Recent high-profile plagiarism cases have highlighted the challenge documented cases of plagiarism in published works present for libraries. Librarians must consider whether to pull items from shelves, add notes to physical items or catalog records, or leave previously-valuable research in place. In this session, we consider how libraries should handle documented cases of plagiarism by exploring the recent case of Peter O’Brien’s admitted plagiarism in his New Testament commentaries. There are two components of this presentation. First, we will report on a survey of ATLA librarians regarding policies and/or procedures of handling plagiarism in their institutions. To facilitate this, we are distributing an online survey through email. Second, we will have a panel conversation with a public services librarian, interested in the instructional value of documented plagiarism; a special collections librarian, interested in matters related to the access and description of the particular works in question; and a faculty member, interested in how to handle documented plagiarists in research and citation. We have intentionally selected panelists from the same institution to demonstrate how these roles interact with one another in one particular situation. After introducing the O’Brien case and reporting on a summary of how ATLA institutions have handled this particular case, each panel member will consider the problems (or opportunities) instances of plagiarism present for his or her role in theological education.
