Neal-Schuman Publishers, Inc.

 

In this clearly written and easy-to-understand guide, Healey explains the threat of potential liabilities, and most importantly, recommends how to avoid them. This vital guide clarifies how liability issues differ not only between institutions – public libraries, academic libraries, museums - but also between varying information related jobs like reference librarianship and cataloguing. The book’s introduction covers basic issues– enforcement mechanisms, defenses to claims and more – and follows with specific theories –negligence, malpractice, defamation and material torts, and more. Also covered are potential sources of claims, and suggestions for actions to take should you be faced with one. Audits, checklists, and sample policies are included for those wishing to further enhance their knowledge concerning a top legal issue among today’s information professionals.

 

Paul D. Healey serves as Senior Reference Librarian and Associate Professor of Library Administration at the Albert E. Jenner, Jr. Law Library at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Healey received his JD from the University of Iowa College of Law in 1987 and his Master of Arts in Library and Information Science from the University of Iowa School of Library and Information Science in 1995. In 2008 he earned a PhD in Library and Information Science from the University of Illinois Graduate School of Library and Information Science.

Healey has been an academic law librarian since 1995, prior to which he spent seven years practicing law. He has been on the law library faculty of the University of Illinois College of Law since 2000, where he performs reference duties and supervises and teaches the first-year legal research and advanced legal research courses at the law school. He also teaches courses at the University of Illinois Graduate School of Library and Information Science.

Healey is active in the American Association of Law Libraries and has been a featured speaker on librarian liability, pro se library users, and other legal- and library-related topics throughout the United States and Canada. He has written articles for the National Law Journal, Law Library Journal, and AALL Spectrum, among others.

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