Morrison and Secker (2017)
From Copyright EVIDENCE
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Source Details
Morrison and Secker (2017) | |
Title: | Understanding librarians’ experiences of copyright: Findings from a phenomenographic study of UK information professionals |
Author(s): | Morrison, C., Secker, J. |
Year: | 2017 |
Citation: | Chris Morrison, Jane Secker, (2017) "Understanding librarians’ experiences of copyright: Findings from a phenomenographic study of UK information professionals", Library Management, Vol. 38 Issue: 6/7, pp.354-368, https://doi-org.ezproxy.lib.gla.ac.uk/10.1108/LM-01-2017-0011 |
Link(s): | Definitive |
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About the Data | |
Data Description: | Three interviews were carried out with groups of staff working in academic libraries, in institutions that had a dedicated copyright specialist and a copyright training programme. In total 21 members of staff were interviewed in three interviews at two different institutions. The staff was from a variety of roles and grades, including professional and paraprofessional staff. |
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Cross Country Study?: | No |
Comparative Study?: | No |
Literature review?: | No |
Government or policy study?: | No |
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Abstract
- "Purpose: Librarians and information professionals increasingly need to deal with copyright issues in their work, however evidence suggests that they can lack confidence and often refer queries to a dedicated copyright specialist. The purpose of this paper is to explore the professional experiences of copyright of a group of academic librarians in the UK, with a view to devising appropriate copyright education strategies.
- Design/methodology/approach: The research was conducted using phenomenography, which is a qualitative approach from education. Data were collected though group interviews to explore the variation of experience. Four categories of description were devised which are placed in an outcome space.
- Findings: There were four qualitatively distinct ways that librarians experience copyright in their professional lives, including viewing it as a problem, as complicated, as a known entity and as an opportunity. The variations in experience relate to a variety of factors such as the librarians’ role, ideology, level of experience, context and with whom they might be dealing.
- Originality/value: This is the first study of this nature, building on quantitative findings from a multinational survey. It concludes that librarians need to be taught about copyright in a way that acknowledges and addresses the challenges so that they can view it as empowering and as part of wider information literacy initiatives."
Main Results of the Study
- librarians have important privileges under UK law. Institutions need information professionals who are confident in the law, but also clear of their role in facilitating access to knowledge.
- Understanding copyright requires confidence and clarity, not fear and anxiety. This needs to be instilled across the library and information profession for the future, while recognising that risk and ambiguity are an unavoidable part of working with copyright.
- There were four qualitatively distinct ways that librarians experience copyright in their professional lives, including viewing it as a problem, as complicated, as a known entity and as an opportunity. The variations in experience relate to a variety of factors such as the librarians’ role, ideology, level of experience, context and with whom they might be dealing.
Policy Implications as Stated By Author
- Libraries and Librarians need to be educated and taught, to deeper understand copyright law and its implications.
Coverage of Study
Datasets
Sample size: | 21 |
Level of aggregation: | Librarians / Library Staff |
Period of material under study: | 2015 |