Information Professionals As Change Agents: Spring 2015

Instructor:

Brian Butler

School:

iSchool at Maryland

Semester:

Spring 2015

Description:

Information professionals work and live in environments that include technical infrastructures and systems, dynamic information resources, diverse populations with different culture backgrounds and psychological dispositions, and complex organizational and institutional structures. Faced with the daunting task of making sense of this, it is often tempting to take these environments as given – as rigid constraints that must be accounted for as we attempt to do our work.

However, thinking about organizations, institutions, and communities purely as constraining context overlooks a challenge that is central to the information profession – that of deploying information resources, services, and technologies in ways that change the organizations, institutions, and communities we are part of and make them better.

In education, business, non-profits, libraries, or government, information professionals are increasingly called upon to facilitate the reconceptualization and redesign of groups, teams, organizations, institutions, and communities. Whether as a leader, a consultant, an internal advisor, an active participant, or an affected stakeholder, you will be involved in efforts to change organizations.

Required Textbook:

There is no required textbook.

Link to Syllabus:

http://ischool.umd.edu/sites/default/files/syllabi/inst728pinfoprosaschangeagentsspring2015v1.pdf

21st Century Leadership: Spring 2014

Instructor:

Ann E. Prentice

School:

iSchool at Missouri

Semester:

Spring 2014

Description:

This elective course will be of interest to all students; those who aspire to leadership roles and those who participate in the activities of the organization under the leadership of another. Leadership is present in all cultures and in all eras and while it may be practiced in slightly different ways
depending on the cultural environment and time period, its basic principles remain constant. Leadership is a pervasive theme in nearly all aspects of a professional program and is one of the underlying elements of the iSchool programs.

This course, offered on the web, provides opportunities for discussion in on line fora, and for regular interaction. It also provides opportunities for each student to express her/his ideas in short, individual papers. Teaching, learning, and working in an online format is important to the ways in which we interact in the information age; the ways in
which we interact with our colleagues in the workplace and in professional societies as well as in numerous other interactions. The course provides an opportunity to become comfortable in this environment.

Required Textbook:

Miller, Steven J. 2011. Metadata for Digital Collections: A How-To-Do-Manual.

Link to Syllabus:

http://ischool.umd.edu/sites/default/files/syllabi/inst_660_21st_century_leadership_syllabus.pdf

Leadership in the Information Professions: Spring 2010

Instructor:

Ann E. Prentice

School:

iSchool at Maryland

Semester:

Spring 2010

Description:

This elective course will be of interest to all students; those who aspire to supervisory roles and those who participate in the activities of the organization under the leadership of another.
Leadership is a pervasive theme in nearly all aspects of a professional program and is one of the underlying elements of the iSchool program.

This course, offered on the web, provides opportunities for discussion in online fora, for small groups to work on projects, and for regular interaction. It also provides opportunities for each student to express her/his ideas in short, individual papers. Teaching, learning, and working in an online format is important to the ways in which we interact in the information age; the ways in which we interact with our colleagues in the workplace and in professional societies as well as in numerous other interactions. The course provides an opportunity to become comfortable in this environment.

Required Textbook:

Bennis, W. G. 2003. On Becoming a Leader, Rev. ed.

Hesselbein, F., Goldsmith, M. 2006. The Leader of the Future 2.

Link to Syllabus:

http://ischool.umd.edu/sites/default/files/syllabi/LBSC%20708F%20Prentice%20Spring%202010.pdf

Library Leadership Seminar: Summer 2014

Instructor:

Gregg S. Geary

School:

University of Hawaii

Semester:

Summer 2014

Description:

The future of librarianship depends on a new generation of leaders to manage and administer the information centers of the new century. This course is designed to help prepare students to fill these positions. It will examine the fundamental elements of leadership, including structural, political, human resource, and symbolic aspects, and how they apply to the library environment. Course content will include study of leaders in; history and literature, feature films and documentaries, case studies, and periodical literature. Students review the relative merits of various leaders through class discussion and writing. Students will learn how to think through complex leadership issues and apply leadership principles to provide maximal outcomes.

Required Textbook:

No required textbook.

Link to Syllabus:

http://www.hawaii.edu/lis/content/syllabi/693_gearys14.pdf