Nov 18, 2009
Media contact: Anne Russell
Cell: 604-798-3709
Office: 604-795-2826
anne.russell@ufv.ca
Copyright and intellectual property expert to speak at UFV
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| Paul Whitney. Photo: Kim Stallknecht |
Who owns information? Why can’t you just make copies of whatever you’d like? How do we compensate the creators of intellectual property when it’s so easy to download so many things for free?
These are the types of questions that may arise when intellectual property expert and librarian
Paul Whitney when he visits the University of the Fraser Valley on November 26 as the guest of the UFV Library and Information Technology program.
Whitney will speak at 1 pm on Thursday, Nov 26, in room B121 of the Abbotsford campus. Admission is free and members of the public are encouraged to attend.
“The issues that Paul will explore have serious ramifications for all Canadians, so we’re encouraging students, faculty, staff and community members to attend,” says Library and Information Technology program head
Christina Neigel. “They are encouraged to bring their own questions for discussion as the issues are both complex and worthy of public discussion.”
Guest speaker Paul Whitney, city librarian for the Vancouver Public Library, will discuss the status of the new copyright legislation (which is contentious and troubling for all Canadians, according to Neigel) as well as the Google Book Settlement, and other issues under debate that are related to intellectual property.
Whitney joined Vancouver Public Library as city librarian in June 2003. Paul has served in national, provincial and local leadership positions including president of the Canadian Library Association and the British Columbia Library Association. He currently chairs the following groups; Library and Archives Canada Council on Access to Information for Print-Disabled Canadians, the Canadian Urban Library Council Copyright Committee, and the Copyright Forum, which addresses digital copyright issues with the federal government. Whitney is also a resource person to the International Federation of Library Associations Copyright and Other Legal Matters Committee.
In 2002, he received the Canadian Library Association’s Outstanding Service to Librarianship Award and the British Columbia Library Association President’s Award for contributions to the association. In 2001, he received the University of British Columbia’s School of Library, Archival and Information Studies Alumni Service and Leadership Award.
UFV offers a four-semester Library and Information Technology diploma, available on the Abbotsford campus in Abbotsford or through distance education. The program includes technical courses in subjects required for work in libraries and information centres, and labs for learning to manage information through the use of computers. Graduates are qualified to work in a wide variety of situations, in all kinds of libraries and information centres. For more information visit
www.ufv.ca/libtech .
Pay parking ($2) is in effect at UFV.
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