Libraries in the United States and around the world have historically promoted the values of equal access to information, patrons' rights to privacy, and preservation of the cultural and historical record. At present, information is increasingly created, disseminated and preserved online, and new models for corporate or public ownership of information are being tested. With these changes, many issues and challenges arise for information access, privacy and preservation. This course will ask how do new information systems enable or constrain our civic engagement with information? We will examine topics such as the digital divide; scholarly publishing and open access; big data, surveillance and privacy online; and digital preservation and how it relates to the previous topics. Graded credit/no credit.