INF 390N.2 Seminar in Information Policy: Copyright, Privacy, and First Amendment Law

Course Description

To whomsoever much has been given, from him much will be required; and to whom much has been entrusted, of him a larger amount will be demanded.
Luke 12:48

As an information professional, you will be entrusted with shaping the future of our society’s ability to create, access, and use information. You are preparing to enter the information profession at the most exciting time in history – exciting and even tumultuous because of the rapid and constant changes in our world that greatly effect how we as a society create, access, use, and think about information, as well as changes within the world of information itself. Our profession plays a huge role in determining how we as a society create, access, use, and think about information. More than ever, it is imperative that information professionals are knowledgeable about and able to adapt, apply, and contribute to the interpretation and development of laws and ethics effecting information. As a professional, you must be prepared able to answer questions such as: how can your institution make use of peer-to-peer technology without violating copyright law? what do you do when your library receives a national security letter ordering you to turn over use library records? how do you respond to community demands to remove certain books from your shelves or install specific filtering software? Most importantly: what is your responsibility and your role in joining the national debates on these and related issues? This course will introduce you to three of the most important such areas at this time: copyright, First Amendment law, and privacy law. You will learn the basics of the law in these areas and how to consider their application and import in the context of ethics and policy.

Course Objectives

· Learn how to read and analyze case law and statutes
· Learn the basics of copyright law and know how to apply copyright law to both traditional and digital situations common in libraries
· Understand how the First Amendment applies to libraries and other information contexts
· Learn how to respond to censorship challenges to materials in all media and formats
· Understand the privacy rights of library users and employees
· Be able to articulate how these three areas of law effect information users’ ability to access and use information
· Understand the interaction between these areas of law and our professional ethics
· Understand your role in forming policy in these areas at all levels and methods for doing so