Information Services

Three hours of lecture per week. Selection, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation of information resources to meet individual and collective needs. Analysis of information environments, information flows, and user needs. Strategic uses of information in organizations. Design, management, and evaluation of information services and products.

This course is designed to be an introduction to:

• assessing information needs and information seeking behavior
• analyzing information environments (internal and external)
• matching needs to available resources (locating appropriate information resources; search strategies; forms of intellectual access)
• evaluating and analyzing information and information resources
• examining and evaluating existing information services
• planning, implementing, and evaluating new information services

in a variety of contexts and environments. This course is useful to those who are considering work as corporate information specialists; records managers; policy analysts; information brokers or consultants; reference librarians; networked information specialists.

Readings, discussion, projects, and guest speakers provide students with tools for:

• identifying information resources
• analyzing and evaluating information
• designing, planning, and evaluating information services