UNDERSTANDING LIBRARIANS’ EXPERIENCES OF COPYRIGHT: INITIAL FINDINGS FROM A PHENOMENOGRAPHIC STUDY OF UK LIBRARY AND INFORMATION PROFESSIONALS
JANE SECKER AND CHRIS MORRISONLSE & University of Kent
https://copyrightliteracy.org @UKCopyrightLit
BACKGROUND AND OVERVIEW• Originated from the European Copyright Literacy study,
but we were looking to understand UK librarians’ experiences of copyright more deeply
• Copyright and IPR issues part of ethical use of information and crucial for librarians but our survey suggested they were a source of fear / annoyance / boredom / anxiety
• Opportunities to enhance copyright education (both in professional qualifications and CPD)
• Looking to develop confidence and understand the value of games-based learning
EMBEDDING COPYRIGHT LITERACYEncouraging more general awareness of copyright issues so librarians/info specialists can educate academics about complying with copyright law. Also practical awareness for students’ creative work and using [copyright] material in their own work.
PARALLELS TO IL
PARALLELS TO IL• Copyright is about ambiguity - not right and wrong
answers • Copyright education can often be reactive (dealing with
‘problems’) so how can we shift it to being proactive (teaching in context)?
• Copyright education requires empathy and trust• Copyright needs to be understood in context – it’s not
simply a one size fits all• Is learning about copyright a threshold concept – but a
portal many avoid ever going through?
CONCLUSIONS FROM THE UK COPYRIGHT LITERACY SURVEY
Need for more cross-national analysisLibrarians likely to compare favourably to other
professionals?Need more qualitative data to investigate
How copyright literacy is effectively embedded in educationHow to develop a effective approach to copyright
literacy Understand the role of the generalists vs
dedicated copyright professionalMore engaging training
CONCLUSIONS FROM THE UK COPYRIGHT LITERACY SURVEY
Need for more cross-national analysisLibrarians likely to compare favourably to other
professionals?Need more qualitative data to investigate
How copyright literacy is effectively embedded in educationHow to develop a effective approach to copyright
literacy Understand the role of the generalists vs
dedicated copyright professionalMore engaging training
© ©COPYRIGHT AND PHENOMENOGRAPHY
UNDERSTANDING COPYRIGHT EXPERIENCES • Copyright is not a fixed ‘thing’ and is tied up with people’s
experiences • Phenomenography (people’s experience of phenomena) seemed an
ideal research method• Undertook 3 focus groups to test out the approach in HE• Allows us to understand variations in the way copyright is
experienced by different types of librarians:• Academic support / subject librarians• Research support / repository staff• Teaching support staff • Enquiries / customer service
• The findings are helping us to consider better ways of devising copyright education and embedding copyright into institutional strategies
COPYRIGHT AS AN EXPERIENCE
Category 1: Copyright is seen as a problem
Category 2: Copyright is seen as complicated
Category 3: Copyright is seen as a ‘thing’ requiring coherent messages
Category 4: Copyright is an opportunity for negotiation, collaboration and co-construction of understanding
© ©
COPYRIGHT IS SEEN AS A PROBLEM*
*Because of the fundamental tension between human and intellectual property rights
COPYRIGHT IS SEEN AS COMPLICATED
COPYRIGHT IS SEEN AS A ‘THING’ REQUIRING COHERENT MESSAGES
COPYRIGHT IS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR NEGOTIATION, COLLABORATION AND CO-CONSTRUCTION OF UNDERSTANDING
DIMENSIONS OF VARIATION• The role of the librarian• The ideology of the librarian towards
copyright• Their level of knowledge: from novice >
expert• Their audience – who are they dealing
with?• Context of the interaction
COPYRIGHT AS A COMMUNITY OF PRACTICE
Wider copyright community
Wider copyright community
Institutional copyright community
Copyright specialist
THE IN-HOUSE © EXPERT
COPYRIGHT EDUCATION FOR LIBRARIANS
Designed to teach librarians about copyright works, usages, licences and exceptionsMaking copyright interactive and engagingDownloaded over 2,500 times and consistently positive feedbackCreative Commons Licensed
COPYRIGHT THE CARD GAME
https://copyrightliteracy.org/about-2/copyright-the-card-game/
THE PUBLISHING TRAP
Find out more at: https://youtu.be/eNXesoQx-1w
Prototype games designed to teach PhD students, early career researchers and academics about scholarly communication
Aim of game is to connect your research with the wider world
Points awarded for impact, knowledge and money
Runners up prize at LILAC 2016
YOU’VE SEEN THE PPT AND THE T-SHIRT, YOU’VE PLAYED THE GAME, NOW….
FURTHER READINGÅkerlind, G. S. (2005). Variation and commonality in phenomenographic research methods. Higher Education Research & Development, 24(4): 321-334. Marton, F. (1986). Phenomenography – A research approach to investigating different understandings of reality. Journal of thought, 21(3): 28-49.Morrison, C and Secker J. (2015) Copyright Literacy in the UK: a survey of librarians and other cultural heritage sector professionals. Library and Information Research. 39 (121). (forthcoming) Secker, J and Morrison, C. (2016) Copyright and E-learning: a guide for practitioners. Facet publishing: London.Todorova, T., Trencheva, T., Kurbanoğlu, S., Dogan G., & Horvat, A. (2014) A Multinational Study on Copyright Literacy Competencies of LIS Professionals. Presentation given at 2nd European Conference on Information Literacy (ECIL) held in Dubrovnik. October 2014. Retrieved March 13, 2015 from http://ecil2014.ilconf.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/Todorova.pdfYates, C, Partridge, H and Bruce, C. (2012) Exploring information experiences through phenomenography. Library and Information Research, 36 (112). http://www.lirgjournal.org.uk/lir/ojs/index.php/lir/article/viewFile/496/552
https://copyrightliteracy.org
IMAGE CREDITS Images from Flickr licensed under Creative CommonsSlide 4, 24: Microsoft clip art
Slide 25: If you are not confused https://flic.kr/p/frJ48
Slide 26: Open: https://flic.kr/p/mzqM
Slide 28: Video tape archive storage https://flic.kr/p/aUgdnB
Slide 29: Z Smith Reynolds Library https://flic.kr/p/d7dL8d
Slide 37: Back to back https://flic.kr/p/8NCuPU
OthersSlide 27: Views of Aberystwyth from National Library of Wales (no known copyright)
Slide 32: Open clip art
Slide 38: Logos owned by respective organisations, no endorsement implied
Slide 39 by Jane Secker licensed under CC-BY-SA