Abstract

Information policy at all levels of government as well as the information practices of private businesses and institutions that affect the public are necessarily the concern of information professionals. For this issue, the ASIS&T Special Interest Group on Information Policy (SIG/IFP) and guest editor Brandi Loveday provide perspectives on current policy challenges, focusing on privacy. Grace Begany writes on mobile privacy; Norman Gervais, on U.S. government use of cookies; Shelly Warwick, on the privacy environment post-9/11; Christopher Kotfila, on self-destructing data in digital communication; and Shannon Oltmann, on the current legal findings regarding Fifth Amendment protections and the keys/passwords to encrypted data. Caidi, Stevenson and Richmond review recent developments in access to government information in Canada. In her introduction Loveday urges information professionals, ASIS&T members and ASIS&T as an organization to become more visible and pro-active in formulating and influencing policy decisions. The ASIS&T Annual Meeting in Montreal was well attended and lively. Our extensive report on the meeting is set for the February issue, but, of course, the event did include the inauguration of our 2014 president, Harry Bruce. In his first “President's Page” for the Bulletin, Harry shares his views on how ASIS&T can reverse the gradual decline in membership that the Association and others like it have experienced in recent years. Our enhanced international focus is vital to that goal, and the founding of the new Asia Pacific Chapter, as reported by Emil Levine, supports this expansion. Indeed, the energy our international members are contributing to ASIS&T was very apparent at the Annual Meeting, with 39 countries represented and the European Chapter winning the Chapter-of-the-Year award for 2013. Our RDAP (Research Data Acquisition and Preservation) column also concerns European activities as Robin Rice describes Edinburgh DataShare and its growth from demonstration project to integral part of the University of Edinburgh's research data management program. Although many members and others who help with the Bulletin are old friends, there are always new contributors. Many of them come to the Annual Meeting, and it is always fun to meet them face-to-face for the first time and thank them personally. The Bulletin is always happy to welcome new authors and new ideas from all our readers, so please keep us in mind when you have something important to communicate to your fellow information professionals.

Talk to us

Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have

Schedule a call

Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.