BEFORE THE START:
WHAT YOU NEED TO HAVE AND KNOW, AND HOW TO GET IT

Course prerequisites

 

Prerequisite courses: none.

 

Courses in the Master of Library and Information Science program are organized around six themes in the field of library and information science: human-interaction; organization of information; information access; information systems; management; and information and society. Six lead courses, one in each area, form the foundation of the curriculum and offer general knowledge of the major principles and issues of the field. Principles of Searching is the lead course for the theme Information Access. BUT: this course is a pre- or co-requisite for a number of other courses

 

Communication requirements:

    1. You must have a Rutgers University Computing Services (RUCS) email account (NetID). This is necessary for access to Rutgers Libraries and for Rutgers communication. You should received it at registration. But, just in case, if you do not have it yet, you can obtain the account from http://oit.rutgers.edu/services/account/quick.html. For students the domain is eden. Help contacts: help desk at 732-445-HELP, or email help@nbcs.rutgers.edu.
    2. However, for course communication you can use any other email account that includes capability of handling file attachments (AOL, Earthlink etc.).
    3. But whether you use Rutgers, AOL, or some other ISP, please make sure that you register your email address with the University at http://www.nbcs.rutgers.edu/services/communicating/email-overview.php
    4. You can have full access to resources in Rutgers University Libraries (RUL) by using your Rutgers NetID. For detail instructions, at http://www.libraries.rutgers.edu/  Connect from home; for use of RUL follow the links from How do I....? However, for other services (borrowing, interlibrary loan etc.) you must have a RUL card (with barcode as User ID) and password. To register with RUL go to http://www.libraries.rutgers.edu/rul/forms/reg_pin.shtml.
    5. To access searching on DialogWeb (http://www.dialogweb.com/), you must have a DIALOG account obtained for the semester from the instructor. But you may access tutorials and other information directly at http://training.dialog.com/tours/ without the account.
    6. To access other online services, you will obtain other accounts for the semester from the instructor.

Before (and during) the course, other bare necessities:

    1. eCollege: Please take the eCollege student tutorial before the course. The Student tutorial is listed on your personal student homepage. To access it, click on "Exit Course" at the bottom of the page. Then click on the "Student Tutorial" on your home page. Follow the instructions. Good luck! eCollege is intuitive to some extent only. Thus, tutorial and practice are a necessity.
    2. Email (this falls in the "of course" category, but it needs repeating): Make sure you are comfortable in handling of email, including attachments, and using listservs. Bootcamp tutorials, listed below, tell you all about email at Rutgers. Here is a general guide: http://www.learnthenet.com/english/section/email.html
    3. Word & PowerPoint (another "of course"): Being comfortable in using Word (or a Word-compatible processor) is a necessity. So is PowerPoint - the lectures are in PowerPoint. Electric Teacher has tutorials at http://www.electricteacher.com/index.htm. Purdue Writing Lab has instructions for downloading PowerPoint at http://owl.english.purdue.edu/workshops/pp/instruct.html
    4. Basic computer operations: if you are not yet versatile, please take MLIS tutorials as listed below.
    5. Basic Internet operations: includes logins, file transfers, downloading. Here is a tutorial by a librarian: http://library.albany.edu/internet/.
    6. Basics about the Web: For tutorial see: http://www.teachingideas.co.uk/welcome/ (from the UK);many others can be found on the web.
    7. Use of Rutgers University Libraries: Learning tools for students: http://www.libraries.rutgers.edu/rul/lib_instruct/instruct_tutorials.shtml . For SearchPath tutorial see: http://searchpath.libraries.rutgers.edu/
    8. Rutgers computing services for students: Here are links to various computing sites: http://www.eden.rutgers.edu/index.php. Software that you can download free as student (NetID needed) including anti-virus protection at https://software.rutgers.edu/?redirect=%2Fsearch%2Findex.php
    9. myRutgers: "the new personal, customizable, portal to Rutgers University. myRutgers helps make online services and information both faster and easier for you to find and manage." (NetID needed). Includes many services and channels at https://my.rutgers.edu/portal/

 A must: MLIS bootcamp tutorials: Go to:       http://www.scils.rutgers.edu/~ruasis/bootcamps/. Created by MLIS students for "MLIS students on some of the many technical skills that they will need in order to have a successful   school year." These guides and tutorials cover topics of direct interest to you, including computing at SCILS, use of Rutgers email and computing services, use of Rutgers Libraries, file management on your computer, and more.

 

The required competencies could be gained and sharpened through MLIS and Rutgers tutorials, as well as other online tutorials as found on, for instance, at http://www.refdesk.com/factbeg.html. There are many others - since this is a searching class, can you find any and recommend to your classmates? Please review your competencies through these tutorials! These topics will NOT be covered in the course, but the lectures, assignments, and exercises will be based on the assumption that you can handle these basics.