Courses taken at the ischool - University of Washington
All course descriptions taken from the iSchool website.
The Life Cycle of Information
Overview of the major concepts, processes and systems, actors, and operations in the life cycle of information. Introduction to the creation, publishing and distribution, evaluation and selection, organization, access, retrieval, and use of information. Exploration of the social context in which these processes and their stakeholders interact.
Archival and Manuscript Services
Selection, organization, and uses of archival and manuscript collections. Emphasis on the principles and techniques; some attention to the administration of state archival and historical institutions' collections. Lecture, demonstration, and laboratory.
Information Behavior
Introduction to the user-centered approach to information behavior. Theoretical foundations of need, creation, seeking, sharing, assessment, management, and use. Synthesis of information behavior studies, performance of information behavior field research, and application of the results of information behavior studies to design information systems, services, and policy.
Information Resources, Services, and Collections
Concepts, processes, and skills related to parts of the life cycle of knowledge involving creation, production, distribution, selection, collection, and services to facilitate access. Specific discussion topics include characteristics of recorded knowledge; organizations and services devoted to managing access to recorded knowledge; principles associated with development of recorded knowledge and collections.
Collection Development
Access to materials as context for development and management of library collections in academic, public, school libraries. Community analysis, library mission; collection development policies, criteria, levels, responsibilities; aids to selection; collection evaluation, use studies; controversial materials.
Adult Reader Services in the Public Library
Focuses on developing and performing readers' advisory services for contemporary adult fiction and non-fiction. Includes interpersonal and marketing skills necessary to promote reading including reading advocacy, readers' advisory interviewing, writing advisory annotations, presenting book talks, and conducting book discussion groups.
Genres for Adult Readers
Reviews characteristics of the most popular genres of fiction, including speculative fiction, mystery/thriller/suspense, romance, westerns, and graphic fiction/memoir. Helps to develop practice in book talking, preparing annotated booklists, and making reading suggestions to library users.
Organization of Information and Resources
Introduction to issues in organization of information and documents including: analysis of intellectual and physical characteristics of documents; principles and practice in surrogate creation, including standards and selection of metadata elements; theory of classification, including semantic relationships and facet analysis; creation of controlled vocabularies; and display and arrangement.
Catalogs, Cataloging, and Classification
Develops an understanding of library catalogs as information retrieval systems. Introduces library cataloging and classification. Focus on principles and standards in the creation of catalogs and cataloging records. Includes practice in descriptive and subject cataloging and classification. User perspective emphasized throughout.
Information and Society
Covers concepts, processes, and issues related to the larger social context within which the life cycle of information and knowledge in society are investigated. Discussion topics include codes of ethics, professionalization, privacy, freedom of expression, intellectual property, social inequalities, and quality of life.
Instructional and Training Strategies for Information Professionals
Develops knowledge and skills in instruction and training functions for library and information settings. Issues and strategies for learning and teaching. Design, development, and evaluation of information and technology literacy programs. Addresses the needs of users when designing and delivering instruction.
Research, Assessment, and Design
Students recognize research and design opportunities, translate them into researchable frameworks, and conduct research in libraries and other information agencies. Covers problem definition, data collection and analysis, design and validation of alternative solutions, and reporting of results.
Management of Information Organizations
Introduction to internal and external management issues and practices in information organizations. Internal issues include organizational behavior, organizational theory, personnel, budgeting, planning. External issues include organizational environments, politics, marketing, strategic planning, funding sources.
Special Librarianship
Seminar in the practice of special librarianship in business and industrial firms, government agencies, and the free-lance sector. User services and information resources.
Professional Portfolio
Preparation and presentation of reflective working and presentation portfolios representing the student's goals, achievements, knowledge and skills, experience, and professional objectives. Development of plans for ongoing professional development.
Database Concepts for Information Professionals
Introduces the terminology and concepts of working with relational database management systems. Emphasizes working with tables and extracting information from data using Structures Query Language (SQL) commands and tools.
Information Structures Using XML
Introduces the concepts and methods used to analyze, store, manage, and present information and navigation. Equal weight given to understanding structures and implementing them. Topics include information analysis and organizational methods as well as XML and metadata concepts and application.
Relational Database Management Systems
Introduction to relational database design and development theory, concepts, and skills, including traditional transactional database theory, architecture, and implementation in a user-centered systems context using SQL. Introduces database modeling, security, and privacy issues.
Special Topics: Online Dating
This class covers understanding the nature of romantic relationships and dating from an information perspective; history of online dating; exploration and comparison of different online dating sites, including those based on self-reports, psychological profiling, niche markets, location, trait verifiability, social online dating; and fieldwork and design recommendations for dating using online and mobile technology.
The Life Cycle of Information
Overview of the major concepts, processes and systems, actors, and operations in the life cycle of information. Introduction to the creation, publishing and distribution, evaluation and selection, organization, access, retrieval, and use of information. Exploration of the social context in which these processes and their stakeholders interact.
Archival and Manuscript Services
Selection, organization, and uses of archival and manuscript collections. Emphasis on the principles and techniques; some attention to the administration of state archival and historical institutions' collections. Lecture, demonstration, and laboratory.
Information Behavior
Introduction to the user-centered approach to information behavior. Theoretical foundations of need, creation, seeking, sharing, assessment, management, and use. Synthesis of information behavior studies, performance of information behavior field research, and application of the results of information behavior studies to design information systems, services, and policy.
Information Resources, Services, and Collections
Concepts, processes, and skills related to parts of the life cycle of knowledge involving creation, production, distribution, selection, collection, and services to facilitate access. Specific discussion topics include characteristics of recorded knowledge; organizations and services devoted to managing access to recorded knowledge; principles associated with development of recorded knowledge and collections.
Collection Development
Access to materials as context for development and management of library collections in academic, public, school libraries. Community analysis, library mission; collection development policies, criteria, levels, responsibilities; aids to selection; collection evaluation, use studies; controversial materials.
Adult Reader Services in the Public Library
Focuses on developing and performing readers' advisory services for contemporary adult fiction and non-fiction. Includes interpersonal and marketing skills necessary to promote reading including reading advocacy, readers' advisory interviewing, writing advisory annotations, presenting book talks, and conducting book discussion groups.
Genres for Adult Readers
Reviews characteristics of the most popular genres of fiction, including speculative fiction, mystery/thriller/suspense, romance, westerns, and graphic fiction/memoir. Helps to develop practice in book talking, preparing annotated booklists, and making reading suggestions to library users.
Organization of Information and Resources
Introduction to issues in organization of information and documents including: analysis of intellectual and physical characteristics of documents; principles and practice in surrogate creation, including standards and selection of metadata elements; theory of classification, including semantic relationships and facet analysis; creation of controlled vocabularies; and display and arrangement.
Catalogs, Cataloging, and Classification
Develops an understanding of library catalogs as information retrieval systems. Introduces library cataloging and classification. Focus on principles and standards in the creation of catalogs and cataloging records. Includes practice in descriptive and subject cataloging and classification. User perspective emphasized throughout.
Information and Society
Covers concepts, processes, and issues related to the larger social context within which the life cycle of information and knowledge in society are investigated. Discussion topics include codes of ethics, professionalization, privacy, freedom of expression, intellectual property, social inequalities, and quality of life.
Instructional and Training Strategies for Information Professionals
Develops knowledge and skills in instruction and training functions for library and information settings. Issues and strategies for learning and teaching. Design, development, and evaluation of information and technology literacy programs. Addresses the needs of users when designing and delivering instruction.
Research, Assessment, and Design
Students recognize research and design opportunities, translate them into researchable frameworks, and conduct research in libraries and other information agencies. Covers problem definition, data collection and analysis, design and validation of alternative solutions, and reporting of results.
Management of Information Organizations
Introduction to internal and external management issues and practices in information organizations. Internal issues include organizational behavior, organizational theory, personnel, budgeting, planning. External issues include organizational environments, politics, marketing, strategic planning, funding sources.
Special Librarianship
Seminar in the practice of special librarianship in business and industrial firms, government agencies, and the free-lance sector. User services and information resources.
Professional Portfolio
Preparation and presentation of reflective working and presentation portfolios representing the student's goals, achievements, knowledge and skills, experience, and professional objectives. Development of plans for ongoing professional development.
Database Concepts for Information Professionals
Introduces the terminology and concepts of working with relational database management systems. Emphasizes working with tables and extracting information from data using Structures Query Language (SQL) commands and tools.
Information Structures Using XML
Introduces the concepts and methods used to analyze, store, manage, and present information and navigation. Equal weight given to understanding structures and implementing them. Topics include information analysis and organizational methods as well as XML and metadata concepts and application.
Relational Database Management Systems
Introduction to relational database design and development theory, concepts, and skills, including traditional transactional database theory, architecture, and implementation in a user-centered systems context using SQL. Introduces database modeling, security, and privacy issues.
Special Topics: Online Dating
This class covers understanding the nature of romantic relationships and dating from an information perspective; history of online dating; exploration and comparison of different online dating sites, including those based on self-reports, psychological profiling, niche markets, location, trait verifiability, social online dating; and fieldwork and design recommendations for dating using online and mobile technology.