Lower East Side librarian

Week Three Getting Started

New folks

Pronouns

Relationship to libraries

Something that impacts how you exist in the world

Smell you like

 

Returning people 

Joy or gratitude

 

Administrativa

Google suite vs. Brightspot

Book panels

Reflection assignments

 

Readings

Discuss in breakout rooms with these guiding questions (and meanwhile I’ll be sorting the book panels)

Rubin

• “The foundation of contemporary information science rested heavily on the development of computers following World War II.” - Are information science (and computing) are explicitly connected to global competition?

• What do you perceive to be the differences between library science and information science? Should they be considered separate disciplines? E.g., “Indeed, IS has sometimes been characterized as deinstitutionalized library science.” Does “deinstitutionalized” give “disruptor” energy? (has earlier roots but is related to “move fast and break things” a la DOGE). Related, re: Figure 7.1, does “traditional” have negative connotations?

• Re: “guidance and assistance” (page 398), how might 21st century reference work differ from that of previous eras?

• “Historically, reference librarians were instructed [by whom?] not to probe why a particular question was asked for fear of violating the person’s privacy and thus deterring someone from seeking help. Today we know this practice is not consistent with research on information seeking. When someone seeks information to solve a problem, LIS professionals can help only if they can distinguish between wants and needs.” Does it seem true to you that we need the context of a question? Is the answer different if you’re an archivist vs a librarian? 

• How does a librarian or information scientist respond to the findings reported on page 404 about how children and teens do research?

• Re: Big Data relies on Smart Data, do you organize the photos on your phone? Does your OS tag them for you/do a good job of it?

• How did this article make you feel? 

Cooke

• If this is your first class, you may not have an empirical answer to this, but in this case, you can go off vibes. :) “aspiring information professionals are trained and encouraged to exhibit compassion and leadership as demonstrated in Ferguson, MO” is this true? 

• Do you agree with Cooke’s point about autoethnography (4th page of the pdf)? Can you think of other values or detractions from using self-study based methods? 

• Does “radical honesty” belong in a classroom? From the teacher, as well as from the students? How about in professional settings, e.g., a reference desk, a library instruction session, a one-on-one consultation? 

• “instructors should subscribe to continuous learning and expanding their own knowledge and edification.” How do you balance your own learning with that of your students–and make sure it doesn’t come at the students’ expense? Is the answer different if you are white/white presenting vs. easily identified as a person of color (in the case of addressing issues of race and ethnicity, or transgender in the case of issues of gender, etc.)?

• Same question with regard to bringing your whole and authentic self to the classroom when your identities are majoritized, especially if some/most of your students do not hold majoritized identities. Should library and archives workers be required to demonstrate their understanding of systems of oppression before being hired?   

• How did this article make you feel? 

 

Wrap Up

We addressed race today. Please feel encouraged to reach out to me if you have feelings–good or bad–about how that went. My office hours are by appointment. https://barnard.libcal.com/appointments/jenna-freedman 

Readings for next week: Gibson et al and Scott et al. You do not need to read Rubin.

free:

• 7000
• lis

Week 2: What Is Information? New folks intros

• Pronouns
• Relationship to libraries
• Something that impacts how you exist in the world
• Smell you like

Everyone else: joy or gratitude

Logistics Zotero Sci-Hub

DOIt Yourself

Readings

• How they relate to data, information, knowledge, wisdom

Buckland Bates Fallis Close out

Discuss book panels and other assignments

Next week’s readings: use Google docs to comment, ask, and reply to questions

free:

• 7000
• fall 2025

Until I'm fully in the QC systems and can log into the class LMS, I'm going to use this olde blog for class content. Maybe we'll even stick with it!

Here's what the syllabus says for Week 1:

• Faculty Introduction
• Student Introductions
• Syllabus and Schedule
• Activity: What is Information?

Professor intro and class expectations (5 minutes)(15 minutes - 5 in the room, 10 to discuss)

I'll introduce myself, and then we can talk about any ground rules we want to have for the class. We'll do this in small groups, which I hope will ease awkwardness about sharing our needs and concerns. 

Student intro questions (pick whichever you like to respond to) (30 minutes)

• pronouns
• your relationship to libraries
• something that impacts how you interact with the world--could be identities, astrological sign, birth order place, MBTI type, etc. 
• a smell you like

Syllabus and Schedule (10 minutes)

• Tuesdays aren't always Tuesdays!
• How to access the readings
• Next week's readings
• How to communicate with me and with each other

Break (10 minutes)

Depending on how long other things take, the break could happen sooner, or if we have consensus, we can skip the break and try to end class earlier

What is information? exercise 

(2o minutes for the exercise; the rest of the time to discuss, possibly in small groups)

The above link will take you to a Google slide and ask you to make a copy. Do it!

The slide is meant to mimic graph paper. There are four quadrants. You'll work with them one at a time. If you have graph paper handy, feel welcome to use that instead. 

If time: Zotero!!!! Next Time

I like to start class with people sharing what they feel joy or gratitude for, so be ready for that. 

Can we get one person to introduce each text? 

• Give us an overview of the article
• What is the argument
• What is a question you have for the class

Buckland (1991), M.K. Information as thing. Journal of the American Society for Information Science. 42(5), 351-360

Bates, M.J. (2006) Fundamental forms of information. Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, 57(8), 1033-1045.

Bates, M. J. (2005). Information and knowledge: An evolutionary framework for information science. Information Research: An international electronic journal, 10(4), n4.

Fallis, D. (2015). What Is Disinformation? Library Trends, 63(3), 401–426.

free:

• 7000
• fall 2025