The social dimensions and political dynamics of information policy formulation in the electronic era as a framework for professional leadership and action and their role in the emerging redevelopment of concepts fundamental to the library and information professions. Emphasis is on the role of the information professional as an advocate for the introduction and implementation of legislation and policy in the public interest.
Prerequisites
None.
Course Objectives
Identify the major intractable policy issues that face librarians as they enter the 21st century.
Describe the social, political and economic implications of the National Information Infrastructure (NII) and the Global Information Infrastructure (GII) and whether they reflect the public interest.
Prepare a plan for advocacy or lobbying to secure action on a major issue in information policy.
Identify and define changes occurring in the fundamental concepts of library and information services, including universal service, intellectual freedom, intellectual property rights, privacy, equity, and awareness and advocacy.
Critiques (30% of grade)
Each week select an article on information policy; critique its importance for library and information services. Submit the critique and the article.
Information Policy Analysis (40% of grade)
Prepare a paper analyzing the effect on libraries and librarians of recent legislation. How has it already changed fundamental concepts in library service? How will it change library services in the future?
Workshop Policy Analysis. (30% of grade)
Determine new policy directions that have been enacted or are under discussion. Prepare a paper that analyzes the forces and tactics that are influencing or have influenced major changes within the last year. Is the library ready for the twenty-first century? If it is, explain how. If it is not, describe what needs to be done.
Requirements for the Course
Class attendance. Practice assertively presenting a point of view backed up by information you have gathered that is relevant to the topic. It is expected that you will come to class each week, ready to participate in discussions based on your reading as well as your experience.
Reading assignments. Actively apply what you learn to class discussions, activities and assignments.
Completing all assignments on time.
Bibliography
American Library Association Washington Office (1994). Legislative Policy and Procedures Manual. Washington, DC: American Library Association.
Brown, R. (1995). Intellectual Property and the National Information Infrastructure: The Report of the Working Group on Intellectual Property Rights: Executive Summary, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, Washington, DC.
Boyle, J. (1998). Shamans, Software, and Spleens: Law and the Construction of the Information Society, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA.
Brancomb, A. (1994). Who Owns Information, New York: Basic Books.
Doctor, R.D. (1994). Seeking equity in the national information infrastructure. Internet Research, 4 (3), 9-22.
Doctor, R.D. (1992). Social Equity and Information Technologies: Moving toward Information Democracy. Annual Review of Information Science and Technology, 27, 43-96.
Dugan, R.E. & Dodsworth, E.M. (1994). Costing out a depository library. What free government information? Government Information Quarterly, 11 (3) 261-284.
Faruquee, A.R. (1980). How to develop a legislative workshop. In Josey, E.J. (Ed.) Libraries in the political process. (pp. 271-282). Phoenix: Oryx Press.
Firestone, C.M. & Schement, J.R. (Eds.) (1995). Toward an Information Bill of Rights and Responsibilities. Washington, DC: The Aspen Institute.
Fisher, R. & Ury, W. (1981). Getting to Yes. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
Hauptman, R. & Anderson, C.L. (1994). The people speak: The dispersion and impact of technology in American libraries. Information Technology and Libraries, 13 (4), 249-256.
Hopkins, D.M. & Butler, R.P. (1991). The Federal Roles in Support of School Library Media Centers. Chicago: American Library Association.
Josey, E.J. (Ed.) (1987). Libraries, Coalitions and the Public Good. New York: Neal-Schuman Publishers, Inc.
Kinney, L.F. (1992). Lobby for Your Library: Know What Works. Chicago: American Library Association.
Kranich, N.C. (1993). The selling of cyberspace: Can libraries protect public access? Library Journal, 118 (19), 34-37.
Linowes, D.F. & Bennett, C. (1986). Privacy: Its role in federal government information policy. Library Trends, 35 (1), 19-42.
Martin, M. (1996). Fugitive Documents? Or, What’s Happening to the Dissemination of Government Information? (unpublished).
McMurdo, G. (1995). Changing contexts of communication. Journal of Information Science, 21 (2), 140-146.
Moe, R.C. (1987). Exploring the limits of privatization. Public Administration Review, 47 (6), 453-460.
Molz, R.K. (1991). The Federal Role in Support of Academic and Research Libraries. Chicago: American Library Association.
Molz, R.K. (1990). The Federal Role in Support of Public Library Services: An Overview. Chicago: American Library Association.
Mueller, M. (1993). Universal service in telephone history: A reconstruction. Telecommunications Policy, 12, 353-369.
Office for Intellectual Freedom. (1996). Library bill of rights: The policy, The history. In Intellectual Freedom Manual (5th ed. Pp. 3-17). Chicago: American Library Association.
Peterson, M. (1993). Political influence in the 1990’s: From iron triangles to policy networks, Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law, 18 (2) 395-438.
Rifkin, J. (1995). Vanishing job. Mother Jones, 20 (5), 59-64.
Rothenberg, J. (1995). Ensuring the longevity of digital documents. Scientific American, 273 (1), 43-47.
Rowlands, I. (1996). Understanding information policy: Concepts, frameworks and research tools. Journal of Information Science, 22 (1), 13-25.
Sabatier, P. A. (1999). Theories of the Policy Process. Boulder, CO: Westview Press. Chapter 1, pp. 3-18.
Schon, D.A. & Rein, M. (1994). Setting the problem of reframing. In Frame Reflection: Toward the Resolution of Intractable Policy Controversies, pp. 3-37. New York: Basic Books.
Testimony packet I: Universal Service testimony---Collection of testimonies given before the Joint State/Federal Board of the Federal Communications Commission.
Testimony packet II: Digital future coalition---Testimony given before Congress about the “Information Infrastructure Copyright Act.”
Title II---museum and library services act. 104th Cong., 1st Sess. (1995).
To amend title 17, United States Code, to adapt the copyright law to the digital, networked environment of the national information infrastructure, and for other purposes, H.R. 241, 104th Cong., 1st Sess. (1995).
Turock, B. (1994). The new case for federal library support. Library Journal, 119 (3), 126-128.
Turock, B. (Ed.) (1996). Envisioning a Nation Connected: Librarians Define the Public Interest in the Information Superhighway. Chicago: American Library Association.
Turock, B. (1995). Equity on the Information Superhighway: Inaugural Address. Chicago: American Library Association.
Turock, B. (1996). Expert witness: Librarians confront the ALA summit. Library Journal, 121 (11), 32-34.
U.S. Advisory Council on the National Information Infrastructure. (1995). Kickstart Initiative: Connecting America’s Communities to the Information Superhighway. St. Paul, MN: West Publishing.
U.S. General Accounting Office. (1995). Information Superhighway: An Overview of Technology Challenges. Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office.
Understanding the federal budget process. (1995). The Week in Review (Suppl.), 14 (12), 1-4.
Wall, T. A. (1990) in Josey, E.J. & Shearer, K.D. (Eds.). Politics and the Support of Libraries. New York: Neal-Schuman Publishers.
Yankelovich, D. (1995). Restoring public trust. Mother Jones, 20 (6), 28-33, 61-62.