A Framework for Information Policies with Examples from the United States

Introduction What is "policy?" It is a word often used in a very general way. What is encompassed by this term, and how might we apply it to the role of information in society? McClure and Jaeger (2008) say that policy is "directives intended to shape decisions and actions of individuals, organizations, and government agencies." Yet to Ohegbu (2008) it means simply "guidelines to regulate participation." Rubin (2010) offers us a more general definition by stating that "policy" typically refers to political laws or regulations, yet can also mean a rule or practice followed more locally. Where library and information issues are concerned, we would hope that a national policy would guide the development of both infrastructure (things like telecommunications networks and computers and library buildings), and content (everything from copyright agreements to actual documents). Braman (2006) found 20 different clauses in the US Constitution (a document written well over 200 years ago) that might be considered information policies. Hence, "library and information policy" could be defined as those laws, regulations and practices intended to facilitate the creation and dissemination of information throughout society. A fundamental aspect of this goal is creating channels for this to happen. Computer networks are one example of a channel, and libraries are another. As Tom Galvin (1994) pointed out at a speech to the F.I.D., and as many of us have experienced in practice, there is always some level of disagreement or divergence among us regarding goals and values. For example, different branches of government have different priorities. And the local, "bottomup" view often differs from the national view. This divergence will be illustrated through several examples later on. There is also a time element in policy, depending on the stage of development of a nation, and its current concerns. Policies change as political leaders come and go. The elements that are emphasized may change as a nation evolves. The Canadian International Development Research Centre makes this very generalization as regards African nations (IDRC, 2002), yet it could apply to others as well. This is why those policy goals concerning "Human Resources" need special emphasis in industrialized countries; physical infrastructure tends to be emphasized in developing nations more than it does in developed parts of the world. Multiple Stakeholders, Multiple Policies There are many, sometimes even conflicting, policies partly because there are many different parties involved in creating policies (Case, 1998). Consider, for example, the types of organizations that have a stake in policies. These differ by type of organization, and also by geography, for example, local governments versus national governments. British library director Michael Hill (1994) lists 17 government departments and 5 government agencies involved in setting information policy in the UK. Thus, it is more appropriate to speak of "information policies." The United States, with a federal system, including 50 semi-autonomous states, a long tradition of local government, and three branches of federal government that are sometimes in conflict, is perhaps an extreme example. Here is one story to illustrate the complexity, and inter-connectedness (see McClure & Jaeger, 2008) of information policies, and how they may conflict. As I will discuss later, "national security" is one information policy goal. Following the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center on September 11 of 2001, the United States passed a law called the USA Patriot Act, which included many provisions intended to increase surveillance and detection of possible terrorists. Two types of evidence that federal agents wished to investigate were reading habits, including the books that were borrowed from local public libraries, and patron searches on the Internet. …