LIS 493 -- Intellectual Freedom and Censorship

 

Many thanks for Mary Minow and Glen Secor for their permission to use parts of the

syllabus they created for Summer 06 LIS 493.

 

LIS 493 -- Intellectual Freedom and Censorship Course Description Course Goals Reccommended Texts: Important Web Links Reccommended Readings SECTION ONE: INTELLECTUAL FREEDOM & CENSORSHIP SECTION TWO: PRIVACY SECTION THREE: COPYRIGHT

 

Course Description

Libraries are not just places to get books. They are institutions safeguarding public access to information and fighting against the erosion of that access. Concurrent with the explosion of information are attempts to curb and block out "inappropriate" information sources. This course will examine burning issues such as: whether the war on terror has pushed government surveillance of our reading behavior to new heights? And, has the resulting disappearance of government information necessary or excessive? This course will also examine how libraries and information access are caught in the crosshairs of the copyright wars.

 

Furthermore, the future of the library depends greatly on pending legislation and litigation concerning copyright and technological protection measures. To have a voice in these decisions that will affect every library and every patron, librarians need to be informed on these vital issues.

 

Course Goals

• have a basic understanding of the First Amendment as it applies to libraries, book challenges and Internet websites available through libraries

 

• analyze and critique library policies on collection development, challenges to library materials, patron privacy and copyright

 

• demonstrate basic understanding of how to respond to requests for patron information by law enforcement and by other third parties

 

• demonstrate knowledge of key copyright concepts and licensing terms, as well as tips on negotiating licenses to best provide access to material for their clientele

 

 

 

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Reccommended Texts:

 

Intellectual Freedom Manual, 7th ed. American Library Assn. 2006

Minow, M. & Lipinski, T. The Library's Legal Answer Book. American Library Assn. 2003

Crews, K. Copyright Law for Librarians and Educators, 2nd ed. American Library Assn. 2006

 

 

Important Web Links

(All links are active as of 9/12/2006)

 

United States Constitution: First Amendment

How long has it been since you had to read this?

http://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/constitution.overview.html

LibraryLaw blog

An excellent blog site run by Mary Minow that looks at the law as it directly relates to libraries.

http://blog.librarylaw.com

 

American Library Association. Newsletter on Intellectual Freedom.

Accessible only if an ALA member.

http://www.ala.org/ala/oif/oifprograms/ifpubs/nif/newsletterintellectual.htm

 

LISNews

A searchable site of all news pertaining to libraries.

http://lisnews.org

 

American Library Association. Intellectual Freedom Toolkit.

A great resource of information on intellectual freedom.

http://www.ala.org/ala/oif/iftoolkits/intellectual.htm

 

American Library Association. Library Bill of Rights.

If you don't know what this is, just go home :)

http://www.ala.org/ala/oif/statementspols/statementsif/librarybillrights.htm

Digital Millenium Copyright Act of 1998. Summary.

A concise summary of the DMCA.

http://www.copyright.gov/legislation/dmca.pdf#search=%22DMCA%22

 

 

 

 

Reccommended Readings

 

Lester Asheim. Not Censorship But Selection, Wilson Library Bulletin, (September 1953), 63-67. http://tinyurl.com/jrzek

Henry Cohen and Mary Minow, Intellectual Freedom, Then and Now, Advances in Librarianship 2006 (forthcoming) at http://www.librarylaw.com/advances.doc

Freedom to Read Foundation News. http://www.ala.org/ala/ourassociation/othergroups/ftrf/ftrfinaction/ftrfnews/ftrfnews.htm

Notable First Amendment Court Cases. See esp. Bd. of Ed. Island Trees v. Pico, Case v. Unified Sch. Dist., Campbell v. St. Tammany Parish Sch. Bd., and Sund v. City of Wichita Falls

http://www.ala.org/ala/oif/firstamendment/courtcases/courtcases.htm

Anti-Defamation League. Public Libraries: A New Forum for Extremists? (2002)

http://www.adl.org/Civil_Rights/LibrariesExtremism.pdf

Meeting Rooms: An Interpretation of the Library Bill of Rights http://tinyurl.com/q5yfj

Labels and Rating Systems: An Interpretation of the Library Bill of Rights

The Q & A on labels and ratings systems is also very interesting http://www.ala.org/ala/oif/statementspols/statementsif/interpretations/statementlabeling.htm

 

Deborah Caldwell-Stone, "Movie Ratings are Private, Not Public Policy,", Illinois Library Association Reporter 22:2 (2004) p. 10-13. http://www.ila.org/pub/reporter/vol22no2.pdf

 

Parents Against Bad Books http://www.pabbis.com/

 

Susan Nevelow Mart. Protecting the Lady from Toledo: Post-USA PATRIOT Act Electronic Surveillance at the Library, Law Library Journal, (2004) 96:3, pp. 449-473. http://www.aallnet.org/products/2004-27.pdf

 

(There's a good breakdown of the Nevelow Mart article available at LibraryLaw blog: http://blog.librarylaw.com/librarylaw/2004/08/at_least_one_li.html)

 

Liblicense: http://www.library.yale.edu/~llicense/index.shtml

 

American Library Association, Office of Intellectual Freedom Issues sites:

USA PATRIOT Act

http://www.ala.org/Template.cfm?Section=ifissues&Template=/ContentManagement/ContentDisplay.cfm&ContentID=76879

CIPA

http://www.ala.org/ala/washoff/WOissues/civilliberties/cipaweb/cipa.htm

DOPA

http://www.ala.org/ala/washoff/WOissues/techinttele/dopa/DOPA.htm

Privacy

http://www.ala.org/ala/washoff/WOissues/civilliberties/privacy/privacy.htm

 

American Library Association, Federal Issues sites:

Libraries as Creatures of Copyright (PDF)

http://www.ala.org/ala/washoff/WOissues/copyrightb/copylib.pdf

Duration of Copyright Protection

http://www.ala.org/ala/washoff/WOissues/copyrightb/copyrightarticle/durationcopyright.htm

Grokster

http://www.ala.org/al_onlineTemplate.cfm?Section=july2005a&Template=/ContentManagement/ContentDisplay.cfm&ContentID=97969

Distance Education and the TEACH Act

http://www.ala.org/ala/washoff/WOissues/copyrightb/distanceed/distanceeducation.htm

DMCA

http://www.ala.org/ala/washoff/WOissues/copyrightb/dmca/dmcadigitalmillenium.htm

DRM

http://www.ala.org/ala/washoff/WOissues/copyrightb/digitalrights/digitalrightsmanagement.htm

RIAA

http://www.ala.org/ala/washoff/WOissues/copyrightb/copyrightagenda/other.htm

(Scroll down a bit too see the RIAA cases with individual links)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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SECTION ONE: INTELLECTUAL FREEDOM & CENSORSHIP

 

• Current events in library censorship (excluding privacy issues) with legal context. Students will learn to distinguish legal and ethical practices. Important differences between private, school, and public libraries will be highlighted (ex: in loco parentis obligations of school libraries.)

 

• Examine elements of strong collection development policies, Internet policies and materials challenges procedures. Seek examples on internet and discuss.

 

• Dissect library policies that deal with patron speech and patron behavior (ex: meeting rooms, homeless patrons, etc...) Can a library prohibit religious services in its meeting rooms? Political flyers in the lobby? Porn viewing and masturbation at Internet terminals?

 

 

 

SECTION TWO: PRIVACY

 

• Learn to distinguish between employee speech rights in the public and private workplace. Can employees wear political buttons, complain to the press about safety hazards, low pay and bad bosses?

 

• How courts have interpreted legal doctrine of the "chilling effect" ... in which books are not explicitly censored, but fear of government intrusion can prevent users from reading. What topics would you be afraid of reading about or checking out of the library or searching for on the internet?

 

• Legislation and other regulations of speech are proliferating at the federal and state levels. This session will examine some of the more well-known regulations and their potential effect on patron privacy. (In Summer 2006, guest speaker for this session was Kathy Glick-Weil, Director of the Newton Free Library in Newton, MA, who was involved in a recent high-profile Patriot Act incident.)

 

 

• Examine real world library privacy policies, including their underlying goals and the ways in which they have and have not evolved in the face of increased governmental privacy regulation.

 

 

 

SECTION THREE: COPYRIGHT

 

• Copyright is pervasive through librarianship and teaching. It touches on acquisitions, interlibrary loan, document delivery, access to databases, digital archives, and patron use of library materials. Examine "copyrightability," duration of copyright (Mickey Mouse Act) and ownership of copyright.

 

• At the heart of copyright law exists a balance, or at least the attempt at maintaining a balance, between the rights of the copyright owner and free access to and usage of copyrighted material for certain socially-beneficial purposes. Fair use and related exceptions to copyright protection are critical to this balance. Librarians work on-the-front lines of fair use battles, often acting as society's conscience in matters dealing with access to information. Examine the law and logic of fair use and related doctrines. Peer-to-Peer file sharing and digital rights management have moved copyright law to the forefront of discussion. Also read and look at the DMCA as it related to libraries and infringement.

 

• Copyright law and contract law are the pillars for the acquisition and management of library materials. This is a nuts-and-bolts of content licensing, including database and software licensing.

 

• Copyright law and contract law do not always exist harmoniously. Indeed, a key purpose of many licenses is to take access to and usage of content out of the realm of copyright law (and such user-oriented privileges such as fair use and first sale) and into the world of contract law. Discuss the move of information policy towards the licensing of content, including, ultimately, the shrinkage of the public domain.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Time: 11:40-12:25

Location: Room E303