In celebration of the 17th annual global Open Access Week, Penn State University Libraries will host a virtual talk by Sarah Lamdan, deputy director of the American Library Association’s (ALA) Office for Intellectual Freedom. The event, titled “Data Cartels and Commercial Obstacles to Open Access,” will take place on Thursday, Oct. 24, from 1:30 to 3 p.m. via Zoom. The talk will explore the themes of Lamdan’s recent book, “Data Cartels” (Stanford University Press, 2023), which examines the monopolization of information by private companies.
Open to Penn State students, employees, and the general public, the event will address how commercial interests hinder open access to information, an issue at the heart of ongoing debates in the academic and library communities. Registration is required for the free event.
Following the talk, attendees from the University community are invited to a desserts and discussion session hosted by Penn State Libraries’ Open Initiatives Group in the Music Seminar Room on the third floor of Pattee Library (Pattee W-325) at University Park.
Lamdan is a prominent advocate for data justice, with expertise spanning issues such as open government, personal privacy, and informational capitalism. At the ALA, she plays a pivotal role in promoting intellectual freedom and combatting book bans. Previously, she was a professor at City University of New York (CUNY) School of Law, where she taught courses on administrative law, environmental law, and data privacy. Her extensive background includes a juris doctor degree, a master’s in library science and legal information management, and a certificate in environmental law.
Lamdan's insights will resonate with this year’s Open Access Week theme, “Community Over Commercialization,” which emphasizes prioritizing open scholarship approaches that benefit the public and academic communities rather than commercial interests.
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