Most librarians believe that they are part of a profession that is service oriented, democratic and nonjudgmental. Implicit in these principles is a core of professional ethics, allowing librarians to make effective, informed choices in matters affecting the library, its patrons and staff.Many of the ethical dilemmas facing the profession are covered here through a series of case studies. The focus is on librarians' relationships with patrons, colleagues, organizations, resources and vendors. Such issues as parental consent, (...) patrons' rights to privacy, union activities, library endorsements, censorship, and many others are covered. Each case study is followed by questions that highlight the particular ethical problem. (shrink)

It is a book all LIS educators and administrators need to read now. The editors and author contributors show us by direct action what critical librarianship is. At the heart of the book is an ethics of care and self-care, an ethics born out of critical stances positioned in examining our rich intersectionalities and inter-being as people of color and allies. Librarians With Spines is a call to action that asks us to reflect on our intentionality as information professionals. (...) It challenges librarians to proudly uphold and carry forward our duty to serve our communities in our daily work. (shrink)

This book brings into focus both the positive and negative aspects that technology places on the professional identity of librarians, highlighting the new methods involved in data management, communication, and library information education and research.

A philosophical and practical model for approaching the ethical challenges librarians are facing is provided in this work. The moral value of information is first examined, prompting a rethinking of librarians' understanding of professional neutrality and calling for them to broaden their role as community information specialists. Organizational ethics are next covered; the authors recommend specific management styles and values appropriate to libraries. This is followed by a critical analysis of the culture and tradition of librarianship, showing (...) how the field has reached its current identity and how its history can provide insights for new professional values. Practical recommendations for handling ethical problems in reference service, collection development and Internet access are then presented. (shrink)

There have been a number of studies examining the attitudes of librarians to ethical dilemmas, but few examining them in comparison with Library and Information Science students as we did in our study. According to that UK librarians and students in general hold surprisingly similar ethical attitudes. We expected the students to be more liberal, more willing to uphold idealistic principles, and given their student status, with attitudes balanced in favour of other students' and patrons' rights in terms (...) of fees, and accessibility, and copyright law. On the contrary, in many areas such as Internet filtering, looking at online erotic images, and removing books at the request of patrons, we found practitioners more liberal than the students. A reason for that might be that the students are keen to emulate what they perceive to be a conservative and mature outlook, i.e., a stance of responsibility, as a pressing concern for ILS students is likely to be the establishment of a career. Though there is a fair level of teaching ethical issues it seems to lead into a mediocre level of student awareness of basic issues or of the CILIP Code which is meant as a 'framework' to help information professionals 'manage the responsibilities and sensitivities which figure prominently in their work'. (shrink)

This article attempts to provide empirical assessment of the nature and extent of ethical dilemmas confronted by librarians working in the news media. Sixty-eight librarians randomly selected from the membership of the News Division of the Special Libraries Association were surveyed to identify prevailing ethical attitudes, specific ethical problems, and the frequency with which those problems were encountered on the job. The study found a widespread concern about ethical issues among news librarians; 9 widely experienced ethical dilemmas; (...) and although ethical challenges are experienced by a majority of news librarians, they are not encountered with great frequency and therefore a crisis situation is not perceived to exist. These findings raise serious issues for both journalism and library professionals. (shrink)

This informative and entertaining study addresses ethical considerations for deceptive works and proposes cataloging solutions that are provocative and designed to spark debate. An extensive annotated bibliography describes books that are not what they seem.

Introduction -- Organization of the Guide -- Ethics. Definition of Ethics; Personal and Societal Values; Legal Ethics (State and Federal); Professional Ethics -- The Acquisitions Librarian and Ethics. Brief History of the Association for Library Collections and Technical Services; Reason for Acquisitions Focus; Guidance from Twelve Statements; Decision Points in Ethical Collection Development. Intellectual Freedom; Collecting Materials According to Collection Development Policies; Selection Stage; Scope of Content; Receipt of Materials; Checks and Balances; Security of Materials; Cost of Preservation; Storage (...) of Material; Ethics of Collection Access -- Privacy and Confidentiality Issues in Library Acquisitions. The Legal Landscape of Privacy and Confidentiality; When Library Best Practices Violate Patron Privacy; Recommendations -- Appendix: Major Ethics Codes for Librarianship -- Glossary: Ethics Terms. (shrink)

Für alle auf dem Buchmarkt Tätigen! Mit kurzen internationalen Einführungen in Institutionen der Informationsversorgung von Public Libraries bis zum Library Law und Intellectual Property. Fachausdrücke werden im Kontext dargestellt und eingeübt. Fragen und ein alphabetisches Vokabelverzeichnis runden jedes Kapitel ab.

This book includes historical precedents and current examples of ethical issues facing the profession, focusing on ethical dilemmas rather than management ...

The International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) is the leading international body representing the interests of library and information services and their users. It is the global voice of the information profession. The series IFLA Publications deals with many of the means through which libraries, information centres, and information professionals worldwide can formulate their goals, exert their influence as a group, protect their interests, and find solutions to global problems.

"This work is a valuable casebook, specifically for library and information science professionals, that presents numerous case studies that combine theories of ...

This is a direct challenge to the notion of library neutrality, especially in the present context of war, revolution, and social change. This book locates library and information workers as participants and interventionists in social conflicts. The strategies for social action worldwide were chosen because of their connection to elements of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) that relate particularly to core library values, information ethics, and global information justice. This book also encourages readers to pay attention to links (...) between library and information work and the following solidarity rights not currently incorporated into any legally-binding human rights framework. The aim is primarily at librarians, archivists, educators and students. Content consists of essential concepts presented in accessible terms (e.g., critical librarianship, information ethics, global information justice, human rights), along with a practical orientation to action on contemporary issues (e.g., intellectual freedom, intellectual property, preservation, cultural destruction, censorship, public access to government information, commercialization, academic freedom, workplace speech, international relations, anonymity, privacy, confidentiality, human security, national security policies, transborder data flow, and information poverty). (shrink)

Implementation of librarian's code of ethics related to the dynamics of librarianship in Indonesia.

Each profession has its own code of ethics. The Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary (2008) defines professional ethics as "the principles of conduct governing an individual or a group." The Code of Ethics of the American Library Association (ALA Council 2008) has served librarians for seventy years and reflects the ideals toward which aII librarians strive. While they are not step by step directives, the statements in the Code provide a moral framework for school library media specialists in their (...) daily practice. School library professionals face ethical dilemmas every day. Although the situations vary, most affect students' access to information and their privacy while using library resources. The following real-life examples reflect contemporary situations. Think about them. (shrink)

This chapter explains how case studies can be used successfully in distance education to provide an authentic, interactive way to teach ethical behavior through critical analysis and decision-making while addressing ethical standards and theories. The creation and choice of case studies are key for optimum learning, and can reflect both the instructor’s and students’ knowledge base. The process for using this approach is explained, and examples are provided. As a result of such practice, students support each other as they come (...) to a deeper, co-constructed understanding of ethical behavior, and they make more links between coursework and professional lives. The instructor reviews the students’ work to determine the degree of understanding and internalization of ethical concepts/applications, and to identify areas that need further instruction. (shrink)

Contributed articles presented at a seminar.

In this presentation, our goals are to identify some of the ways in which information technology poses a threat to librarians' professional identity and to develop a theory about the role that it should play. In the process of doing that we will identify organizational processes which may help librarians negotiate technological change, both within their profession and with their patrons. (For simplicity, we will use the phrase "information technology" to refer to contemporary trends in electronic or (...) cybernetic information technology. Obviously, print books are also a form of information technology.). (shrink)

Offers a historical-cultural context for the ethos of service in libraries and critically examines this professional value as it intersects with gender, sexuality, race and ethnicity, class, and (dis)ability"--Provided by publisher.

The design of Web browsers has resulted in a transfer of power to Web users and developers who often lack an ethical framework in which to act. For example, the technology makes it simple to copy and use other people’s Web page formatting without their permission. The author argues that we need to educate more people about ethical Web practices, and the author asks for “rules of the road” which amateurs and professionals can understand and follow. This article discusses four (...) areas of concern about Web development: the browser wars, information storage and retrieval, access for the handicapped, and cookies. For teachers, there are suggestions on how to use browsers to help students learn about Web ethics. (shrink)

Festschrift volume in honour of Mohd. Sabir Hussain, b. 1935.

Genealogy of the profession -- Place and identity -- Being informed about informing -- What's the right thing to do? -- In a democracy -- The information society -- Optimistic synthesis.

Acquisitions : an overview -- Assemblages of access -- Assemblages of discovery -- Assemblages of feedback -- The acquisitions assemblage : putting it all together.

This edited collection considers how feminist strategies and philosophies might initiate, reshape, and critique approaches to library reference services.

In Professional Ethics and Civic Morals , Emile Durkheim outlined the core of his theory of morality and social rights which was to dominate his work throughout the course of his life. In Durkheim's view, sociology is a science of morals which are objective social facts, and these moral regulations form the basis of individual rights and obligations. This book is crucial to an understanding of Durkheim's sociology because it contains his much-neglected theory of the state as a moral (...) institution, and it provides an understanding of his critique of anomie and egoistic individualism. The growing interest in cultural revolution and moral regulation make this edition of Durkheim's classic work especially timely. The new preface by Bryan Turner sets the book in its intellectual and historical context, and illustrates the relevance of this work to present day debates on the state, society, and moral regulation. (shrink)

Professional roles are often thought to bring role-specific permissions and obligation, which may allow or require role-occupants to do things they would not be permitted or required to do outside their roles, and which as individuals they would rather not do. This feature of professional roles appears to bring them into conflict both with 'ordinary' or non-role morality, and with personal integrity which is often thought to demand some form of personal endorsement of one's conduct. How are we (...) to reconcile the demands of roles with ordinary morality and with personal integrity? This collection draws together a set of papers which explore these questions as they bear upon a number of different professional roles, including those of the lawyer, the judge and the politician, and from a variety of perspectives, including contemporary analytic moral theory, jurisprudence, psychoanalytic theory, virtue ethics, and contextualism, and, more broadly, from philosophy and legal academia and practice. (shrink)

This paper explores issues of professional ethics that are relevant to those who engage in the ethical review of research with human subjects. Codes of ethics of a number of professional groups are examined for guidance offered to research ethics board members. The thought of the philosopher, Mike Martin, is introduced as a way to highlight some of the ethical issues that reviewers encounter in their work. Martin believes that ideals contribute to the coherence of an individual’s life (...) by shaping character. His discussion of caring, justice, trust, and professional distance offer a resource for reviewers to refl ect on the ethicaldimensions of their work. (shrink)

Justifying the existence of professional ethics in medicine is usually connected with the traditions of a profession and with a humanistic dimension of these ethics, pointing at the same time to their culture-forming character. With such an attitude, professional ethics is treated as a part of all mankind’s output, and its teaching turns out to be an important element of preparation for taking part in culture. Taking into account the cultural meaning of professional ethics, one should notice (...) that all discussions about the character of relations of medicine and ethics exceed the very health care system. The dilemma outlined in the article deals with the problem whether the existence of medical ethics requires external regulations or is this also a creation of the very representatives of medicine and only they can formulate it. If the latter is to be assumed, ethics in medicine would have to be independent of other detailed ethics and it would not need to be included in any other more general theory. In the first solution, medical ethics is becoming a part of general ethics and, therefore, it would be justified to include it in a more general theory – bioethics. The authors indicate that professional ethics does not limit freedom of the staff but gives a special opportunity to use it. Records constituting its contents are mostly standardized by a professional group which sets criteria of recruitment on its own and general duties resting on their members. (shrink)

Numerous articles in the popular press together with an examination of websites associated with the medical, legal, engineering, financial, and other professions leave no doubt that the role of professions has been impacted by the Internet. While offering the promise of the democratization of expertise – expertise made available to the public at convenient times and locations and at an affordable cost – the Internet is also driving a reexamination of the concept of professional identity and related claims of (...) expertise and standards of integrity. This paper begins with a presentation of case studies illustrating the ease by which impostors infiltrate the ranks of professionals. Reports of individuals masquerading as professionals via the Internet often reveal that these imposters cause harm to the unwary victims who rely on assertions of professional expertise. Such reports motivated the authors to examine the origins and evolution of the traditional roles of professions and professionals in today’s society, as well as question how, or whether, the standards for professional practice have been adapted to the challenges posed by technology, i.e., do statements of professional ethics provide a ‘guiding light’ for practitioners and their clients in the cyber age? The authors challenge the professions to consider the notion that technology forces a confrontation between the guild-like aspects of a profession that have served, on the one hand, to protect a profession from encroachment and, on the other hand, have purportedly protected the public. (shrink)

This study explored several proposed relationships among professional ethical standards, corporate social responsibility, and the perceived role of ethics and social responsibility. Data were collected from 313 business managers registered with a large professional research association with a mailed self-report questionnaire. Mediated regression analysis indicated that perceptions of corporate social responsibility partially mediated the positive relationship between perceived professional ethical standards and the believed importance of ethics and social responsibility. Perceptions of corporate social responsibility also fully mediated (...) the negative relationship between perceived professional ethical standards and the subordination of ethics and social responsibility. The results suggested that professions should develop ethical standards to encourage social responsibility, since these actions are associated with enhanced employee ethical attitudes. (shrink)

Professional Ethics: A Trust-Based Approach explores the unique nature of professional duty and virtue in light of the trust that professionals must invite, develop, and honor from those they intend to serve.

‘유교에 직업윤리가 존재하는가?’ 이 논문에서는 전문직을 위한 직업윤리에서 서구의 공리주의적 윤리의식 뿐만 아니라 유교의 윤리의식 역시 긍정적인 역할을 수행할 수 있다고 보았다. 오늘날 동아시아 사회에서 유교적인 에토스ethos는 여전히 강하게 영향력을 끼치고 있기 때문이다. 전통사회에서처럼 전면에서 국가를 운영하는 지도적 이념으로 작용하고 있지는 않지만, 사회구성원 대부분이 동의하는 문화나 가치규범속에서 여전히 작용하고 있으므로, 전통적인 유교이념에 기반하는 윤리ethics 역시 적극적 역할을 할 수 있다. 그러나 이러한 작업을 위해서는 첫머리에 던진 질문에 대한 답을 먼저 시도해볼 필요가 있다. 즉 유교 전통에서 직업윤리에 대해 논의할 수 있는 (...) 근거에 대해 논의할 필요가 있으며, 따라서 직업윤리와 직분윤리, 그리고 전문직윤리라는 주제에 관하여 유교적 맥락에서 어떠한 입장에 설 수 있는지, 논의의 타당성을 어떻게 모색할 수 있는지 밝히는 것이 본 고의 주요 목적이다. 이를 위해 2장에서는 유교 전통에서 직분윤리와 직업윤리에 대한 다양한 논의를 검토했다. 3장에서는 유교 전통의 맥락에서 ‘선비[士]’를 중심으로 전문직 윤리의 인식 가능성과 근거에 대해 고찰했다. 실제로 관직을 맡아 정치적 임무를 수행하는 ‘선비’들이 전문직으로서의 자아의식을 가지게 된 것은 『맹자』에서 뚜렷이 발견된다. 맹자는 정치의 수행에 있어서 ‘선비’만이 지닌 특화된 능력을 규정지으며, 왕조차도 그 전문적 영역을 침범해서는 안된다고 강력하게 주장한다. 중국의 당송대, 고려와 조선사대부들이 주장했던 ‘공치천하(共治天下)’의 이상도 이러한 정치 전문가로서의 선비의 자의식에서 비롯된 것이다. (shrink)