Module 5: Legal & Social Issues

When you have completed this module, you should:

• Understand your role in relation to the use of library resources
• Know how copyright law and fair use affects scholarship
• Be aware of citation styles and understand the need to correctly cite your sources to avoid plagiarism

5.1 Information "Etiquette"

Any system, like a library, that can provide easy and timely access to valuable information must be pretty remarkable. Yet people tend to take libraries for granted, and don't give much thought to what it takes to provide that kind of service.

Cooperation and Sharing

You and your fellow students have paid tuition and taxes into a common pool to buy books, access to databases and other materials, and to pay for the selection, processing, organization and housing of those materials. You can now share in the benefits from that mass of material, with the only limit to your benefit being your time and energy.

Role of Librarians

The librarians enhance the benefits you can gain by promoting particular values and principles of library and information service.

• Collection of resources that would most likely meet your needs
• Effective intellectual access to the content of resources through CannonCat, various classification systems, or the databases/indexes to periodical articles.
• Convenient access or delivery of resources to you in any format
• Intellectual freedom (no censorship) and the protection of your privacy

Your Role

And finally, maintaining this effective library service takes some responsibility on your part. You are, after all, responsible for making the most of your investment in the pool of library resources. Only you can ask questions. Only you can read and learn. Also, the responsible use of library resources by yourself and others helps insure that those resources are accessible and available to yourself and others on a continuing basis.

• Do you keep library materials clean and undamaged?
• Do you return borrowed materials on time?
• Do you leave the materials you have used in a place designated for that material so that it can be re-shelved promptly and accurately?
• Do you act in a civil and courteous manner, so that you don't disturb the work of other students?
• Do you observe rules particular to Melvil Dewey Library, such as keeping the second floor as quiet as possible?

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