Ever ponder any of the following questions…
Can a patron require us to accept a gift subscription to a publication we don’t want in our collection?
A faculty member wants us to scan and upload a chapter a week from the same textbook, can we do that?
Can I play music during a story hour and have the children sing along?
What if we stream the story hour from our website?
We notice one patron often comes into the library barefoot. Can we do anything about that?
Can “that” group really be allowed to use our meeting room?
We have received a list of books for which a number of patrons (there is a signed petition) want restricted access so that children cannot read or check out the books unless there is a parental permission on file. Must we abide by their wishes?
The library has a new crafting space, with glue guns, various cutting tools and other sharp objects. Can we have patrons sign some sort of release protecting the library in case someone gets injured?
I am reviewing an agreement from a new online content provider. What does it mean when the agreement says the vendor waives all warranties including non-infringement? There is also another provision that says “all rights not expressly granted are reserved” what does that mean?
Need answers to these and similar questions? Join lawyer and librarian Tomas Lipinski for an engaging, timely and important course for librarians especially those public, school and academic settings. Legal issues common in libraries such as patron privacy, challenges to both in-house and online content, patron behavior, copyright and licensing, other liability issues such as those related to makerspaces, “dangerous” and defamatory including “fake news” content and more. Recent cases and legislation affecting libraries are also discussed. While you will not be able to learn every aspect of the law relating to libraries you will leave the course with a strong foundation to continue your learning… we’ll dispel myths, practice how to think as courts, lawyers and “the law” thinks regarding legal issues in the library and how to approach and resolve problems of legal risk management in the library and related settings.
No prior legal knowledge or training in needed!
Objectives
There are three objectives or learning outcomes:
to understand the nature and scope of legal problems arising in the operation of the library;
to identify the responsibilities that library and information professionals have in executing current law and the opportunities available to effect necessary change; and
to evaluate current legal responses to such problems and envision alternative responses, both legal and non-legal, in light of sound information concepts.
Competencies
By the end of the course the successful student should be able to:
express, consistent with professional responsibility, views and opinions concerning the legal problems in the library and information sciences; locate and evaluate primary and secondary legal material regarding legal issues in the library, understanding its value as a professional decision-making resource; and apply existing legal tenets to various library environments and develop practical compliance strategies for those organizations.
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