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LIBRARY EDUCATORS TABLE OF CONTENTS
[Course Outline]
[Other Websites]Instructor: Samuel Trosow
Phone: (800) 832-4586
e-mail: strosow@library.berkeley.edu
Class Meeting Times. Monday - Friday, 6:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.
Class meets Monday June 15th through Friday July 3rd (weeks 2, 3 and 4 of Session I)
An initial assignment will be posted for the first week.
You will have the fifth week to complete your Term Projects.
Office Hours: tba
The emergence of digital global networks presents a variety of new issues and problems for the legal system. It is often said that changes in information technology run ahead of the ability of legal institutions to adopt to them and change accordingly. The need to apply and adopt existing legal concepts into the new electronic environment may not be a simple, straightforward matter. How existing legal concepts will need to be rethought and perhaps retooled is a matter of considerable controversy in many areas.
This course in CyberLaw and Policy will be an attempt to survey this new landscape and make some sense of it. Our vantage point will be that of the information professional; librarians, system designers and others who are skilled in locating, organizing, manipulating, and disseminating information.
Course Objectives:
At the completion of this course the student will be able to:
Why study CyberLaw and Policy?
An initial question is why should librarians and other information professionals become trained in these legal issues. Put another way, aren't legal issues within the jurisdiction of the legal profession? There are several justifications for studying legal issues involving both the changing nature of the information landscape and the changing roles and relationships of professions. One set of (micro) issues deals with day to day work internal to information organizations. Another set of (macro) issues deals with our role as stakeholders in the policy-making process.
In information environments increasingly characterized by digital networks, new forms of electronic resources and electronic communications, situations will arise which will call for increased awareness of legal issues. Licensing agreements and internet filtering policies are two recent examples where traditional forms of strict occupational differentiation may be eroding. At the organizational level, important decisions affecting access issues will be made. It is essential that those with direct contact with end users have a significant role in making these decisions.
An understanding of CyberLaw and Policy issues is important from a broader policy perspective as well. Professional associations such as the ALA, AALL and SLA have been effective advocates in various policy arenas. The successful litigation against the CDA and successful efforts to oppose access destructive legislation in the last Congress are examples of the information professions forming coalitions to advance specific interests as policy stakeholders. These efforts will continue and it is important to deepen our understanding of these issues and the dynamics of the policy process.
Course Readings: See Course Outline for links to readings.
Assignments and Grading:
Rev 3/31/98 SET