Registration Cost: $225 - Register on the Main Conference Registration Page Librarians are faced with legal issues every day but, without knowing what to look for, it can be easy to miss or misunderstand them. Conventional wisdom that offers easy answers can be tempting but may provide a false sense of security. Even worse, by trying to follow rules we don’t really understand, we may unnecessarily impede the library’s ability to do good work. Through a series of discussions and group activities, this day-long session will prepare librarians to make informed, thoughtful decisions in key legal areas that are becoming ever more crucial in institutional settings, including:
- Information Ownership and Mission. Who owns instruction-centered materials (syllabi, online courses, student notes, etc.)? What is the statutory baseline behind licenses? How do institutional policies come into play? What about intellectual property beyond (c) – patent, trademark, and tech transfer? How should we think about what we have vs. what we own – repositories, research data, and meeting funder mandates?
- Security, Equal Treatment, and Liability in Libraries. What are emerging legal standards for safety and freedom from harassment? What is our employment liability?
- Privacy and Disclosure: How can we come to a better understanding of FERPA, HIPAA, and other regulations? What’s happening in the areas of confidentiality and data security? What can libraries do to protect user privacy for library materials? How can libraries help users understand privacy rights and risks?
- Accessibility, Lawsuits, and VPATs. Given ADA, OSHA, and disability requirements, how can we make physical spaces accessible? How should we think about accessibility for websites and other online services?
- Horizon Issues and Uncharted Waters. What is on the horizon with makerspaces, data visualization, digital humanities, and other innovations? How do you navigate and keep up with new guidelines, best practices, documents, and cases? What are effective strategies for risk management?
The session will conclude with a summary of issues that will need further follow-up with professionals, and discussion of how that follow-up may be better achieved.
