Legal issues related to libraries: a study of cases filed in Indian courts

The purpose of this paper is to identify various legal issues that affect libraries in India.

The method adopted in this study was to identify and analyze all cases filed in the Indian Supreme Court, High Courts and Tribunals and Commissions and reported in the Westlaw India database for the 10-year period from 2008 to 2017.

Among the identified cases that were related to libraries or library professionals, a large majority of them were issues related to service or employment such as pay scales, promotion, age of superannuation and service termination. There were very few cases related to library work, such as library access, services provided and copyright.

The current study is based on study of cases that have been reported and mentioned in Westlaw India Legal Database and occurring during the limited period from 2008 to 2017. The implications of the study are manifold, with the main implication being the urgent need to introduce basic legal education and training to library professionals. The other implication is the need to further research in this domain due to lack of sufficient studies on the topic and enrich the library and information science (LIS) literature.

This study would not only help create awareness about legal issues related to libraries and library professionals but also help in understanding the main areas of litigation involving libraries and library professionals. The study also makes a case for introduction of basic legal education for LIS professionals. The paper adopts a novel research approach that can be replicated by researchers in other countries to enable international comparisons.