Crown copyright: More than just an outdated provision

Presentation at ABC Copyright 2019. Conference program abstract: Section 12 of the Copyright Act is at odds with the aims of Open Government and many government works have become inaccessible, or even been lost due to Crown copyright chill. This session will report on recent advocacy work to persuade Canada's federal government to update an antiquated and undemocratic copyright provision

Developing a community of practice: report on a survey to determine the scholarly communication landscape in western Canada

The Council of Prairie and Pacific University Libraries (COPPUL) Scholarly Communications Working Group (SCWG) surveyed COPPUL member libraries with a short questionnaire in November 2012. The stated purpose of the survey was to inform both the educational efforts of COPPUL with regard to scholarly communications, as well as the agenda of a proposed meeting of scholarly communication practitioners in COPPUL libraries. This paper discusses the results in the context of the formation of a Community of Practice (CoP) since conducting the survey. The paper concludes that a CoP has not yet formed; however, it presents the challenges with the formation of the CoP, identifies some of the actions taken so far, and makes recommendations for future direction for continuing to develop the CoP among COPPUL institutions.N

Intellectual Property Resources

This article was published in the Fall 2006 issue of Access OLA

Environmental Resources: Individual Action

Humanity has always been linked with nature, including attempts to harness the environment for survival. Previously, civilization’s effects on the earth’s ecosystem, neither insubstantial nor undamaging, didn’t point to worldwide environmental collapse. Time may be running out. Galloping human populations and accelerating technologies have wounded the natural world as habitats are encroached upon or destroyed. No wonder Canadians are eager to learn about environmental issues! This column focuses on gateways providing information about current practices the general public (librarians too!) can immediately use to positively affect their ecological footprint

Life of the Library: An Exploration of Public Space Use and Meaning

Libraries have a long history of adapting to environmental factors for the benefit of their users. Recent technological advances and pedagogical shifts are creating fundamental changes in the way academic libraries are perceived and utilized. As a result, librarians are increasingly concerned with ensuring that the physical library remains relevant and meaningful to its users. To that end, this paper explores the academic library as a dialectical place of enlightenment and engagement through the words and actions of library users at York University. Library behaviour was documented and interpreted to better understand user needs. Reflections about memorable library experiences were analyzed to gain greater insight about the role of the library as place in the broader context of students’ lived experiences. It was recognized that the creation and support of flexible yet differentiated library spaces allows for the development of multiple and convergent places of meaning. The students’ library is a place of belonging, one in which librarians and library staff are increasingly marginalized. This empowering shift of control from professional to student marks a transition from a highly controlled venue for book storage and solitary study to a student space that supports social learning and other types of engagement. In order to remain relevant and meaningful the academic library must be a successful, and public, place for students to learn and engage

“Why is this link dead? Aren’t government publications all online?” Preserving digital federal content with the Canadian Government Information Private LOCKSS Network

The vast majority of federal government information is digital and susceptible to both technological obsolescence and changes in information policy. In the past, content on government web sites has been lost to both factors. Concern about the lack of comprehensive web archiving or digital preservation activities within federal government agencies motivated a group of information professionals at twelve institutions to form the Canadian Government Information Private LOCKSS Network (CGI-PLN) in August of 2012. This session will describe the development of the CGI-PLN, its organizational mandate and structure, its activities, and its technical infrastructure. The PLN’s first collection (the Depository Services Program’s e-archive) will be presented as a case study, demonstrating how the CGI-PLN operated within an ambiguous, uncertain context and with a compressed/unknown timeline

Government Information in Canada: Access and Stewardship

Public access to government information forms the foundation of a healthy liberal democracy. Because this information can be precarious, it needs stewardship. Government Information in Canada provides analysis about the state of Canadian government information publishing. Experts from across the country draw on decades of experience to offer a broad, well-founded survey of history, procedures, and emerging issues—particularly the challenges faced by practitioners during the transition of government information from print to digital access. This is an indispensable book for librarians, archivists, researchers, journalists, and everyone who uses government information and wants to know more about its publication, circulation, and retention. Contributors: Graeme Campbell, Talia Chung, Sandra Craig, Peter Ellinger, Darlene Fichter, Michelle Lake, Sam-chin Li, Steve Marks, Maureen Martyn, Catherine McGoveran, Martha Murphy, Dani J. Pahulje, Susan Paterson , Carol Perry, Caron Rollins, Gregory Salmers, Tom J. Smyth, Brian Tobin, Amanda Wakaruk, Nicholas Worb

Introducing the Copyright Anxiety Scale

Navigating copyright issues can be frustrating to the point of causing anxiety, potentially discouraging or inhibiting legitimate uses of copyright-protected materials. A lack of data about the extent and impact of these phenomena, known as copyright anxiety and copyright chill, respectively, motivated the authors to create the Copyright Anxiety Scale (CAS). This article provides an overview of the CAS’s development and validity testing. Results of an initial survey deployment drawing from a broad cross-section of respondents living in Canada and the United States (n = 521) establishes that the phenomenon of copyright anxiety is prevalent and likely associated with copyright chill

Endangered Government Information: Strategies to Protect Government Collections

Presentation at the 2018 American Library Association (ALA) Conference for the Association for Library Collections and Technical Services Division..The presentation discussed methods and strategies on how to protect endangered government information in Canada and the United States. Amanda Wakaruk, Copyright Librarian at the University of Alberta, James Church, Librarian at University of California, Berkeley and James R. Jacobs, Federal Government Information Librarian at Stanford Library were the other panelists.Library, UBCNon UBCUnreviewedFacult