Bio
Victoria Owen is Information Policy Scholar-Practitioner in the Faculty of Information at the University of Toronto and Special Advisor to the Dean on Information Accessibility at University of Toronto Scarborough.
Her particular focus encompasses copyright, access, accessibility, human rights, and the public interest. Her background is in library administration in academic, special and public libraries, including the University of Toronto and the CNIB Library for the Blind. Victoria holds a Master’s in Library Science and a Master’s in Law, specializing in intellectual property. She serves on the board of the World Intellectual Property Organization’s Accessible Book Consortium, Chair of the IFLA Advisory Committee on Standards, and a member of national policy and copyright committees.
Academic Positions
- Information Policy Scholar-Practitioner, University of Toronto, Faculty of Information
- Special Advisor to the Dean, Accessibility of Information, University of Toronto Scarborough, Office of the Dean
- Chief Librarian, University of Toronto Scarborough
Degrees
- LLM, Osgoode Hall Law School, York University
- MLS, Western University
Publications – Selected Articles
- Davidson, L., Kohn, A., Owen, V. “The Practitioners’ Guide to Using the Copyright Act of Canada to Make Accessible Content for People with Print Disabilities”. Journal of Copyright in Education and Librarianship, 2025 (expected). Peer-reviewed.
- Davidson, L., Kohn, A. Owen, V., “Accessible Content: A guide to the Canadian Copyright Act on Searching for Accessible Formats and Producing and Distributing Alternate Formats”. CFLA and CARL, expected 2025.
- Owen, V. et al. 2021. “Canadian Collaborations: Library Communications and Advocacy in the Time of COVID-19.” Journal of Copyright in Education and Librarianship, 5(1), 1-11. Peer-reviewed.
- Callison, C., Ludbrook, A., Nayyer, K., Owen, V. “Engaging Respectfully with Indigenous Knowledges: Copyright, Customary Law, and Cultural Memory Institutions in Canada. 2021. KULA: Knowledge Creation, Dissemination, and Preservation Studies 5(1): XX. DOI: https://doi.org/10.18357/kula.146
- Owen, V. et al, “Getting Started; Implementing the Marrakesh Treaty for Persons with Print Disabilities: The Canadian practical guide for librarians.” CFLA 2020
- Owen, V. et al, “Getting Started: Implementing the Marrakesh Treaty for persons with print disabilities – A practical guide for librarians. IFLA, August 2018
- Owen, V. “Libraries and the Copyright (Balancing) Act.” Policy Options, June 14, 2017. http://policyoptions.irpp.org/magazines/june-2017/libraries-and-the-copyright-balancing-act/
- Kawooya, D., Keninger, K., Owen, V., Tabb, W. “The Treaty of Marrakesh: From Good Law to Good Implementation.” World Libraries, Vol 22, No 1 (2016) Dominican University School of Information Studies in River Forest, Illinois. http://worldlibraries.dom.edu/index.php/worldlib/article/view/564/496 Peer-reviewed.
- Owen, V. “The Librarian’s Role in the Interpretation of Copyright Law: Acting in the Public Interest”. Feliciter. 60, no 5, p 8, 2014. Peer-reviewed.
Publications – Book Chapters
- Owen, V. “The Information Professional’s Imperative to Advance Accessibility as a Human Right”, In Inclusion in Libraries, edited by Christiane Felsmann. IFLA Publication Series. Munich: De Gruyter, 2025 (expected). Peer-reviewed.
- Owen, V. “With Respect to Rights – in the Public Interest”, In Navigating Copyright for Libraries: Purpose and Scope, edited by Jessica Coates, Victoria Owen, and Susan Reilly. IFLA Publication Series 181. Munich: De Gruyter, 2022. Peer-reviewed.
Teaching
- INF2181 – Information Policy, Regulation and Law
- INF1230 – Management of Information Organization
Leadership – Committee Membership
- Chair, IFLA Advisory Committee on Standards, 2021-2025
- Chair, CFLA Copyright Committee, Working Group on Accessibility, 2019-2024
- Board Member, WIPO Accessible Book Consortium, 2018-2025
- Special Advisor – Accessibility, CARL Policy and Advocacy Committee, 2024-2025
- Chair, CFLA Copyright Committee, 2018-2024
- Chair, IFLA Copyright and Other Legal Matters Committee, 2011-2015
Leadership – Honour/Award/Distinction
- Larry Moore Distinguished Service Award 2023
- Ken Haycock Award for Promoting Librarianship 2023
- IFLA Scroll of Appreciation 2020
- Robert Blackburn Distinguished Paper Award 2014