaches; 3) vocabulary control, including principles of thesaurus construction; and 4) classification. Students develop a thesaurus and a classification. Comparison and use will be made of Dewey Decimal Classification, Library of Congress Classification, Library of Congress Subject Headings, Art & Architecture Thesaurus. Students will be introduced to Universal Decimal Classification, Colon Classification, Medical Subject Headings (MeSH), and other systems. The phenomenon of social tagging is investigated.

Spring 2007 Student Projects	Title (Click on title for PowerPoint)	Click on image to enlarge
Ivy Blackman	St. Valentine's Day Massacre
Frank DiMarco	The naginata
Anna Helgeson	New objectivity art movement
Matthew Murphy	Finishing of books with gold tooling
Cory Rockliff	Old Testament pseudepigrapha

 

An introduction to concepts of knowledge records.  A survey of the techniques of  enumerative, descriptive, and analytical bibliography, and bibliometric analysis.  Using these comparative techniques, students will engage in the comparative study of knowledge records.

To understand the processes of production and dissemination of music materials from the earliest times through the present, seen in relation to cultural and commercial influences in society, and with emphasis on the relationships among publishers and manufacturers, performers, scholars, and librarians.

Detailed examination of the bibliographic control of music materials (scores, sound recordings, videorecordings, multimedia) and their inherent bibliographic characteristics.  Special problems in the application of standard methods for descriptive cataloging,  authority control, subject analysis and classification of music materials.  Structure of music catalogs and requirements for the effective retrieval of music materials.