Acquiring minds want to know: information policies and intellectual property

As librarians, vendors, and publishers, we deal with information every day, and we have developed policies to govern the acquisition and use of this information. Information policies on campuses have tended to focus on computing issues and information technology. Information policies give a lot of attention to access, security, privacy, abuse, misuse, liability, and the like. Typical examples of the coverage of these policies include access to email and computer accounts, free speech and academic freedom, assignment and use of passwords, misuse of another person's account, use of the university logo, storage of information, disallowance for commercial use or personal gain, and so on. Policies usually have provisions for enforcement and compliance. In short, information policies emphasize what is often called "responsible computing.