Information Policy establishes guidelines by which information is collected, created, organized, stored, accessed, disseminated and retained. Information policy also governs who can access information and how that information can be provided. These far reaching policy directives also facilitate and support the rules with which the media, as well as private and government institutions, share their information. Information policy is extensive; it encompasses guidelines that govern everything from the human rights to literacy to intellectual property rights and copyright law; the most recent of these policies has already influenced our relationship with the internet. Despite its broad and sweeping influence, information policy is not set by a central authority; there is no single administrative law, or simple set of statutes that coordinate information policy, although local and federal governments can have broad influence on information policies. The most notable example of this influence in recent years is the Patriot Act.
A 1996 article written by Charles R. McClure entitled “Libraries and Federal Information Policy”, details the basic characteristics that distinguish Information from more traditional resources It also delineates the reasons surrounding the difficulty in maintaining equality of access among different stakeholders and providing guidance to government agencies in managing information. McClure’s characteristics of information are included below.
- Information is not “used up” by being used;
- Information can be possessed by many people simultaneously;
- It is difficult to prevent people who wish to so do from possessing particular parts of information, or acquiring information without paying for it;
- The value of information for a particular individual often times cannot be determined until the information is disclosed to that user;
- Information can become obsolete, but it cannot be depleted.
- Frequent use of information foes not wear it out; and
- The technical units of measurement of information (bits, bytes, packets) lack meaning ad fail to carry meaning for the consumer of that information.
A key factor in the development of information policy is the introduction and development of new technologies, specifically those related to accessing information, such as the internet (McClure, 1996, p. 214). Additionally, new paths for open access to information also fuel discussion and policy. One such measure is the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2007, which requires National Institutes of Health (NIH) funded researchers to deposit an electronic copy of their peer reviewed manuscripts no later than 12 months from the journal publication date (Reid, 2008). On a broader scale, social networking technologies are also impacting policies. In the 1990s, the Communications Decency Act was passed. This Act was information policy turned law, which sought to protect youth from legal adult pornography. Unfortunately, because of its imprecise language and implementation it was later deemed unconstitutional (Mitrano, 2006). Cases like this are a prime example of how information policy is struggling to keep pace with the rapid advancement of technology, not only to ensure that information is available to everyone, but that people are protected from certain information.
Information policy is also enormously influenced by the political climate of the society in which it is created. The effects of information policy as well as its influence are widely debated and discussed and it “is only recently that information policy has been recognized for its importance in shaping the evolution of modern societies” (McClure, 1996). Being sources, managers, and keepers of information, both in text and electronically, libraries have long been at the center of this very contentious debate.
Discussion Questions:
- Using the list provided above as a reference regarding the basic nature of information, in what ways do you see the structure of information affecting our ability to create information policy? How does the general nature of information affect how we will regulate who has access, as well as where and how information can be accessed?
- In what ways do you see information policy struggling to keep pace with the rapid advancement in technology?
- Information policies are utilized by anyone who needs to organize and distribute information. What kinds of information policies affect you in your everyday life?
Bibliography
Reid, Calvin. (2008, January 7). Publishers, librarians: Clash over NIH rule. Publishers Weekly, 255(1), 13.
Mitrano, Tracy. (2006, Nov./Dec.). A wider world: Youth privacy, and social networking technologies. EDUCAUSE Review, 41(6), 16-29.
McClure, Charles R. (1996, May). Libraries and federal information policy. The Journal of Academic
Librarianship, 22, 214-218.
Shuler, John A. (2007, March). The civic value of academic libraries and the open source university. The Journal of Academic Librarianship, 33(2), 301-303.
18 comments:
#1. Regulating information is like trying to regulate air. Information is all around us, and while some might try to package information up into a financial resource (think cable TV, satellite radio, and even the electronic databases we are accessing), much of the information we come into contact with on a daily basis is free. We hear it from friends, family, and everyone around us and there is no way to regulate or govern that type of info. As for the general nature of information, the more popular or important the information, the more difficult and costlier the access will be.
#2 The internet has allowed information to become more open. Harnessing or regulating information is becoming more difficult just because of the sheer volume of information available. Also, with the anonymity of the web, it becomes almost impossible to punish those who use regulated information without going through the proper channels. All we have to do is look at the problems associated with the pirating of music and software online to get an idea of how difficult it is becoming to constrain information.
#3. In my daily life, I am affected by information policy every time I write a paper. I have to be certain that I cite the sources. Working in a library, I come into contact with many other policies that govern information. The Privacy Act is one I am very careful to follow, and even when we monitor the public internect computers, we are careful to make sure patrons abide by the Internet User Agreement. Each patron has to click the "agree" button before they are able to gain access to the desktop.
At the risk of belaboring the point about concerns about privacy re: computers and the Internet (including websites accessed from library computers), as well as library patron records, I wanted to share a recent newspaper article about the National Security Agency and electronic data. The whole area of “data mining” is a huge concern of mine and one that libraries are hopefully addressing via their information/privacy policies. Witness the most recent incident in the news today: “State Department: Someone snooped in Obama's passport file (CNN) -- On three occasions since January, Sen. Barack Obama's passport file was looked at by three different contract workers, said State Department spokesman Sean McCormack….‘This is an outrageous breach of security and privacy, even from an administration that has shown little regard for either over the last eight years,’ said Obama campaign spokesman Bill Burton in a statement.
‘Our government's duty is to protect the private information of the American people, not use it for political purposes.’…” http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/03/20/obama.passport/index.html
“NSA'S DOMESTIC SPYING GROWS AS AGENCY SWEEPS UP DATA
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Siobhan Gorman siobhan.gorman@wsj.com]
Five years ago, Congress killed an experimental Pentagon antiterrorism program meant to vacuum up electronic data about people in the U.S. to search for suspicious patterns. Opponents called it too broad an intrusion on Americans' privacy, even after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. But the data-sifting effort didn't disappear. The National Security Agency, once confined to foreign surveillance, has been building essentially the same system. The central role the NSA has come to occupy in domestic intelligence gathering has never been publicly disclosed. But an inquiry reveals that its efforts have evolved to reach more broadly into data about people's communications, travel and finances in the U.S. than the domestic surveillance programs brought to light since the 2001 terrorist attacks. Largely missing from the public discussion is the role of the highly secretive NSA in analyzing that data, collected through little-known arrangements that can blur the lines between domestic and foreign intelligence gathering. Supporters say the NSA is serving as a key bulwark against foreign terrorists and that it would be reckless to constrain the agency's mission. The NSA says it is scrupulously following all applicable laws and that it keeps Congress fully informed of its activities.”
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120511973377523845.html?mod=todays_us_page_one
This latter article was sent to me on March 11, 2008 by the ALA ifaction listserv. As you know, ifaction is an excellent way to keep up to date on all sorts of issues related to freedom of information—privacy concerns, censorship, book challenges, library filters, etc. I would keep my membership in the ALA for this service alone. Here (again) are the details on it: “IFACTION is a news-only, no-discussion e-list of the Intellectual Freedom Action Network (IFAN) and the Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF).”
http://www.ala.org/ala/oif/ifgroups/ifan/ifactionb/ifaction.cfm
Once laws such as the USA Patriot Act have been passed, library information policies have to deal with them and modify/add policies/procedures etc. that will help libraries maintain patron privacy and freedom of information, to the extent this can be done within the legal framework. How much better if people, including librarians, kept up with what was being proposed and intervened as appropriate to try to stop the passage of such laws. In addition, regardless of what policies are in place it is important to keep informed as to what practices are occurring, which may or may not be consistent with policy and what the impacts of those policies are on the various groups affected.
It’s also important, I think, to remember that while it can be difficult for information policies to keep up with changing technologies, technology and technological choices are not neutral—their selection and use (and possible misuse) reflect policy decisions made by policymakers (many of whom are elected by voters).
I think the main way that Information Policy is struggling with technology is caused by the lack of control. It is much easier for copyright infringement to occur using technology than without. It is easier to duplicate and distribute a copyrighted piece of work using technology that making hard copies and passing them out.
Luckily for librarians, Congress passed the Digital Millenium Copyright Act (DMCA), which allows libraries registers as Online Service Providers (OSP) and then they "may not be held liable for copyright infringement committed by those using their online sources" (Butler). Although they may not be responsible for infringement, the libraries "must remove or disable access to infringing media [and] must adopt a policy terminating the service of those users who do not abide by copyright law" (Butler). The DCMA is a good policy for libraries, but unfortunately the nature of the internet still allows for copyright infringement by individuals.
Jessica Kay-Oosterhouse
Butler, Rebecca P. Copyright Law and Organizing the Internet. Library Trends v. 52 no. 2 (Fall 2003) p. 307-317.
Something touched on in the post about the increasingly political atmosphere surrounding information policy is a fascinating concept. I started researching this and found that under the Bush administration the Federal Government's information policy has drastically changed. The government pre-W. Bush had two distinctions in information classified or unclassified. Within the classified information there were graduated levels of classification determined by the sensitivity of the information. This has all changed now there is still classified information, but there is also "sensitive security information". This broad classification includes things like the safety statistics of public transportation, environmental impacts, and practices of law enforcement agencies; Basically anything the Bush administration wants they now have the authority to keep from the public and Congress. The Information Security Oversight Office lists the number of classified documents last year alone at 20.5 million.
Garson, GDavid (2005). "Patriotic Information Systems: Evaluating Bush Administration Information Policy". Social science computer review (0894-4393), 23 (4), p. 395.
The current president and his crew will be gone in a few months. Time to look ahead to the future and make sure that the next president has a better understanding of, and respect for the Constitution. Besides all the things that are marked 'secret' or 'classified' it is also a good bet that a lot of documents will just plain disappear. No doubt the shredders and 'delete' computer keys in Washington are already working overtime. Information lost is also part of the historical record lost.
Jeremy mentioned that there is also a relatively new class of information called "sensitive security information". I think this is just scary. The public has a right to information that affects them, especially the specific information pointed out by Jeremy: safety statistics, environmental impacts, etc.
I am starting to wonder what affect it would have on our society if we stripped away all laws regarding information. It would be a pretty drastic change and I do think a lot of harm could come from doing so. On the other hand, hiding away and restricting more and more information is asking for trouble as well. Information is a tool. One that can be used to help or hurt depending on the whim of the people who have it.
I also think it is important to point out that information does not equal truth. There are plenty of articles written that are either complete fabrications or are based on a faulty premise. One of the important aspects of being a librarian is to help patrons find reliable, solid information that can be trusted.
Information policy is constantly struggling to keep up with technology, and it can almost always can be circumvented. Technology makes it easy to get the information you want, when you want it, and even make a permanent copy of a resource for oneself. To many people an information policy is nothing more than a few words on a page that is easily ignorable. Is there any one of us that has not ever copied a VHS or DVD, downloaded a program or music from a filesharing program, performed a song without owning a copy of the music, or who does not know anyone who has done some of these things? It often doesn't feel wrong, but all of these actions violate information policies that have been set out to protect the creators of these works.
One notable example of information policy struggling to keep up with technology is all of the lawsuits that have been issued against YouTube. YouTube videos can be uploaded by anyone, and many companies are upset that their copyrighted films are showing up on the popular movie site. There are many other similar sites that illegally host full episodes of popular television shows. Unfortunately for the copyright holders, it can be difficult to discover who is responsible for uploading the illegal content, and difficult to go after all of the people who have done so. Though YouTube has taken many steps to get rid of illegal uploads on their site, this is not a problem that is going to go away any time soon.
I feel he is spot on with his analysis of information. Information can’t be considered an object that can be owned. While the physical existence may observed, be it a book data file, or something else, the information is separate from the physical. The ability to spread information faster through electric sources has magnified this concept. We as librarians can only monitor the physical distribution of information. The ideas remain free.
Jeremy’s info on the "sensitive security information" is interesting. The more you try to suppress information the more it wants to be freed, and the information will become available somehow. Presidential candidate Thomas E. Dewey said when asked if he would outlaw the Communist Party in America, "you can't shoot an idea with a gun." (White, 1997)
White, J. K. (1997). Still seeing red: how the Cold War shapes the new American politics. Transforming American politics. Boulder, Colo: Westview Press.
"It is difficult to prevent people who wish to so do from possessing particular parts of information, or acquiring information without paying for it". I think this is the key problem when it comes to creating information policy. People are going to do anything they can to get a piece of information even if it is technically "illegal". Many people do not take into account the "laws" for information. Many people copy CDs, record TV shows, or pirate movies off the Internet. Is a new law really going to be able to stop them? I think we need more than just new Information Policy. We need Information Policy enforcement. We need a better system to track down the people who are doing the wrong things in regard to information. Is there a good way to do this? I'm not sure, but I'd like to see someone at least try it.
Information policy is struggling to keep up with technology because there are new forms of technology every day and they always seem to come with ways to get around them. As soon as something new comes out, someone has figured out how to get past it and copy it for their own.
Following what Jeremy said about the "Sensitive Security Information," I too have become concerned with the current administrations habit of censoring and keeping information from the public. It seems that during the current administration's term more and more information has been kept behind closed doors and it makes me wonder where our country is heading to when we feel that withholding information from the public is okay. Someone recently told me that while they were trying to find infromation on Orwell's book 1984 nearly every search they tried brought up some sort of information on Bush and his information policies. If we are not careful I feel that we could be heading into an age where the government can determine what information the public needs to know and what information it does not and that can be very dangerous. But as Catherine states the current admin will be gone soon and we just have to make sure that the next president and his staff respect the people's right to information.
Using the list provided above as a reference regarding the basic nature of information, in what ways do you see the structure of information affecting our ability to create information policy? How does the general nature of information affect how we will regulate who has access, as well as where and how information can be accessed?
I don't know if we can ever really regulate who has access there is always a way for patrons to find what they may need. If they can't find it at the library they will go somewhere else.
In what ways do you see information policy struggling to keep pace with the rapid advancement in technology?
I think with all different types of technology we always find a way to keep up with it. I see some minor problems with information policies but nothing major. We are a society that is used to have to keep up with technology.
Information policies are utilized by anyone who needs to organize and distribute information. What kinds of information policies affect you in your everyday life?
I think as college students we are affected by information policies. When write papers we always have to cite the sources that we use.
As information becomes more and more electron oriented (and post electron) it will become more difficult to regulate. Information is evolving. Will we be typing these messages in 10 years? Will most information not be written down, will the line between oral and written become blurred. Will we need to type or enter data manually? It may all be voice or sound input and output. It seems that we are going back to more active and reciprocal communication, and sharing our story via Facebook, blogging, web publishing, etc. I don't think that information policy will be able to keep up with changes in technology and I think that is good. It seems that the distinction of owner of information will become more blurred or be lost.
Using the list provided above as a reference regarding the basic nature of information, in what ways do you see the structure of information affecting our ability to create information policy?
Information policy can best be enforced by individual organizations. Every organization's users has a need of a certain amount of access. It should be the right of each organization to implement rules that work best for them. As far as public libraries I think there should be certain limits, such as restricting porn and hate web sites.
How does the general nature of information affect how we will regulate who has access, as well as where and how information can be accessed?
Well every computer has an ip adress that can track the computer where the information was accessed. This question is kind of broad, if someone is in thier home the rules are different than if someone is using a public computer. At home it does not matter what you acess, in public you should not be allowed to access harmful and derogatory sites.
In what ways do you see information policy struggling to keep pace with the rapid advancement in technology?
Information policies need to be reviewed quarterly in order to reacess thjeir effectivness.
Information policies are utilized by anyone who needs to organize and distribute information. What kinds of information policies affect you in your everyday life
Whe I volunteer at my children's school, I am limited by what websites I can access.
I love Mary's comment that "regulating information is like trying to regulate air. Information is all around us...". Just posting to this blog is disseminating information, as is commenting on it, and even if I relate to someone verbally the information in this blog - that is disseminating information as well. In this way, I believe it is and forever will be extremely difficult to create and uphold information policy. Because of the ubiquitous nature of information and the rapid technological improvements in how we share it, creating any sort of policy that limits its access will ultimately be futile.
In what ways do you see information policy struggling to keep pace with the rapid advancement in technology?
I think that as technology advances it is going to be difficult for librarians to keep up with it. Personally from being in schools, I know that the students are always up on the newest technology, and are always teaching me about it!! They pick up on all this new stuff and the older generation has no clue about much of it. Since the technology is changing, the policies need to be updated so that they pertain to the new technology that is available. If a school library adds new technology to their library and doesn't update their policies it could interfere with the student's use of the new technology. And it is very important for them to learn new things and how to use it, for the future.
Coley, R. Computers and Classrooms: The Status of Technology in U.S. Schools. Policy Information Report. Retrieved from Google Scholar on 28 March 2008:http://blackboard.wayne.edu/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_id=_169_1
The structure of information is an interesting topic to ponder over...information, like others have mentioned, seems wildly ubiquitous, therefore how would anyone tame such beasts? This undeniable reality only points to the increasing demand of our profession in the future, and now. The blurring of authors and authenticity is a double-edged sword, more information- more fact-checking.
Initially, it might appear that "regulating information is like trying to regulate air." But, is it really? The government, as others have also mentioned, offers no apologies or distinction. The current administration has proved that the more difficult this becomes, the broader and harsher their policies will also become. Surprisingly, no one has mentioned the FCC's regulation over air waves, which affects radio and TV stations. I used to work at a college radio station where about 1/3 of our music could not be played over the air waves.
As mentioned previously, technology is forever and constantly changing. It's difficult for people in general to keep updated and informed, let alone update Information Policies in reguards to the new changes.
I have to comment too on Jeremy R's post. I just cringed when I read about the George W. Bush administration. Wow. What else can you really say.
Information is essentially knowledge. Another tricky element to information is that once it is known, it cannot be taken back, which is why laws about intellectual property are so important. Regulating information is basically a structured attempt at keeping secrets. The only way to keep information secure is to make sure that some individuals never see it.
I think that the biggest changes in information policy have come with the anonymity of the Internet. I think that the Internet frightens some individuals in power because information can be shared rapidly and anonymously -- even information that should be kept secret. Finding solutions to the anonymity problem, like requesting information from ISPs or requiring library patrons to log in with a driver's license number are an answer to that threat. Policies such as the Patriot Act are meant to eliminate anonymity as an option, which some argue violates the constitution. When anonymity was not as easy to achieve, even ten years ago, there was much less concern over information policy, so I believe that anonymity is the factor that will have the biggest impact on information policy in the future.
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