LIBRARY MEDIA ADMINISTRATION
Course Syllabus
LIS 5240, Online
FALL 2013
3 Semester Hours
Course Description
This course will provide students with basic concepts of the library media center as an integral
part of the school learning/teaching environment. It will view the library media center as an
extension of the classroom with unique management problems related to the support and
enhancement of the curriculum in a school environment.
This course is conducted mainly asynchronously using Blackboard course management
software with synchronous opportunities. Students are expected to log in to Blackboard 2-3
times a week.
Credit Hours
A credit hour is an amount of work represented in intended learning outcomes and verified by
evidence of student achievement that is an institutionally established equivalency that
reasonably approximates not less than: (1) one hour of classroom or direct faculty instruction
and a minimum of two hours of out of class student work each week for approximately fifteen
weeks for one semester hour of credit or the equivalent amount of work over a different amount
of time; or (2) at least an equivalent amount of work as required in (1) of this definition for other
activities as established by an institution, including laboratory work, internships, practica, studio
work, and other academic work leading toward the award of credit hours.
Institutionally established reasonable equivalencies for the amount of work described above in
paragraph (1) of this definition for the credit hours awarded, as represented by verifiable
student achievement of intended learning outcomes.
Prerequisite
None
Instructor Information
Rene Burress
Office: Lovinger 4246
Office: 660-543-4910
Cell: 314-517-1757
Office Hours: Skype/Phone by Appointment or stop by Lovinger Tuesdays 10a -1p or
Thursdays 10a – 12p.
E-mail: burress@ucmo.edu (will return messages within 24 hours, excluding weekends and
holidays) – This is the best way to contact me. I read my e-mail regularly. If I don’t respond to
you within the above time frames, please resubmit your email as I most likely did not receive it.
Skype: rene.burress
If you have questions be sure to post them to the FAQ Forum in the DISCUSSION BOARD.
Someone in the class may know the answer before I can respond.
Text and Related Material
There are two textbooks for this class
 American Association of School Librarians. Empowering Learners: Guidelines for School
Library Media Programs. Chicago: ALA, 2009. Print
 Woolls, Blanche. The School Library Media Manager. Westport: Libraries Unlimited, 2008.
Print.
Supplementary Material for the Class
 MLA Style Manual and Guide to Scholarly Publishing. New York: Modern Language
Association of America, 2008. Print.
Supplementary Material for the Class (not required but suggested)
If you don’t want to purchase the MLA Style Manual and Guide to Scholarly Publishing (2008)
for formatting and citing references, I have a Web site for you. This PDF file will answer most of
your questions, although I recommend purchasing a hard copy of the MLA Style Manual to use
in conjunction with the Web summary below. This is a wonderful 58-page PDF file outlines the
major points of citation MLA paying particular attention to citation of electronic resources.
“Documenting Sources: A Hacker Handbooks Supplement: Guides lines Based on the MLA
Style Manual and Guide to Scholarly Publishing, Third Edition (2008).” Bedford/St.
Martins. 2008. PDF. 1 June 2009. <http://www.dianahacker.com/pdf/HackerMLAupdates.pdf>.
Conceptual Framework
Belief Statement
The Central educator is a competent, caring, reflective practitioner committed to the premise
that all can learn.
Mission
As a cornerstone of the institution since 1871, the University of Central Missouri's Teacher
Education Program develops teachers and other school professionals who are well grounded in
theory, display competence in content knowledge and instructional strategies, and possess the
dispositions to ensure success for all learners. The Teacher Education Program prepares
individuals as professional educators for an ever-changing, culturally diverse population.
Faculty and candidates provide support and service to schools in meeting their present and
future challenges by developing communities that learn through research and scholarly
activities. Educator preparation is a campus-wide responsibility, a commitment that reflects the
honor and worth of serving a vital profession.
Course Objectives/Student Learning Outcomes
Objectives of the Course linked to the Missouri Standards for Professional Educators (MoSPE)
– Librarians. Because library administration covers so many aspects of school librarianship,
this course will touch on all seven standards as indicated below. All of Standard 5 will be
addressed by this class with the other six standards playing a role as well.
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MoSPE Standards for School Librarians
Standard 1: Teaching for Learning—Applies knowledge of the academic, personal, social and cultural
characteristics of students and relates them to learning through effective instructional strategies and assessments.
Collaborates effectively with classroom teachers and other educators. Documents and communicates the impact
of instruction on student achievement.
Quality Indicator 1.1: Knowledge of learners and learning
Quality Indicator 1.2: Instructional partner
Quality Indicator 1.3: Effective and knowledgeable teacher
Standard 2: Literacy and Reading—Promotes and encourages reading for enjoyment, personal growth and
learning. Provides fiction and non-fiction literatures appropriate to the students and grade levels served. Selects
reading materials in multiple formats to facilitate maximum access for all members of the school community.
Models a variety of research-based literacy strategies. Advocates for students’ intellectual freedom.
Quality Indicator 2.2: Literature
Quality Indicator 2.3: Diversity and inclusiveness
Quality Indicator 2.4: Literacy strategies
Standard 3: Information and Knowledge—Provides access to information for students, teachers, staff and
administrators to satisfy all learning needs. Teaches information literacy skills to build proficiency for studentdriven research and individual creation of knowledge through critical thinking. Promotes equitable access to
resources in a variety of formats and services for a variety of needs.
Quality Indicator 3.1: Access to information
Quality Indicator 3.2: Information literacy skills
Quality Indicator 3.3: Equitable access to resources and services
Standard 4: Leadership and Advocacy—Provides leadership by articulating ways in which school libraries
contribute to student achievement. Advocates for dynamic school library programs and positive learning
environments by collaborating and connecting with the school community.
Quality Indicator 4.1: Instructional leadership
Quality Indicator 4.2: Advocating with the school community
Standard 5: Program Management and Administration—Administers the school library media program
using research-based data to analyze and improve services in alignment with the school’s mission to support
student achievement. Selects, acquires, catalogs, retrieves, integrates, circulates, preserves and deselects
information resources. Manages fiscal, physical and personnel resources. Practices professional ethics with
regard to intellectual property and information privacy. Develops policies and procedures in support of the
library program.
Quality Indicator 5.1: Strategic planning, program evaluation and program reporting
Quality Indicator 5.2: Collection management
Quality Indicator 5.3: Fiscal, physical and personnel resources management
Quality Indicator 5.4: Professional ethics
Quality Indicator 5.5: Policies and procedures
Standard 6: Technology Integration—Provides equitable access to technology for the school community.
Continually upgrades technological skills to enhance student and teacher learning. Integrates technology tools to
communicate and facilitate learning. Promotes digital citizenship instruction to support appropriate academic use
of information.
Quality Indicator 6.3: Communicate and facilitate learning
Standard 7: Professional Development—Seeks opportunities to grow professionally by taking advantage of
information, events and services provided by local, state and national organizations. Seeks opportunities for
service through professional associations.
Quality Indicator 7.1: Professional Learning
Upon completion of this course, the students will be able to demonstrate the following critical
knowledge, skills, and dispositions
 Describe the role of the school library media center within the local and national contexts of a
changing education scene.
 Explain the role of the school library media specialist in collaborating with teachers to
develop curriculum and integrate information literacy with content standards
 Describe the function of the library media center and the media specialist.
 Analyze standards and guidelines.
 Develop criteria for the evaluation of library media center management
 Determine effective procedures in library media center management.
 Describe the impact of modern technology on library media center management.
 Develop a budget to implement needed resources and services to supplement and enrich
the curriculum.
 Identify options for decision making in a variety of environments.
 Plan and manipulate facilities and resources to meet the needs of individuals including those
with special needs or unique needs.
 Write position descriptions for library media center personnel (certified and non-certified).
 Develop a policies/procedures manual.
 Design a media center in which space is effectively and efficiently uses.
 Develop a personal learning network that provides current and thoughtful continuous
professional development.
 Understand the dynamic changing nature of what a physical and virtual library is today.
Instructional Method
This is not a lecture based class where students sit back, absorb information from the teacher,
and then are tested on their knowledge of what they remembered. Rather, the teacher is a
facilitator. Using a constructivist model and following a structure suited for adult learners in
graduate level courses in an online environment, students will be required to build on
knowledge from their own experiences and prior education. They will do this in collaboration
with other students. It is also expected that students will be seeking out information when
needed from a variety of sources (professional journal literature, books, online resources,
colleagues, classmates, experts, etc.) and will ask questions of the teacher and other students
when necessary. The online classroom should be a friendly environment and everyone should
be free to comment, ask questions, and answer questions.
Philosophy
Administration of library media center (LMC) calls upon all of our skills. I can’t think of another
job that demands we have expertise in so many different areas. Woolls covers a lot of ground in
her book, The School Library Media Manager, now in its fourth edition (2008). During this class
we will cover additional material as well – mainly from practitioners in the field.
Assignments
 Assignments must be word processed, spell checked, and adhere to MLA guidelines
(double spaced, 12 point Arial or Times Roman font, 1” margins, etc)
 All assignments are to be submitted through the appropriate location on Blackboard.
Assignments emailed to the instructor will be returned with a request to post in the
correct location.
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Uploaded work should be in a compatible format: Microsoft Word (.doc or .docx), or
Google Docs (make sure that sharing settings are turned on so that others in the course
may view your work).
Grading standards are as follows:
A
B
C
D
F
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90-100% (900-1000 points)
80-89% (800-899 points)
70-79% (700-799 points)
60-69% (600-699 points)
< 59% (fewer than 599 points)
Breakdown of Points:
Discussion Board - 15 weeks of discussion
375 (25 points per week)
Weekly Quizzes - 12-15 quizzes
175 (10-15 points per quiz)
Assignments - 9
450 (50 points per assignment)
1000 (Total Points Possible)
Feedback
Scoring rubrics or guidelines will be distributed for all written products in advance of the due
date. Grading standards are as listed above. I do not round grades up to the next letter grade.
This is a graduate level course the grade you wish to receive will be obvious by the quality of
work you turn in on a weekly basis.
I always give feedback within the week of posting and specific feedback for the projects will be
found in the grade section. Up-to-date grades can be found through Bb within Tools > My
Grades. I will grade assignments and post grades within one week. You may always ask for
more feedback.
ASSIGNMENT DETAILS
Discussions
There are assigned readings each week from the two texts as well as articles and postings from
professionals in the field. Each week there is a different theme or topic under discussion and
after you have read all of the assignments there will be discussion questions for you to answer.
You will then participate in a conversation (discussion) with your classmates and your instructor
about the topics. There will be a rubric for discussion board participation available to you in
Blackboard.
Quizzes
This class has a lot of new concepts and vocabulary for students who have not previously
worked in a library. Weekly quizzes will highlight important terminology. This is more for
yourself to review what you have learned, than it is to “test” you. The answers will be available
to you in your readings from the week and the quizzes are open book. These quizzes will not
have difficult or tricky questions. In order to ensure student success, students may retake
each quiz one time each.
Project Assignments
In order to apply the concepts of what have been read about and discussed during the previous
week, there will be projects that will give you the opportunity to apply the information that was
the topic of the previous week’s reading/viewing assignments.
EXPECTATIONS
Professionalism
In the Teacher Education Program at UCM, undergraduate students adhere to a dispositions
assessment. As graduate students and teacher leaders, students studying school
librarianship should display the following attitudes and behaviors: attendance (counted by
posting on Blackboard), organization, meeting deadlines, active participation, responsibility,
honesty, and showing respect for classmates and the instructor.
Attendance:
Regular, weekly attendance is expected. This is a mark of professionalism. Since this course is
online evidence of attendance is provided through students posting to the weekly discussion on
Blackboard. Poor attendance/participation will directly affect the weekly discussion board
grade, which is worth 37% of the grade in this course. This is where we will discuss readings,
share experiences and debate ideas. Posting your original post late in the week does not allow
other students to read and respond your post. If you habitually post last minute, it will be
reflected in your participation grade.
Late Work:
You will be expected to turn in assignments by the dates they are due. This is a mark of
professionalism. Your future students will not sit waiting for you to figure out what to do
because you failed to plan in a timely manner. Even if you have emergencies, you will have to
provide sub plans for a substitute to be in your place. Late assignments will be accepted within
48 hours of the due date time, but will be assessed a 10% penalty. For each additional 48-hour
period following this, another 10% penalty will be assessed. If you know you will be unavailable
when an assignment is due, it is your responsibility to turn it in early. Please do not wait until the
last minute to turn in start and/or turn in work. If you encounter long-term emergency
situations such as serious sickness or emergency surgeries of yourself/significant
other/children, accidents, out of town funerals, natural disasters, etc please contact the
instructor as soon as possible. Arrangements can be made to assist you in situations that are
beyond your control.
COMMUNICATION AND SUPPORT
The best way to contact me is by email. I do my best to return student e-mails within 24 hours.
Weekends and holidays may take longer. If I am out of town, I will post an announcement on
Blackboard stating my anticipated time for returning emails. Unless you specifically request
otherwise, my emails to you will be directed to your UCM email address. There is also an FAQ
thread on the discussion board. That’s the place to post questions of general interest to the
entire class. If you have a question about your grade or a confidential matter, please do NOT
use the FAQ. If you’d like to meet with me in person, you’re welcome to make an appointment.
Library Services: Get help @ your library! You may access your library account, the online
catalog, and electronic databases from James C. Kirkpatrick Library’s website at
http://library.ucmo.edu.
For research assistance, you may contact the Reference Desk:
Phone: (660) 543-4154
Email: reference@libserv.ucmo.edu
AIM: JCKLReference
RefChat: http://library.ucmo.edu/chat
LIS Discussion Group
Subscription to the LIS Discussion Group is required of all enrolled students.
To subscribe send an e-mail to: libsci-list+subscribe@ucmo.edu
To unsubscribe send an e-mail to: libsci-list+unsubscribe@ucmo.edu
UCM provides Blackboard Technical Support in a variety of ways:
- Phone: (660) 543-8484
Hours: M-F 7:30 am - 5:00 pm
- email: bbhelp@ucmo.edu
- Live Chat can be accessed from the Blackboard login page, when available
- You can submit an electronic request for Blackboard help on this form:
http://www.ucmo.edu/surveys/?formID=1954
- Tutorials and Help information available on the Blackboard login page may be helpful
UCM technical support for issues unrelated to Blackboard can be accessed at this webpage:
http://www.ucmo.edu/ot/students/
TECHNOLOGY REQUIREMENTS/BLACKBOARD NAVIGATION
To get started with the course, go to: http://courses.ucmo.edu
You will need your UCM username and password to log in to the course. If you do not know, or
cannot remember your information, please refer to this document:
http://www.ucmo.edu/ot/documents/studentIDPW.pdf
All of the information you need concerning Blackboard hardware, software, and plug-ins can be
accessed from the Blackboard login page or at
http://www.ucmo.edu/centralnet/Blackboard/student_help.html
If you are new to Blackboard, this tutorial walks you through the process of getting started,
beginning with performing a browser check:
http://ucmo.edu/centralnet/Blackboard/help/bb_getting_started.pdf
Blackboard
The asynchronous component of the class (uploading assignments) will take place on
Blackboard. The course access is at http://ucmo.blackboard.com/webapps/login/.
UNIVERSITY POLICIES AND PROCEDURES
Academic Honesty: Honesty in all endeavors is essential to the function of society. Honesty in
the classroom among students and between students and faculty is a matter that should
concern everyone in the university community. Please see the Central Handbook for the
complete policy, student responsibilities, and procedures for enforcement. This instructor will
enforce UCM’s Academic Honesty Policy as described in the Student Calendar/Handbook.
http://www.ucmo.edu/student/documents/honest.pdf
Early Alert: As part of the College of Education commitment to building a positive, studentcentered learning community that supports the success of every student, this faculty member
participates in the UCM Early Alert Program.
ADA: Students with documented disabilities who are seeking academic accommodations
should contact the Office of Accessibility Services, Union 222, (V) (TTY) 660-543-4421. ADA of
1990 requires post-secondary educational institutions to inform students with disabilities of their
right to equal opportunity in education and the availability of accommodations.
University of Central Missouri Office of Accessibility Services, ADA/504
Office: Elliot Union 222
Warrensburg, MO 64093
Contact: Barbara Mayfield mayfield@ucmo.edu
Phone: 660.543.4421
Fax: 660.543.4724
UCM’s Learning Management System meets ADA Compliance standards.
Compliance Web site: Blackboard’s Commitment to Accessibility
http://www.blackboard.com/Teaching-Learning/Learn-Resources/Accessibility.aspx