ILA/ACRL Fall Program Committee
Amy Paulus, Ericka Raber, Leslie Ross, and Elaine Settergren
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Next Generation Catalogs
Pre-conference on Wednesday, October 15th from 10:00am to 3:00pm
$30 for ILA members or $40 for nonmembers (lunch included)
Brian Thompson, Systems Librarian at the University of Iowa
Sue Julich, Head of Enterprise Applications at the University of Iowa
Wendy Robertson, Systems Librarian at the University of Iowa
Louise Alcorn, Reference Technology Librarian at the West Des Moines Public Library
Tod Olson, Systems Librarian at the University of Chicago
What is the 411 on library catalogs for the future? Can they be catalogs for anyone, anywhere, any way, and anytime? Come learn about three libraries taking on future developments for the essential tool – the Library Catalog. Products to be discussed include Primo, Aquabrowser, WorldCat Local and how FRBR ties into these products. The pre-conference will be valuable for anyone exploring how to make their library catalogs more exciting, relevant, and futuristic for their library users. The Information Technology Forum is co-sponsoring.
The myths and facts of reference liability
Thursday, October 16th at 2:00pm
Paul Healey, Senior Reference Librarian and Associate Professor of Library Administration at the Law Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
http://www.law.uiuc.edu/
Co-sponsored by Community College Librarians Roundtable
Many reference librarians fear that they might someday face legal liability for the activities they engage in at the reference desk. This fear arises out of popular culture, and is given credence by a substantial number of articles in the library literature. And yet, no librarian has ever been sued, or found liable, for reference activities. Is the risk of liability for reference activities a myth, or is it real?
This session will explore the law around reference work, and attempt to separate fact from fiction. We will look at possible legal theories for liability, and carefully explain how such things as malpractice, negligence, strict liability, and other legal concepts actually work, paying particular attention to tort law and its effect t on liability issues. We will look at the concept of professional liability, and the effect that being a professional has on liability. As part of this, participants will learn about the importance of a standard of care for liability, how and when a standard of care is created, and how one can be legitimately avoided.
Relevant legal standards will be explained, and compared to normal reference activities. This will be done with an eye toward identifying situations in which liability is a possibility, and those situations in which it is not. We will also take a specific look at legal and medical reference, in order to identify the unique liability possibilities in those areas.
Finally, to the extent that liability emerges as a possibility, we will look at ways of minimizing that possibility, exploring techniques for avoiding liability at the reference desk, and looking at helpful possibilities for policies, training, and other proactive approaches to the liability issue.
E-Reserves and copyright law: What you need to know
Thursday, October 16th at 3:30pm
Paul Healey, Senior Reference Librarian and Associate Professor of Library Administration at the Law Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
http://www.law.uiuc.edu/
Co-sponsored by Community College Librarians Roundtable
The ability to create and use library reserves in electronic form has major advantages, especially for academic and school libraries. E-reserves allow libraries to always have a copy of a reserve item available for use, and allows for the distribution of reserve items to users not physically present in the library—a particular boon to students involved in distance education. However, this major technological advance for libraries exists in a legal gray area.
The legal landscape of e-reserves is one whose details are unclear, and also in flux. In many ways, copyright law is lagging behind the realities of the online world. Worse still, often the courts and Congress have crafted legal solutions to the issues raised by digital information that have made the situation worse rather than better. This has created a particularly complex legal environment for e-reserves.
This session will look at e-reserves and their relationship to copyright law. This is a complex area, as various aspects of the law intersect in complex ways, and at points even contradict each other. In order to make some sense of the copyright issues present in e-reserves, we will begin by covering basic copyright law concepts such as fair use, and library and education exceptions to copyright law. We will also consider the effect of recent copyright law changes, including the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. We will take a close look at the TEACH Distance Education Law and its implications for e-reserves in distance education. Finally we will consider the implications of licensing and other approaches to access to content, and examine how those issues interact with copyright in the electronic information environment.
Growing-up Online
Friday, October 17th at 10:20am
Richard Sweeney, University Librarian at the New Jersey Institute of Technology
http://library1.njit.edu/
Co-sponsored by Community College Librarians Roundtable and Iowa Association of School Librarians
The explosion of Internet technology and the ubiquity of computers and other network-ready devices have changed how the current generation knows, accesses, evaluates, and uses information. The Millennial Generation (a.k.a. NextGen, GenY, C Generation, M Generation, and Echo Boomers; born 1979 through 1994) are a band of impatient experiential learners, digital natives, multitaskers, and gamers who love the flat, networked world and expect nomadic connectivity 24x7. More importantly, they are demanding consumers who expect more selectivity, personalization and customization in their products and services.
Contemporary Librarians, many of whom are the progeny of earlier generational influences (Gen X’ers and Baby Boomers), face the challenge of catching the interest of these restless scholars and effectively communicating to them the importance of library instruction and services as well as the value of the Library as a culturally rich and diverse gathering place that fosters communication and collaboration.
Richard Sweeney, University Librarian at the New Jersey Institute of Technology, will present what his extensive research says about the Millennial Generation’s behaviors and preferences. This session will focus on many of the unique characteristics and expectations of today’s generation of students and the challenges that engaging this group presents for academic library instruction and services. Mr. Sweeney has conducted over 50 Millennial focus groups across the country in front of college faculty, librarians and other groups and has valuable insight to share about these “net-generation” students and how they are changing academic campus culture.