UNIT 1: INTRODUCTION; CENSORSHIP

Introduction: definitions; basic principles of information policy

Censorship and free access to information: history, general principles:
Censorship in different geographic regions, for different motives

Current motives and areas for censorship:
censorship in school, public and academic libraries;
texts and audiovisual materials currently under pressure;
groups promoting censorship / free access to information

The librarian: preparing for and reacting to attempts at censorship:
collection development policies;
relationship with patrons and persons in favor of censorship;
procedures followed in the event of censorship

Censorship of Internet access, filtering software, recommended links:
motives for installing filtering software;
types of filtering software and their effectiveness;
materials filtered out by filtering software;
alternatives to filtering software;
Computer use policies; accessing chat lines, e-mail etc. via library computers

Other aspects of censorship and information access
Expurgation, labelling, restricted access,
Fee-based services in libraries and information centers;
Film and video ratings and censorship;
Internet hate and anti-prejudice sites;
Evolution / Creationism
 

UNIT 2: COPYRIGHT

Copyright and the ownership of intellectual property; history; basic principles:
copyright in different societies, periods

Librarians, information professionals and intellectual property rights; fair use:
practical problems of applying copyright in a library environment

Copyright in the digital environment:
impact of digital media on the principles and legislation of copyright

Licensing of intellectual property for access via library services:
practical experience of libraries in licensing databases, digital media, electronic journals and similar media

Other aspects of copyright
Copyright of data bases and similar compilations;
Digital Reserves, Distance education and copyright;
Obtaining access to electronically protected or codified materials
Software, compressed digital music, lecture notes etc.;
Intregrity of non-copyrighted texts and plot lines;
Public Lending Right
 

UNIT 3: PRIVACY, CONFIDENTIALITY

Information and the citizen: Privacy; Openess; Defamation; Personal image
Information and the citizen:
Privacy: the citizen's right to privacy;
Privacy of professional relationships and the librarian-patron relationship;
Privacy in relation to Internet, e-mail, mobile phones, surveillance systems etc.
European approaches to privacy;
Openness: the public's right to access and correct information,
especially personal information, held by government and private companies;
Defamation; defense of personal image; news stories and the public domain
Responsibility of information professionals for information supplied

Information, the government and business
The right to information about government activities;
Cheap, easy access to government documents;
Privatization of government information;
National security, trade secrecy and patent law;

Other considerations
Protection against unwanted or inappropriate information:
spamming, inappropriate or inaccurate advertising etc.
Monopoly in publishing, communications, postal services, etc.
Trans-border data flow;
Domination of national cultures by foreign cultures;
Cultural sovereignty; the removal of documentation essential to record national culture;
Preservation of human cultural and intellectual records and heritage;
Right to link to / from a WWW site
Access to non-conventional resources: gaming, gambling, compressed music files
The future of information policy
etc. etc.

Note: Case studies must reflect an understanding of the wider context of the problem,
offer comparisons with similar situations in other locations / contexts etc.