Libraries and Mobile
Devices: Public Policy
Considerations
LITA National Forum
October 2009
Timothy Vollmer, ALA Office for
Information Technology Policy
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Friday, October 2, 2009

ALA Washington Office
http://www.ala.org/washoff
http://ala.org/oitp http://ala.org/ogr
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Friday, October 2, 2009

What goes on in Washington?
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Friday, October 2, 2009

What does OITP do?
•Researches and analyzes the implications of IT
and IT policy for libraries and users
•Educates the ALA community on information
policy issues
•Advocates for ALA’s information policy (but not
lobbying)
•Strategizes by looking at implication of
technological trends
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Friday, October 2, 2009

What does OGR do?
•informing government of the needs and concerns of
the library community
•providing library supporters with up-to-date
information on government actions or proposals
•building coalitions with Washington-based
representatives of other groups with similar concerns;
and
•developing grassroots networks to lobby legislators
and further library interests
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Friday, October 2, 2009

OITP Updates
•Google Book Settlement
•BTOP
•“Fiber to the Library”
•Opportunity Online Broadband Project
•Network Neutrality
•Copyright Activities
•Future of Libraries
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Friday, October 2, 2009

OGR Updates
•USA PATRIOT Act
•FRPAA
•Orphan Works
•CPSIA
•Health Care
•LSTA
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Friday, October 2, 2009

http://www.flickr.com/photos/andyi/3662184306/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/andyi/
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/deed.en
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Friday, October 2, 2009

The mobile revolution is already in progress
•computing power UP; size down
•ubiquitous connectivity
•“always-on” mobile cycle
•pervasiveness of digital
content
•mobile as new mindset
http://www.flickr.com/photos/offstandard/3825774286/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/offstandard/
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0/deed.en
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Friday, October 2, 2009

Libraries and Mobile Devices:
Public Policy Considerations
•digital copyright and
content licensing
•digital rights management
•privacy
•accessibility
http://www.flickr.com/photos/inknoise/2695247558/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/inknoise/
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0/deed.en
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Friday, October 2, 2009

Mobile projects already in action
•eBook checkout
•Digital textbooks
•Mobile reference
•Mobile catalog
•Third party multimedia
download
http://www.flickr.com/photos/vermininc/2777441779/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/vermininc/
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/deed.en
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Friday, October 2, 2009

Where do we begin?
•exercise our rights
under the law
•look toward library
values and existing
frameworks
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sixteenmilesofstring/2596569134/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sixteenmilesofstring/
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/deed.en
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Friday, October 2, 2009

Digital Copyright and Content Licensing
•first sale doctrine
•ownership vs. access
•reliance on vendors
•artificial walls around
content
•control, preservation,
long term access
Original: http://www.flickr.com/photos/giantginkgo/6171406
Remix: http://www.flickr.com/photos/will-lion/2845536335/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/will-lion/
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/deed.en
•chilling effects on incumbent rights
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Friday, October 2, 2009

Digital Rights Management
•DRM as control mechanism
•non-interoperability good
for business, bad for
consumers
•consumer protection
•ALA Principles for
Digital Content
•FTC on DRM
•clarify business practices http://www.flickr.com/photos/tom-b/44683696/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/tom-b/
•Bittorrent doesn’t have DRM
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/deed.en
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Friday, October 2, 2009

Privacy
•mobile environment creates novel
concerns
•location awareness
•role and limit
of advertising
•user notice and consent
•freedom of inquiry
http://www.flickr.com/photos/shenghunglin/104434229/
•support UGC community
http://www.flickr.com/photos/shenghunglin/
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/deed.en
•empower youth, carefully
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Friday, October 2, 2009

Accessibility
•Kindle and text-to-speech
•screen quality
•mobile app and web
standards
•“Reader’s Bill of Rights”
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Friday, October 2, 2009

Where do we go from here?
•encourage innovation,
experimentation
•look to our strong
library values, traditions
•empower users http://www.flickr.com/photos/himalayan-trails/2868073936/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/himalayan-trails/
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/deed.en
•libraries remain engaged with
technology and policy communities
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Friday, October 2, 2009

tvollmer@alawash.org
ala.org/washoff
wo.ala.org/districtdispatch
ALA OITP
@oitp
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Friday, October 2, 2009