This page contains information about the coursework I am currently working on at West Chester University (M.A. in English with a concentration in Creative Writing) and have previously completed at Syracuse University (M.S. in Library and Information Science & Certificate of Advanced Study in Digital Libraries, 2008).

Fall 2009 – WCU

ENG605 – Poetry Workshop I

Spring 2009 – WCU

ENG619 – Cultural Studies: Pedagogy & Politics
w/ Victoria Tischio

Spring 2008 – SU

IST618 – Survey of Telecommunications & Information Policy
w/ Thomas Martin

“This course will use the context of information and communication technologies (ICT) in order to study the types of policies that are emerging. Comparisons will be made to existing policies for the pre-internet environment. In particular, students will acquire knowledge and skills regarding basic public policy issues of the digital economy, key concepts from economics, law, and political science as they apply to policy issues, policymaking processes and their impact on outcomes in specific situations, reference sources for information about policy issues, laws and proposed changes, policy analysis, impact assessment, and policy advocacy.”

IST637 – Digital Information Retrieval Services
w/ Angela Ramnarine Rieks (Adjunct)

“This course provides an overview of multiple types of digital searching tools such as commercial bibliographic databases, Web search tools, and other specialty search tools. The focus is on selection, understanding and use of search tools, search tool funding, and evaluation of tools and results. The goal of this class is to teach about the current environment of digital information retrieval services. Some conceptual issues, such as database structure, language issues, database selection, search strategies, and evaluation of results will also be addressed.”

Fall 2007 – SU

IST614 – Management Principles for Info. Professionals
w/ William Gibbons

“This course introduces you to the profession, practice, and point of view of management in the information field. It will introduce you to some of the issues, principles and techniques of practicing managers. It is designed to illustrate those management themes which are common to all organizational contexts – for-profit firms, private non-profit agencies, and public sector institutions – both large and small.”

Summer 2007 – SU

IST600 – Grant Writing and Fund Development
w/ Sari Feldman (Adjunct)

IST759 – Planning and Designing Digital Library Services
w/ R. David Lankes
Final Exam blog: http://ist759.blogspot.com/

Students will implement open source digital library applications including LAMP; Blogs and Blogging Software; Tomcat; Nutch and Web Searching software; TikiWiki and Web Content Management Systems.

Spring 2007 – SU

IST677 – Creating and Managing Digital Assets
w/ Jill Hurst-Wahl

This course provides an examination of issues and trends involved in transferring analog and paper-based collections (including manuscripts, photographs, videos and films) into digital collections. Upon completion of this course, students will: understand all aspects of a digitization program; be conversant in the terminology used when discussing digitization; and have theoretical and practical knowledge that would be of value to many organization that are considering digitization program.

IST613 – Library Systems and Processes
w/Swati Bhattacharyya

In this class, students will explore the underlying systems, processes, and workflows that are essential to collection development, administrative functions, and evaluation. By the end of the course, the students will understand how print and electronic documents are created, published, and acquired by the library; identify core user groups and key characteristics of the information types and genres they require through analysis of user needs, the user base, and the collection; understand how to market their collections and services to the user base; be able to assess library collections and services from both the user and the librarian perspectives; understand the basic components of library automation systems and how to evaluate those systems; and be able to apply planning, marketing, and assessing skills to public services.

Fall 2006 – SU

IST676 – Digital Libraries
w/ Joanne Silverstein

This course focuses on the emerging concept of the digital library (DL) along a number of dimensions: an understanding of what Digital Libraries (DLs) are and what the emerging roles for DLs are; becoming versant in the vocabulary of DLs; assessing the social, economic, and technological environment that is encompassed by the growing interest in DLs; acquiring knowledge and understanding of major issues that constitute the basis of DLs; developing an understanding of current technologies associated with the development and implementation of DLs; studying and evaluating major national and international DL projects; preparing students to work productively and creatively in the DL environment; and giving students the opportunity to plan a digital library.

IST605 – Information Resources: Users & Services
w/ Megan Oakleaf

This course covers the use of information resources and service provision in libraries. It assumes an integrated approach, combining print and electronic resources and comprehensive services in a broad range of contexts. Student learning outcomes include developing an awareness of the principles of reference services; recognizing differences in the delivery of services in public, school, academic, and special libraries; and developing essential reference service techniques.

IST616 – Information Resources: Organization & Access
w/ Jian Qin

This course is an introductory survey of principles, techniques, and standards used in information systems to represent and organize information. The course gives students practical experience learning basic bibliographic description; standards for data encoding; knowledge structures (LCSH, LCC, and Dewey); Use of knowledge structures in indexing and classifying information; the characteristics of presently available systems and how different system components work together.

Summer 2006 – SU

IST601 – Information and Information Environments
w/ Raymond F. von Dran, Robert Heckman, & Gisela M. von Dran

“This course brings together beginning students from all three of the School’s master’s level programs to share their perspectives on various issues and topics. Course objectives are; to provide a broad overview of the information field, the emerging digital information environment, and the information professions; to provide an understanding of the philosophy, degree programs, and research focus of the School of Information Studies; and to facilitate professional interaction among students from all three of IST’s master’s degree programs.”

IST 511 – Introduction to the Library and Information Profession
w/ Scott Nicholson & Natasha Cooper

“This course surveys the professional, social, ethical, and legal issues that affect information service professionals and organizations and prepares students for their graduate work at Syracuse. The course introduces librarianship, libraries and the library profession—past, present and future; the phenomenon of recorded knowledge and information; a user-oriented perspective on information science; key components of the library and information field and its relationship to other professions; the skills and values of the profession; major issues facing the profession; the literature of librarianship and other cognate fields; the contexts in which library and information science professionals typically work; and the place of librarianship and other information professions in the evolving information infrastructure of the 21st century.”