Midterm Exam
Southern Connecticut State University
1.
In your public library, new print titles—both fiction and non-fiction—are
read first by any professional staff member wishing to do so, after which the
title is put into circulation or on reserve. Staff can only check such titles
out for one week and there are no renewals.
Do you see any ethical problems with this system? If
so, explain. If not, explain.
To promote an in-house Reader
Advisory service, it is reasonable to consider a procedure in which staff may
read a title prior to distribution to the public as patrons. The distinction
that staff can only have the book for one week and may not renew will put the
title into circulation quickly for patron use. However, American Library
Association's Intellectual Freedom CommitteeÕs guidelines advise that public
libraries should keep in mind the First Amendment when developing and
implementing policies. A public library should only restrict access when the
restriction furthers the libraryÕs mission and not in an arbitrary manner
(ALA.org, 2009). More importantly, this procedure conflicts with the American
Library AssociationÕs Code of EthicsÕ Articles I and VI which state librarians
are to adhere to providing equitable and unbiased service and access and do not
advance private agendas at the expense of our patrons (Code of Ethics, 2008).
In this case, there is no operational reason for this procedure. Although staff may be aware of titles being ordered, they should not receive preferential treatment for new titles and Òjump the lineÓ in front of patrons. Requests are placed in chronological order in the queue, regardless of the number of books ordered per title, and everyone has an equal chance to read the title in order. Staff may be in first, tenth or twenty-fifth position depending on when they placed their request. (Back to the top)
2.
In your small academic library, the materials budget is tight.
Journals consume a considerable portion of that budget. Some members of the
Friends of the Library group have come up with a suggestion to help out. The
members of the Friends belong to professional societies (engineering, forensic,
history, English, etc.) some of whose journals are part of the libraryÕs
collection. The professional society members get their journals as part
of their membership—and they can choose, in most cases, whether they
obtain print or electronic versions.
In some cases the library has joined the same societies but
at a much higher cost than individuals. The FriendsÕ members suggest to
you that they donate their copies to the library, allowing the library to
cancel its subscriptions, for considerable savings.
In fact, what the Friends would do is to form teams so that
a print version and an electronic version of each journal are made available to
the library as donations.
Ethical issues? If so, explain. If you see none,
explain.
In an effort to support the
institutionÕs responsibility to provide up-to-date, original, materials to all
users, the Friends want to continue the academic libraryÕs success while saving
money. Although this agreement would enable the library to acquire cost
effective resources, the Association of College and Research Libraries and The
Society of American Archivists Joint Statement on Access to Research Materials
in Archives and Special Collections LibrariesÕ Article 1 is clear that the
institution is responsible to provide the materials and free access to all
authorized users unless the donor or license stipulates (Joint Statement,
2009). The proposed arrangement could enable the Friends to limit access to
their donated material. In addition, there is a question as to the timeliness
of the donation. If one installment is missing, the donor may be willing, but
may not have the leverage of an institution, to recover the missing item. Thus
the library is at risk for not providing complete and timely information to
their users. Also, donations require a library to provide an IRS Tax receipt
and thereby exposing the relationship and possibly affecting the institutionÕs
standing. Moreover, the library is dependent upon the financial liquidity of
the Friends. The Friends may determine at some point in the future that as a
group, or individually, they can no longer continue the arrangement or a donor
dies. At which point the library will request and possibly not receive
subscription funds from the institution as they were operating at a reduced
budget and the institution may be reluctant or not have the funds to
accommodate the request.
Typically individual
e-subscriptions are strict in regards to copyright laws. The First-sale
Doctrine, Title 17 U.S.C. section 109, allows the Friend to lend, sell, or give
away their purchased copyrighted work without the vendorÕs permission. However,
the End User License Agreement typically states that the end-user
(purchaser/Friend) can only make copies for use, backup, maintenance, as long
as the copy is destroyed once repairs are complete and the copies can not be
transferred without permission from the copyright holder. The library pays
higher subscription fees for print and electronic resources to compensate the
vendor for multiple authorized users accessing the information according to
Fair Use Doctrine, Section 107 of The Copyright Act of 1976 (Fair Use, 2009).
Database providers and authors have
legitimate concerns about copyright infringement and access to their
intellectual property. ALAÕs Code of Ethics, Article IV states that librarians
are respectful of intellectual property rights and supports efforts to balance
the vendors concerns about copyright infringement, Fair Use, and enforcing
existing laws (Anti-Piracy Legislation, 2009). ALA backs many bills that will
negotiate the intellectual propriety rights of licensors and authors while
allowing libraries to continue their service to their patrons. One proposal in
particular, draft bill HR 3261: The Database and Collections of Information
Misappropriation Act, would make it illegal to use information from someone
else's database without prior approval (Foster, 2003). Additionally libraries
are trying to amend the proposed Uniform Computer Information Transactions Act
(UCITA) whose goal is to regulate online database transactions in favor of the
licensor which negates their current ability to lend products, donate library
materials, or resell unwanted materials in the annual library book sale (What
is UCITA?, 2006). In 2002, an amendment that permits the donation or transfer
of software to public libraries, public elementary and secondary schools but
only if the software is donated with the computer. Academic, private, and all
other types of libraries are not included in this exception (Impact on
Libraries, 2009). A vendor could possibly sue the university citing this
amendment and the Prioritizing Resources and Organization for Intellectual
Property Act of 2008, PRO-IP Act. This bill addresses violations of
intellectual property laws for commercial advantage or financial gain and where
the directors or officers are aware of the violation (Library of Congress,
2008).
Although it is possible to accept
the book and electronic subscriptions, until the legal and constitutional
decisions are finalized, I feel it is morally wrong and will put the library
and the university at performance and legal risk. The donation may limit the
libraryÕs ability to establish access to e-resources as the EULA probably
stipulates the resource is not to be shared. Also, many of the vendors rely on
institutional subscriptions in order to stay in business and pass on the
savings to the individual subscriber. If institutions were to cancel their
subscriptions, the financial loss will probably be passed along to the
individual in higher fees which the individual may not be willing to pay thus
forcing the vendor out of business. All would lose.
3.
You are appointed into the new position of Collection Manager
for a large and wealthy school system in Connecticut, with 6 elementary
schools, 3 middle schools and two high schools that you oversee, in terms of
what to purchase, what to weed, etc. You are going to the ALA midwinter
conference at the end of January, and youÕve received dinner invitations from
two of the vendorÕs representatives with whom you do business and one that you
do not currently use. YouÕve looked and found no school policy that
speaks to this issue. Your Superintendent says itÕs up to you to decide
whether or not to accept or refuse as he trusts you to do the right thing. What
are the ethical considerations? What will you do—go to those
dinners or not--and why?
During many professional
conferences, vendors subsidize events for current and potential clients.
According to the Statement on Principles and Standards of Acquisitions Practice,
a librarian is to afford all
vendors honest and equal consideration based on their libraryÕs policies and to
decline all forms of bribery, personal gifts and gratuities (ALCTS.org,
2009). In 2007, the State of Connecticut passed a gift ban for state public
officials and employees (and sometimes their immediate families and staff) from
accepting gifts from certain people. In 2009, The Office of State Ethics
updated the Part I, Section 1-79, defines that gifts do not include: food or
beverage or both, costing less than fifty dollars in the aggregate per
recipient in a calendar year or costing less than one hundred dollars in the
aggregate at a hospitality suite at a meeting or conference as long as the host
is present in both cases. It also bans state agencies, including public
higher-education institutions, from accepting gifts from corporations with
which they have contracts or from companies that are seeking to do business
with them (Strout, 2007).
In recent years, many companies and
organizations instituted their own gift policies which exclude accepting food
costing $50 or less. Therefore, most organizations attend large,
hospitality-type events at conferences based on their gift policies. Although
the Office of State Ethics does not have jurisdiction over municipalitiesÕ
codes of ethics (Municipal Ethics, 2009), I would follow the state recommendations
when I attend the conference. I would accept invitations to large events where
other clients are present. If the invitation were for a private dinner, I would
clearly explain that the evening would not affect my decision to purchase from
the vendor as the decision is by committee. I would also offer to pay for my
own dinner, or go for cocktails only. If these terms were amenable, I would
attend the dinner and submit the costs on a travel and expense report.
References
American
Library Association.
(2009).
Anti-Piracy Legislation. Retrieved from http://www.ala.org/ala/aboutala/offices/wo/woissues/copyrightb/federallegislation/antipiracylegislation/antipiracy.cfm.
(2008).
Code of Ethics of the American Library Association. Retrieved from http://www.ala.org/ala/aboutala/offices/oif/statementspols/codeofethics/codeethics.cfm
(2006).
Database Protection Legislation.
Retrieved from http://www.ala.org/ala/aboutala/offices/wo/woissues/copyrightb/federallegislation/dbprotection/databaseprotection.cfm.
(2009).
Digital Rights Management (DRM) & Libraries. Retrieved from http://www.ala.org/ala/issuesadvocacy/copyright/digitalrights/index.cfm
(2009). Fair Use. Retrieved from http://www.ala.org/ala/issuesadvocacy/copyright/copyrightarticle/whatfairuse.cfm
(2005).
Guidelines for the Development and Implementation of Policies, Regulations
and Procedures Affecting Access to Library Materials, Services and Facilities. Retrieved from http://www.ala.org/Template.cfm?Section=otherpolicies&Template=/ContentManagement/ContentDisplay.cfm&ContentID=78184.
(2006).
What is UCITA?. Retrieved from http://www.ala.org/ala/aboutala/offices/wo/woissues/copyrightb/statelegislation/ucita/ucita.cfm.
(2009).
UCITA: Impact on Libraries. Retrieved
from http://www.ala.org/ala/aboutala/offices/wo/woissues/copyrightb/ucita/impact.cfm.
Association
of College and Research Libraries.
(2009).
ACRL/SAA Joint Statement on Access to Research Materials in Archives and
Special Collections Libraries. Retrieved from http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/acrl/standards/jointstatement.cfm.
(2004)
Standards for Libraries in Higher Education. Retrieved from http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/acrl/standards/standardslibraries.cfm.
Association
for Library Collections and Technical Services. (2009). Statement on
Principles and Standards of Acquisitions Practice. Retrieved from http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/alcts/resources/collect/acq/acqethics.cfm.
Foster,
A. (2003). Colleges' Database Dilemma. Chronicle of Higher Education, 50(8),
A35. http://search.ebscohost.com
Library
of Congress. (2008). Prioritizing Resources and Organization for Intellectual
Property Act of 2008 - Public Law No: 110-403. Retrieved from http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d110:SN03325:@@@L&summ2=m&
State
of Connecticut.
(2009).
Office of State Ethics. Chapter 10. Code of Ethics. Retrieved from http://www.ct.gov/ethics/cwp/view.asp?a=2313&q=432632.
(2009).
Municipal Ethics. Retrieved from http://www.ct.gov/ethics/cwp/view.asp?a=3488&q=415012
Strout,
E., & Mangan, K. (2007). Give & Take. Chronicle of Higher Education, Vol. 53. Issue 21, A25. http://0-web.ebscohost.com.www.consuls.org/ehost/detail?vid=51&hid=9&sid=83990334-cfba-4096-9740-93699c4af6b8%40sessionmgr112&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=ehh&AN=23897097