Competency A

Introduction

The first competency in the SJSU iSchool's graduate MLIS program is to "demonstrate awareness of the ethics, values, and foundational principles of one of the information professions, and discuss the importance of intellectual freedom within that profession". The Code of Ethics of the American Library Association is the codified set of principles and values that guide the work of various information professionals including those working in an academic library with emerging technologies and digital services. Originally adopted in 1939 and revised over the years these principles and values act as anchors in an information environment that is under continual change allowing information professionals the freedom to govern themselves when facing ethical dilemmas and situations. The following eight fundamental statements are found in the Code of Ethics (ALA, 2008):

  1. We provide the highest level of service to all library users through appropriate and usefully organized resources; equitable service policies; equitable access; and accurate, unbiased, and courteous responses to all requests.
  2. We uphold the principles of intellectual freedom and resist all efforts to censor library resources.
  3. We protect each library user's right to privacy and confidentiality with respect to information sought or received and resources consulted, borrowed, acquired or transmitted.
  4. We respect intellectual property rights and advocate balance between the interests of information users and rights holders.
  5. We treat co-workers and other colleagues with respect, fairness, and good faith, and advocate conditions of employment that safeguard the rights and welfare of all employees of our institutions.
  6. We do not advance private interests at the expense of library users, colleagues, or our employing institutions.
  7. We distinguish between our personal convictions and professional duties and do not allow our personal beliefs to interfere with fair representation of the aims of our institutions or the provision of access to their information resources.
  8. We strive for excellence in the profession by maintaining and enhancing our own knowledge and skills, by encouraging the professional development of co-workers, and by fostering the aspirations of potential members of the profession.

Other professional information organizations use their own code of ethics including A Code of Ethics for Information Scientists and the WorldCat Rights and Responsibilities for the OCLC Cooperative. Public and academic libraries also create their own set of ethical policies and procedures. These procedures clarify the role of the librarian and the librarian's relationship to patrons. They also explain how patron circulation records are handled and kept confidential as well as the extent of legal counsel a librarian can provide. An example of the application of a information profession's ethics and values can be found in the guideline documents from the Reference and User Services Association including the Health and Medical Reference Guidelines and Guidelines for Behavioral Performance of Reference and Information Service Providers. These guidelines find application in a variety of professional settings where information professionals interact with patrons and help them find the information they are seeking. The performance of an information professional answering the information needs of a patron can be judged based on their professional behavior, understanding and following their organization's policies, and respecting the patron's rights to information. This understanding of the ethics involved with patron interaction is addressed in a reference interview assignment for LIBR 210. Within the information professions ethical codes are rooted in the goal of establishing environments of "intellectual freedom and the freedom of access to information" (ALA, 2008). In the course of following a professional code of ethics situations sometimes arise that create ethical dilemmas where there is an apparent conflict between two or more ethical principles. An example dilemma involving intellectual freedom and access to information can occur when trying to meet the needs of individuals while also providing for the good of the community. A discussion posting in LIBR 200 illustrates how these principles clarify what to do when the needs of an individual patron appear to conflict with the collective good of society.k

Evidence

The following evidence from previous course work demonstrates knowledge of the codes of ethics within information professions and gives examples of complexities that often arise in trying to follow each ethical code.

  1. A reference interview assignment following the RUSA guidelines for LIBR 210
  2. A discusion post from LIBR 200 about ethical dilemmas

LIBR 210 Reference Interview Assignment

One of the last assignments for the Reference and Information Services course (LIBR 210) required creating a written script of a librarian answering the question of a patron. The assignment was designed to illustrate a good reference interview involving ethical considerations following the RUSA guidelines. In the reference interview script the patron, who is a local DJ, asks the librarian to know if they are legally allowed to remix the work of other musicians into their own. The librarian has to walk a careful balance between following established ethical guidelines while also helping the patron find information to answer their information needs. Public and academic libraries often have policies that restrict librarians and staff from providing authoritative legal counsel. In this scenario the librarian wasn't able to directly answer whether the actions of the DJ were legal. Instead they shared the legal resources available in the library so that the patron would be empowered to find their own answers. The librarian was also bound by the ALA code of ethics to not express their own personal opinion about the legal matter to avoid interfering with the library's institutional aims and the patron's access to information (see ALA Code of Ethics #7).

LIBR 200 Ethical Dilemma Discussion Post

A discussion post assignment in Information and Society (LIBR 200) explored the ethical dilemma of either blindly serving a library patron or not serving the patron when their request conflicts with the community's interests and safety. This discussion question was patterned after an experiment conducted by Robert Hauptman and reported in his symposium contribution, Ethical Concerns in Librarianship: An Overview, given at the 27th annual symposium of the graduate alumni and faculty of the Rutgers School of Communication, Information, and Library Studies. The experiment looked to discover how librarians respond to a patron asking for information about building a bomb with the destructive capacity to explode a suburban home. The discussion post explains the view point that it would be unethical to blindly serve a patron without regard to any other moral obligations to other parts of the community and society. Although respect for the individual is a core ethical principle for information professionals there is also a responsibility to to the collective 'good'. This ethical dilemma illustrates that "conflicts might occur between social responsibility and respecting the individual" but that despite these conflicts respect for the autonomy of a patron and their individuality should be protected as long as the patron doesn't "violate the dignity and respect of others" (Rubin, 2010, p. 418-419)

Conclusion

This scenario as well as other complex ethical dilemmas (e.g. item selection, copyright and intellectual property, professional conflics of interest) demonstrate the need to "anticipate and understand the nature of ethical dilemmas likely to occur in libraries, be familiar with the ethical prescriptions of the field, and know the factors that should be considered when deliberating ethical issues" (Rubin, 2010, p. 417). Professional codes of ethics aren't created to be used merely if ethical dilemmas occur. In our ever-changing information society information professionals will continue to face ethical dilemmas. The question is not if they will occur but when. Thus, it is only in understanding a professional code of ethics that an information professional can be prepared to resolve ethical dilemmas when they occur.

References

ALA, (2008, January 22). Code of Ethics of the American Library Association. Retrieved from http://www.ala.org/advocacy/proethics/codeofethics/codeethics

SJSU iSchool, (2016). MLIS core competencies (program learning outcomes). Retrieved from http://ischool.sjsu.edu/current-students/courses/core-competencies

Hauptman, Robert. 1990. Ethical Concerns in Librarianship: An Overview. In Information Ethics, ed. by Anne Mintz, pp. 14-23. Jefferson: McFarland.

Mason, M. K. (2013). Ethics of librarianship: Libraries, intellectual freedom, and censorship in the age of technology. Retrieved from http://www.moyak.com/papers/ethics-librarianship.html

Rubin, R.E. (2010). Foundations of library and information science. New York: Neal-Schuman.