Librarians are far from the only players in today's Information Age. A huge number of people and organizations have a say in how information is created, used, stored, accessed, and disseminated. Each of these parties is influenced by widely divergent goals, world views, and professional ethics.

These divergent viewpoints often come to the fore in debates over Information Policy. An information policy is a public law, regulation or policy that encourages, discourages, or regulates the creation, use, storage, access, and communication and dissemination of information.

Librarians and other information workers are often involved in creating and transforming information policy, and invariably feel the effects of these policies. This article will discuss a number of Information Policy debates of particular interest to the LIS community.

After reading this article, students should be able to articulate how libraries are governed and funded ,establish and uphold policies develop collection development policies defend access to information in both physical and electronic medianavigate restrictions from copyright lawprotect patron confidentiality navigate policy exceptions establish fine and fee structures make decisions regarding staff tasks and responsibilities    

 How does copyright apply to libraries

Libraries are often the only entities that provide access to the vast majority of copyrighted works before the expiration of the copyright, and to works that lose commercial vitality before the copyright expires (i.e. go out of print but are still legally protected). 

First sale doctrine (1908) enables libraries to lend books and other resourceExcept software gets dicier, because of End-user license agreements (EULAs)Fair use allows for the use of (usually tiny snippets of) copyrighted works for purposes of criticism, comment, news reporting, scholarship, or research.Libraries are permitted to make reproductions of copyrighted works for preservation and replacement purposes.Libraries can aid in the transformation and reproduction of copyrighted works for users with disabilities.

⍗) Electronic resources tend to have a very short shelf life, and may not be archived properly for future use.Digital Rights Management technologies often don't recognize any limitations to copyright, and just go ahead and restrict access.

The Teach Act helps redefine the terms and conditions of copyright laws, focusing on copyright protected materials in distance education. The act puts more pressure on the educational institution, rather than the educator; but there are several benefits because of the Teach Act: expanded range of allowed works, expansion of receiving locations, storage of transmitted content, and digitizing of analog works. It is important for educators to be aware of copyright information, the number of students enrolled in class, and the amount of time allotted to view the material. If they are cognizant of them, they will not have to worry about breaking the law. Since distance education is growing, librarians are expected to deal with interlibrary loans more often, amongst other new opportunities, and need to understand the Teach Act too. Kenneth brings up several points that are essential to remember about the Teach Act. Distance learning is growing rather quickly, and is becoming more popular amongst the student population. Because of this rapid growth, librarians are asked to perform several new tasks that coincide with the act. Librarians need to be familiar with the Teach Act, so no laws are broken, and all materials remain protected