Paul T. Jaeger, PhD, MLS, JD, MEd, is a professor at the College of Information Studies and codirector of the Museum Scholarship and Material Culture program at the University of Maryland. He studies the impacts of law and policy on information access, accessibility, and literacy, with a primary focus on human rights and civil rights. He is the author of about 200 journal articles and book chapters, as well as twenty books. His research has been funded by the Institute of Museum and Library Services, the National Science Foundation, the American Library Association, the Smithsonian Institution, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, among others. He is coeditor of Library Quarterly. In 2014 he received the Library Journal/ALISE Excellence in Teaching Award. A 2019 study published in Public Library Quarterly named him one of the two most influential scholars of public library research in the past thirty-five years (it was a tie).

- Description
- About the Authors
Serving as both an accessible introduction for LIS students and a go-to reference for current practitioners, this book offers an incisive examination of the numerous ways in which law about information directly impacts the roles of information professionals and information institutions.
Learning the basic concepts of information law and the many legal concepts that come into play in the field of librarianship can seem like an overwhelming endeavor. Drawing upon the authors’ unique backgrounds in both law and librarianship, this text is designed to empower readers to understand, rather than be intimidated by, the law. It melds essential context, salient examples of best practices, and stimulating discussions to illuminate numerous key legal and social issues directly related to the information professions. Helping readers better understand the role of law in their work, this primer
- discusses information law as part of a continuum of interrelated issues rather than an assortment of discrete topics;
- examines information law in the context of different types of libraries;
- delves into the manifold legal issues raised when interacting with patrons and communities, from intellectual freedom topics like censorship and public activities in the library to the legal issues surrounding materials and information access;
- elucidates operational and management legal issues, including library security, interacting with law enforcement, advocacy, lobbying, funding, human resources, and liability;
- promotes literacy of the law, its structures, and its terminology as a professional skill;
- gives readers the tools to find and understand different sources of legal authority and demonstrates how to interpret them when they conflict; and
- explores information law as a national and cross-national issue.
Examination copies are available for instructors who are interested in adopting this title for course use. An e-book edition of the text will be available shortly after the print edition is published.