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