Course Assignments

Below is a list of several of the assignments from my time at SI. Partners are listed where relevant; any assignments without someone else listed were completed by me on my own. Descriptions are provided for each as well as links when possible.

SI 647 – Information Resources and Services (Fall 2009)

This course introduced the principles and practices of reference and information services by providing practical guidelines for evaluating and using a variety of information sources in different formats. This particular assignment called for a group of three to create a pathfinder, which is a bibliographic tool designed to guide users through the beginning of the research process and get them started. Pathfinders provide a carefully selected list of resources in a variety of formats as well as guidance on how and why to use these sources. Each group had to select a topic and the research, plan, and develop a pathfinder targeted toward a specific user group for a specific library. We chose to create a pathfinder for graduate students who need résumé help. Our pathfinder can be viewed here.

Group Members and Their Roles

Katie Ringenbach: Find and annotate sources
Caroline Moran: Take text and add HTML to format it to create webpage
Emily Tobin: Write about the process of creating our pathfinder, what a pathfinder is, and what ours is about

SI 638 – School Library Media Management (Winter 2010)

This course focused on the theoretical and practical issues librarians encounter in the organization and administration of school library media programs. It covered topics such as the general management of such programs as well as specific aspects such as budgeting and finance, facilities' design, personnel, technology, public and organization relations, collection development, and evaluation. We had several assignments over the course of the semester that dealt with these topics, some of which are listed below.

Reflective Journal

One of the requirements for this class was to create and maintain a blog in which we were to make regular, reflective posts over the course of the semester as well as comment on one another's posts. These posts were made on a weekly basis, with the first reflecting on the readings for the upcoming class and the other containing thoughts about the class discussion after the fact. We were also occasionally given prompts for posts. My posts for this class can be found here.

Book Review Project

This assignment required selecting and reading a professional book on an aspect of K-12 education with which we were not already familiar. We then had to choose and use a Web 2.0 tool to summarize the key points of the book and propose ways school librarians could meet the goals outlined in the book. I chose Readicide by Kelly Gallagher and Prezi to present my summary of it, which can be seen here.

School Library Website

Partner: Elizabeth Griffin
The final project for this course called for students to work in pairs to create a school library website. The website had to address many of the topics we covered over the course of the semester, such as practical policies and procedures and some of the many issues faced by school libraries and their librarians. We chose to use Google Sites to build our website and created a library for a Catholic K-8 elementary school. Our website can be seen here.

SI 624 – Media for Children and Young Adults (Fall 2010)

This course provided an introduction to literature and media for children and young adults along with strategies and resources for using them in libraries and other settings. This introduction involved a survey of media for youth of all ages (babies through high school) and in all formats (books, magazines, multimedia), as well as the evaluation of these materials by using resources such as journals, reviews, blogs, and awards lists. We also learned how to take into account the reading habits, abilities, and interests that vary by ability, age, and other demographics when selecting materials. We had several assignments over the course of the semester that dealt with these topics, some of which are listed below.

Media Log

One of the major assignments for this course involved evaluating media for children of all ages in terms of its contents and merits. It required reading/viewing and reviewing 50 items in a variety of formats targeted towards youth and posting the reviews online in a media log. I chose to post these reviews here on WordPress. A post with a color-coded table that links to all of the items I reviewed for my media log can be found here.

Illustrator Presentation

This assignment involved critically evaluating a children's book illustrator and presenting an overview of their life, work, and style using the Pecha Kucha presentation methodology. Classmates were also provided with a handout that summarized the presentation. I chose Tomie dePaola as the subject of my presentation, and its slides can be viewed here.

Professional Article

This assignment involved exploring a topic related to the course content by writing professional article using the submission guidelines for a chosen publication. I chose to examine online social cataloging websites (GoodReads, LibraryThing, and Shelfari in particular) in terms of their purpose and features, as well as how they might be used in a library setting. I used Library Student Journal's submission criteria when writing my article.

SI 645 – Information Use in Communities (Winter 2011)

This course provided the opportunity to examine information seeking and usage in a variety of communities with the goal of understanding how information contributes to the functioning of these communities. Coursework included the discussion of several readings and analyzing presentations given by individuals working a in a variety of fields through the creation and compilation of frameworks. We also had one major project for the course in which we had to pick a community of users and examine their information needs, usage, and habits. This is described below.

Analytical Paper

Partner: Emily Tobin
We chose to examine comics fans for this project, as both of us are lifelong comics fans. While there is significant information available on what comics are as well as numerous recommendations for titles to read, there is little to no academic research on why people read comics and what their information usage is regarding comics. We ended up conducting original research through the form of an online survey that was employed twice, which we then analyzed for our paper and presented a summary of through a presentation at the end of the semester. The slides for our final presentation can be viewed here.

SW 663 – Grantgetting, Contracting, and Fundraising (Winter 2011)

This course offered by the School of Social Work was taken to fulfill SI's cognate class requirement. We learned how human service organizations secure resources through a variety of venues, how to assess an agency's resource mix, and how to repackage or expand its revenue streams. Assignments involved examining and critiquing a grant proposal in a paper, summarizing and presenting one of the readings for the course, and creating and outlining a fundraising plan for an organization in a paper. We also had to give a presentation on either our grant proposal critique or fundraising plan.

Grant Proposal Critique

Partner: Emily Tobin
This assignment involved reviewing, analyzing, and critiquing a grant proposal. The grant proposal we examined for this assignment was provided to me by my supervisor at the University of Michigan Depression Center.

Fundraising Plan

Partner: Emily Tobin
This assignment involved examining the revenue mix and financial stability of an organization in order to develop a plan to increase and/or improve its revenue structure. We chose to examine Big Rapids Community Library, as Emily had worked there in the past and was very familiar with the library. We also chose to present this plan to the class for our final presentation, the slides for which can be viewed here.



Caroline Moran
Home	Classes Taken	Course Projects	Course Assignments	Practical Experience

Course Assignments Below is a list of several of the assignments from my time at SI. Partners are listed where relevant; any assignments without someone else listed were completed by me on my own. Descriptions are provided for each as well as links when possible. SI 647 – Information Resources and Services (Fall 2009) This course introduced the principles and practices of reference and information services by providing practical guidelines for evaluating and using a variety of information sources in different formats. This particular assignment called for a group of three to create a pathfinder, which is a bibliographic tool designed to guide users through the beginning of the research process and get them started. Pathfinders provide a carefully selected list of resources in a variety of formats as well as guidance on how and why to use these sources. Each group had to select a topic and the research, plan, and develop a pathfinder targeted toward a specific user group for a specific library. We chose to create a pathfinder for graduate students who need résumé help. Our pathfinder can be viewed here. Group Members and Their Roles Katie Ringenbach: Find and annotate sources Caroline Moran: Take text and add HTML to format it to create webpage Emily Tobin: Write about the process of creating our pathfinder, what a pathfinder is, and what ours is about SI 638 – School Library Media Management (Winter 2010) This course focused on the theoretical and practical issues librarians encounter in the organization and administration of school library media programs. It covered topics such as the general management of such programs as well as specific aspects such as budgeting and finance, facilities' design, personnel, technology, public and organization relations, collection development, and evaluation. We had several assignments over the course of the semester that dealt with these topics, some of which are listed below. Reflective Journal One of the requirements for this class was to create and maintain a blog in which we were to make regular, reflective posts over the course of the semester as well as comment on one another's posts. These posts were made on a weekly basis, with the first reflecting on the readings for the upcoming class and the other containing thoughts about the class discussion after the fact. We were also occasionally given prompts for posts. My posts for this class can be found here. Book Review Project This assignment required selecting and reading a professional book on an aspect of K-12 education with which we were not already familiar. We then had to choose and use a Web 2.0 tool to summarize the key points of the book and propose ways school librarians could meet the goals outlined in the book. I chose Readicide by Kelly Gallagher and Prezi to present my summary of it, which can be seen here. School Library Website Partner: Elizabeth Griffin The final project for this course called for students to work in pairs to create a school library website. The website had to address many of the topics we covered over the course of the semester, such as practical policies and procedures and some of the many issues faced by school libraries and their librarians. We chose to use Google Sites to build our website and created a library for a Catholic K-8 elementary school. Our website can be seen here. SI 624 – Media for Children and Young Adults (Fall 2010) This course provided an introduction to literature and media for children and young adults along with strategies and resources for using them in libraries and other settings. This introduction involved a survey of media for youth of all ages (babies through high school) and in all formats (books, magazines, multimedia), as well as the evaluation of these materials by using resources such as journals, reviews, blogs, and awards lists. We also learned how to take into account the reading habits, abilities, and interests that vary by ability, age, and other demographics when selecting materials. We had several assignments over the course of the semester that dealt with these topics, some of which are listed below. Media Log One of the major assignments for this course involved evaluating media for children of all ages in terms of its contents and merits. It required reading/viewing and reviewing 50 items in a variety of formats targeted towards youth and posting the reviews online in a media log. I chose to post these reviews here on WordPress. A post with a color-coded table that links to all of the items I reviewed for my media log can be found here. Illustrator Presentation This assignment involved critically evaluating a children's book illustrator and presenting an overview of their life, work, and style using the Pecha Kucha presentation methodology. Classmates were also provided with a handout that summarized the presentation. I chose Tomie dePaola as the subject of my presentation, and its slides can be viewed here. Professional Article This assignment involved exploring a topic related to the course content by writing professional article using the submission guidelines for a chosen publication. I chose to examine online social cataloging websites (GoodReads, LibraryThing, and Shelfari in particular) in terms of their purpose and features, as well as how they might be used in a library setting. I used Library Student Journal's submission criteria when writing my article. SI 645 – Information Use in Communities (Winter 2011) This course provided the opportunity to examine information seeking and usage in a variety of communities with the goal of understanding how information contributes to the functioning of these communities. Coursework included the discussion of several readings and analyzing presentations given by individuals working a in a variety of fields through the creation and compilation of frameworks. We also had one major project for the course in which we had to pick a community of users and examine their information needs, usage, and habits. This is described below. Analytical Paper Partner: Emily Tobin We chose to examine comics fans for this project, as both of us are lifelong comics fans. While there is significant information available on what comics are as well as numerous recommendations for titles to read, there is little to no academic research on why people read comics and what their information usage is regarding comics. We ended up conducting original research through the form of an online survey that was employed twice, which we then analyzed for our paper and presented a summary of through a presentation at the end of the semester. The slides for our final presentation can be viewed here. SW 663 – Grantgetting, Contracting, and Fundraising (Winter 2011) This course offered by the School of Social Work was taken to fulfill SI's cognate class requirement. We learned how human service organizations secure resources through a variety of venues, how to assess an agency's resource mix, and how to repackage or expand its revenue streams. Assignments involved examining and critiquing a grant proposal in a paper, summarizing and presenting one of the readings for the course, and creating and outlining a fundraising plan for an organization in a paper. We also had to give a presentation on either our grant proposal critique or fundraising plan. Grant Proposal Critique Partner: Emily Tobin This assignment involved reviewing, analyzing, and critiquing a grant proposal. The grant proposal we examined for this assignment was provided to me by my supervisor at the University of Michigan Depression Center. Fundraising Plan Partner: Emily Tobin This assignment involved examining the revenue mix and financial stability of an organization in order to develop a plan to increase and/or improve its revenue structure. We chose to examine Big Rapids Community Library, as Emily had worked there in the past and was very familiar with the library. We also chose to present this plan to the class for our final presentation, the slides for which can be viewed here.