LIBR 561: Information Policy -- Course Syllabus (3)
Program: Master of Library and Information Studies
Year: 2008-2009 Winter Session, term 1
Course Schedule: Wednesdays, 6:00-8:50 pm
Location: IBLC, 461
Instructor: Heather Morrison & Devon Greyson
Office location: IBLC, room 489
Office phone: HM - 778.782.7001 DG - 604.822.7353
Office hours: TBA
E-mail address: hgmorris@gmail.com & devon@chspr.ubc.ca
Course website address: http://wiki.elearning.ubc.ca/InfoPolicy
Course Goal: Governments and institutions throughout the world develop policy, legislation, and regulation necessary build and rebuild information infrastructures. Technological, social, economic, and political changes are transforming our ideas of the value and position of information in society. Our world is in the process of profound changes - for good, or for ill. With core values such as access to information and protection of privacy, and expertise in areas such as information needs and the impact of information policy decisions, libraries and information professionals have an important role to play in shaping public policy relating to information.
Course Objectives:
Upon completion of this course, students will be able to:
- Understand and describe public policy
- Describe the relationship between public policy and information
- Describe the purpose of information policy
- Explain the political, social, economic, and technological changes underlying information legislation and regulation.
- Explain how information policy pertains to LIS, locally, nationally and internationally
- Demonstrate familiarity with current Canadian information policy issues
- Describe and compare recent and current information policy initiatives in other countries
- Create an information policy document in response to a public policy issue such as intellectual freedom, freedom of information, the economics of information access and distribution, copyright, privacy, library usage policies, media democracy, net neutrality, etc.
Course Topics:
- An introduction to the origins and development of information policy as a distinct discipline, and to current information policy issues
- Readings on public policy, the political economy of communication and information, and current issues related to copyright, privacy, intellectual freedom, and universal access
- Interpreting government and institutional policies that affect information transfer
Prerequisites: LIBR 500, LIBR 501
Pre- or Corequisites: 502, 503
Format of the Course: Class meets Wednesday evenings. Class sessions will be a combination of lectures, discussions, guest speakers and in-class exercises. Attendance at the Information Policy Conference in Vancouver this fall is expected.
Required and Recommended Reading:
-
Required:
- Textbook: Adams ,K.G, and Birdsall, W.F., eds. (2004). Access to Information in a Digital World. Ottawa: Canadian Library Association.
Other required readings will be available online or on course reserve.
Course Assignments, Due dates and Weight in relation to final course mark:
Assignment |
Due Dates |
Grade Weighting |
Assignment #1: Topic Leadership |
Varies |
15% |
Assignment #2: Paper Proposal |
Oct 8 |
5% |
Assignment #3: Action Package |
Oct 15 |
25% |
Assignment #4: Conference Report |
Oct 29 |
15% |
Assignment #5: Term Paper: Topic of Your Choice |
Nov 26 |
30% |
Class Participation |
Throughout |
10% |
Assignment #1 – Topic Leadership
In pairs/trios, you will be responsible for one topic covered in class. There are two main elements to this assignment:
-
You will be responsible for creating a wiki page relating to that topic. The initial wiki page must be up by the Monday preceding the class in which the topic is covered in class, but can be modified past that time. Wiki pages should give a summary of the issue, and contain no fewer than three annotated references to outside sources for more info on the topic.
-
You will be responsible for facilitating some class discussion on the topic. Come prepared with one or two thought-provoking discussion questions about the topic.
Assignment #2 – Paper Proposal
Early in the term, you will be required to submit a proposal or outline for your term paper. This is to ensure that a) the topic meets instructor approval, b) we have a variety of topics in the class, and c) we can help each other identify relevant source material. The proposal need only be one page in length, and should clearly identify your topic, research question or thesis, methods of investigation, and at least 3 specific sources (e.g. articles, websites, people you will interview) you expect to use.
Assignment #3 – Action Package
You will create an Action Package for a library or information group, organization, or association on an information policy issue. This Action Package should educate recipients on the topic and provide them with a way to become active with the issue. There should be three elements to the Action Package. Ideas for elements include, but are not limited to: Sample letter from organization to an appropriate policy-maker, proposal for a resolution for an organization to vote upon, education booklet or webpage, briefing/backgrounder handout for publicizing the issue, plan for a consciousness-raising event, YouTube or similar video about the issue, or podcast of an interview on the issue.
Assignment #4 – Conference Report
Attendance at the Information Policy Conference is mandatory for class participants.* Each of you will write up a brief (300-500 word) “report” for the BC Info Policy Blog, on one session/speaker/issue. Sessions will be assigned in advance of the conference.
*In the case of extenuating circumstances that prohibit conference attendance, please talk to us about alternative assignment arrangements at the beginning of the semester.
Assignment #5 - Term Paper
This is an academic paper on an information policy topic of your choosing. The paper should be 8-10 pages long and written in Turabian style. You must bring your paper to the last day of class to hand it in. Be prepared to make a brief (10 minute) presentation about it to the class.
Course Schedule:
Week |
Date |
Topics |
Readings/Assignments Due |
1 |
September 3 |
Welcome & Introduction |
Intro to course text: Adams/Birdsall |
2 |
September 10 |
Policy background |
Duff, A.S. (2004). The Past, present and Skim the following resources and do some Information Policy Blog Michael Geist Blog University of Toronto Information Policy Research Program : |
3 |
September 17 |
Media concentration & democracy of voice |
Standing Senate Committee on Transport and Communications. (2006). Final report on the Canadian news media, Vol 1 of 2. Read around on the website: |
4 |
September 24 |
Social inclusion & poverty issues in information access |
Pateman, J. (2000). Public libraries and social class. In Muddiman, Dave, Eds. Open to All? : the Public Library and Social Exclusion, chapter 3, Vol.3, pp.26-42. London: Resource: The Council for Museums, Archives and Libraries. Middleton , C.A. And Sorenson C. (2005) How connected are Canadians? Inequities in Canadian households' Internet access. Canadian Journal of Communication, 30 (4), 463-483. CLA. (1997). Canadian guidelines on library and information services for people with disabilities. |
5 |
October 1 |
Librarians Action & Advocacy: Public Consultations, Resolutions, Position Statements |
Birdsall from text BCLA Resolutions: CLA Position Statements: Canadian Library Association: Briefing Note to Members on Federal Budget 2007 ALA Office for Information Technology Policy: IFLA list of Library & Information Science Policy Statements |
6 |
October 8 |
Copyright & Intellectual property & Traditional Knowledge |
Paper Proposals Due (beginning of class) Scassa from text Reading on copyright legislation TBA Young-Ing, Greg (2006) Intellectual Property Rights, Legislated Protection, Sui Generis Models and Ethical Access in the Transformation of Indigenous Traditional Knowledge. Doctor of Philosophy, Educational Studies, University of British Columbia. – Chapter 1: Introduction and Chapter 10: Emerging Models and Strategies In E-LIS at |
7 |
October 15 |
FOI & Govt Info |
Action Package Due (beginning of class) BC Freedom of Information and Privacy Association Roberts-Moore, J. (2002). Establishing Recognition of Past Injustices: Uses of Archival Records in Documenting the Experience of Japanese Canadians During the Second World War. Archivaria 53: 64-75. |
8 |
October 22 |
No class. Oct 23-24 attend Info Policy Conference |
|
9 |
October 29 |
Privacy Issues |
Conference Reports Due (online, by 6:30 pm) Wilkinson from text Nissenbaum, H.F. (2004). Privacy as contextual integrity. Washington Law Review, 79(1), 119-158. Palen, L. and Dourish, P. (2003). Unpacking "privacy" for a networked world. In CHI '03: Proceedings of the SIGCHI conference on Human factors in computing systems, pages 129-136, New York, NY, USA. ACM Press. |
10 |
November 5 |
Telecom Policy: Overall, De/regulation issues, Internet specific issues |
Reddick from text Longford, G., Moll, M., and Shade, L.R. (2008). Look around: |
11 |
November 12 |
Int’l issues, trade treaties, etc. |
Access to knowledge TILMA The WIPO Overview: |
12 |
November 19 |
Intellectual Freedom & Censorship |
Asheim, L. (1953). Not censorship but selection. Wilson Library Bulletin, 28: 63-67. http://www.ala.org/ CLA position statement on Intellectual Freedom: Censorship in British Columbia timeline: Read around on the BCLA IFC's blog: |
13 |
November 26 |
Student term-paper presentations & class closure |
Term Papers Due (beginning of class) |
Attendance: The calendar states: “Regular attendance is expected of students in all their classes (including lectures, laboratories, tutorials, seminars, etc.). Students who neglect their academic work and assignments may be excluded from the final examinations. Students who are unavoidably absent because of illness or disability should report to their instructors on return to classes.”
Evaluation: All assignments will be marked using the evaluative criteria given on the SLAIS web site .
Written & Spoken English Requirement: Written and spoken work may receive a lower mark if it is, in the opinion of the instructor, deficient in English.
Disability Accommodation: The University accommodates students with disabilities who have registered with the Disability Resource Centre [http://www.students.ubc.ca/access/drc.cfm]. You must register with the Disability Resource Centre to be granted special accommodations for any on-going conditions.
Religious Accommodation: The University accommodates students whose religious obligations conflict with attendance, submitting assignments, or completing scheduled tests and examinations. Please let your instructor know in advance, preferably in the first week of class, if you will require any accommodation on these grounds. Students who plan to be absent for varsity athletics, family obligations, or other similar commitments, cannot assume they will be accommodated, and should discuss their commitments with the instructor before the course drop date. UBC policy on Religious Holidays: http://www.universitycounsel.ubc.ca/policies/policy65.pdf
Academic Dishonesty: Please review the UBC Calendar Academic regulations for the University policy on cheating, plagiarism, and other forms of academic dishonesty: http://www.students.ubc.ca/calendar/index.cfm?tree=3,54,111,959 . Also visit and review the contents of these two resources: Plagiarism Resource Centre: For Students: http://www.library.ubc.ca/home/plagiarism/welcome.html and Plagiarism Avoided: Taking Responsibility For Your Work: http://www.arts.ubc.ca/Plagiarism_Avoided.373.0.html for useful information on avoiding plagiarism and on correct documentation practice. Students are held responsible for knowing and following all University regulations regarding academic dishonesty. If a student does not know how to properly cite a source or what constitutes proper use of a source it is the student's personal responsibility to obtain the needed information and to apply it within University guidelines and policies. If evidence of academic dishonesty is found in a course assignment, previously submitted work in this course may be reviewed for possible academic dishonesty and grades modified as appropriate. [this MUST be included]
Policy on late assignments:
All assignments, unless otherwise specified, are due at the beginning of class. Late assignments are accepted with markdown penalties. The penalty is 5% if handed in later on the day the assignment was due, and 5% more for each day late after that. Extensions are occasionally granted, if there are extenuating circumstances. If you anticipate you may experience such a situation, please talk to us as soon as possible.
Course Discussion List :
Please be sure to sign-up for the class internet discussion list. From whatever email account you wish to use, send the following [leave the Subject line blank]:
address-- To: majordomo@interchange.ubc.ca
message-- subscribe l-561
end
This is the mechanism that we will use to make announcements to you outside class. You are also welcome to post comments/questions to the list if relevant to other students.
