Jumpstarting the Public Sphere: Information Policy Issues for the 21st Century
October 23-24, 2008
Vancouver Public Library, Central Branch
350 Robson St, Vancouver BC
Presented by the British Columbia Library Association’s Information Policy
Committee

(registration and full details: http://www.bcla.bc.ca/jumpstarting)

With debates over information policy issues all over the news, the question of who controls and who has access to information has never been more timely. Many people have heard of things like Bill C-61, TILMA, media concentration, information access, and net neutrality but may be unsure about the implications of these terms and how they relate to information, libraries, and the public sphere.

On the evening of October 23, Michael Geist, Canada Research Chair in Internet and E-commerce Law, will give a keynote address on “Why Copyright? The Fight for Canada’s Digital Future” (synopsis below). His speech will set the tone for Friday morning’s panel discussions in which presenters will give conference attendees the background information they need in order to spend the afternoon discussing issues more deeply and coming up with creative ways of defending the public sphere from privatization and corporate control.

We are fortunate to have Dr. Sam Trosow give the Friday afternoon keynote talk to close off the conference. Dr. Trosow is Associate Professor at the University of Western Ontario jointly appointed to the Faculty of Law and the Faculty of Information and Media Studies (FIMS) and author of Canadian Copyright: A Citizen’s Guide.

Please join librarians and interested community members to discuss these pertinent issues and help come up with ideas for what you can do about them!

Thursday October 23 @ 7 PM, Alice MacKay Room
Keynote address: Michael Geist, Canada Research Chair in Internet and E-commerce Law
“Why Copyright? The Fight for Canada’s Digital Future”

In June 2008, the Canadian government introduced Bill C-61, new copyright legislation that closely followed the U.S. Digital Millennium Copyright Act. The public response to the bill was both immediate and angry - tens of thousands of Canadians wrote to the Minister and their local Members of Parliament, leading to town hall meetings, negative press coverage, and the growing realization that copyright was fast becoming a mainstream political and policy issue. The “Canadian copy-fight”, which includes many new advocacy groups and the Fair Copyright for Canada Facebook group that has over 90,000 members, has attracted considerable attention from the mainstream media, with many wondering how copyright had emerged as a contentious policy issue. This talk will assess both the legislative proposals and the Canadian copyfight experience in an effort to answer the oft-asked question “why copyright?”

Friday October 24 @ 8:30 AM, VPL Lower Level

Friday’s informational speakers will be:

• Ellen Gould, Trade Analyst - speaking about TILMA and trade agreements
• Paul Holden, BC Freedom of Information and Privacy Association (FIPA) - speaking about net neutrality
• David Loukidelis, BC Privacy Commissioner - speaking about access to information
• Leslie Regan Shade, Concordia University - speaking about telecommunications policy
• David Skinner, York University - speaking about media concentration
• Paul Whitney, City Librarian, Vancouver Public Library - speaking about intellectual property

Closing keynote: Samuel Trosow, University of Western Ontario

To register for the full conference, or for more information about speakers and times, please visit http://www.bcla.bc.ca/jumpstarting. Student and low-income conference rates are available.

Michael Geist’s talk is free, but registration is required (http://www.bcla.bc.ca/geist for more information). Attendance at Geist’s talk is included in full-conference registration.

Great big thanks to the British Columbia Library Association, Vancouver Public Library, BC Electronic Library Network, Simon Fraser University, Vancouver Island University, and Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives for their support.

PLEASE NOTE: Media Democracy Day will be taking place at the Vancouver Public Library on Saturday, the 25th of October. There will be workshops about media democracy and the legendary annual Independent Media Fair. For more information about that event, see http://www.mediademocracyday.org. We hope you can attend both the conference and the MDD events!

I’m co-chair of the BC Library Association’s Information Policy Committee. We’ve just set up a blog called — get this — The Information Policy Blog. I’ll be posting information policy-related stuff over there (and possibly cross-posting it here as well); so will several other committee members. Please go take a look!

While I’m on the subject, you should also check out two other blogs: We Read Banned Books, about libraries and intellectual freedom, and Social Justice Librarian, about, well, libraries and social justice (including lots of information policy material). If you’re interested in the kinds of issues I write about here, then both will be well worth your time.

The Code4Lib Journal (C4LJ) will provide a forum to foster community and share information among those interested in the intersection of libraries, technology, and the future.

Submissions are currently being accepted for the first issue of this promising new journal. Please submit articles, abstracts, or proposals for articles to c4lj-articles@googlegroups.com (a private list read only by C4LJ editors) by Friday, August 31, 2007. Publication of the first issue is planned for late December 2007.

(There’s more information at code4lib.org.)

Congratulations to all involved on getting this thing up and running!

Interesting job ad on LISjobs.com:

Job Title: Chief Librarian
Organization: Torres Advanced Enterprise Solutions
Location: Guantanamo Bay, Cuba,
Description: Are you interested in putting your library science education and experience to work in one of today’s most challenging, interesting and rewarding environments? Torres Advanced Enterprise Solutions is recruiting for a Chief Librarian to manage the Detainee Library, under the direction of the Joint Task Force-Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

In managing the Detainee Library, the Chief Librarian is responsible for providing, maintaining and developing library services and operations using reading, recreational games and puzzles, music, or electronic media. The Chief Librarian is responsible for selecting and maintaining a range of reading and recreational materials to reflect the needs of the patrons in terms of languages and appropriate/approved topics.

(Via Ratcatcher.)

How did I miss this one? Roy Tennant has started a site called TechEssence.Info, a source for “simple, easy to understand information about information technology” for library decision-makers. The front page describes the approach like this:

You’re busy. You don’t have time for a lot of jargon, techie posturing, or attitudes. You’ve come to the right place. We don’t put you down, we don’t talk down to you, we just give it to you straight. Come here for accurate, understandable explanations of important information technologies for libraries. Go elsewhere for the hype.

The roster of contributors includes Roy himself, Dorothea Salo, Meredith Farkas, Andrew Pace, Eric Lease Morgan, and others. In addition to a group blog, they’re compiling a series of concise, informative introductions to key technologies from AJAX to OpenURL. The site looks like a frighteningly useful resource for non-techies who need to know about this stuff.

(Via Dan Chudnov.)