OCULA 2014 Special Achievement Award Winner: Copyright Literacy in Ontario Colleges

This multi-institutional team was nominated for their significant contribution to the libraries and the faculty members within the Ontario CAAT college system. In an effort to provide college faculty with consistent and accurate copyright-related information and resources, this team developed a package of training modules to promote copyright literacy. The initiative serves as a model to others.

Representatives from three colleges as well as legal advisors of independent firms and Community Legal Services at Western University belong to the 11-person team:

Seneca College
• Joanna Blair, Information Literacy & Liaison Librarian
• Michael Craven, Audio Visual Technician
• Joy Muller, Associate Director
• Jennifer Peters, Teaching & Learning Technologies Librarian

Sheridan College
• Patricia Buckley, Copyright Coordinator
• Shelley Woods, FAAD Liaison Librarian & User Education Coordinator

Fanshawe College
• Kathy Bouma, Faculty, School of Information & Technology
• Meaghan Shannon, Copyright Services Officer
• Steve Torrens, Curriculum Consultant

Wanda Noel, Barrister and Solicitor
Jordan Snel, Barrister and Solicitor

The copyright project was conceived and created to develop online tools available to faculty that will facilitate their understanding of their rights and responsibilities within the new federal Copyright Act and to provide tools to aid in their compliance with the Act. The team designed, scripted, filmed the tutorials and will be made accessible to all faculty within the Ontario College sector. These sessions are comprised of seven general tutorial videos and fifteen practical application videos complete with quizzes.

In addition, legal counsel for the scripts was obtained from Wanda Noel, barrister and solicitor, who is noted for her copyright acumen, and Western Law Community Services. Financial support for legal counsel was provided by the provincial librarian’s group, the Heads of Libraries and Learning Centres (HLLR).

The team’s key accomplishments include:

• Working with college members across different areas and sectors within the College system and with legal counsel
• Formulating scripts that meet educational copyright information needs in light of the new Act