Holley Cornetto
 
Professor. Librarian. Writer. Student of all things interesting and extraordinary.
 

 

“We have a special obligation to ensure the free flow of information and ideas to present and future generations.” – Code of Ethics of the American Library Association

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Competency A is one of the broadest competencies, encompassing ethics, values, foundational principles, and the importance of intellectual freedom. When examining these different elements, it is easy to see how they all fit together thematically, but it poses a problem when attempting to address them because so many aspects of information science fall within them. Librarians serve the public, and as such, are often faced with ethical dilemmas. These dilemmas often concern providing access to a broad range of viewpoints, supporting free speech, opposing censorship in all forms, protecting intellectual property, and ensuring that information seekers find relevant, accurate, and timely information.

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The foundational principles that all information professionals look to for guidance are found within the “Library Bill of Rights” and the “Code of Ethics of the American Library Association.” These are both documents that I encountered several times throughout my coursework, which underlies their importance for information professionals, as well as their importance in San Jose State University’s MLIS program. For me, this competency is perhaps the most important, because within it are several of the elements that led me to pursue a career as a librarian. It is a part of my personal and professional philosophy that everyone should have access to the information that they need. Working with a population of students that live at or below the poverty line, I see firsthand the effects that the digital divide has on student performance. The digital divide is the name adopted for the gap between the population of people who do not have access to the Internet and other technologies (usually poor, underprivileged, handicapped, or elderly), and those who do have access to the Internet and technology. Libraries strive to provide access to these individuals who might otherwise be cut off from equitable access.

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The Library Bill of Rights discusses the purpose and guiding principles of libraries. When considering values and foundational principles, this document reminds information professionals that:

 

Materials should not be excluded from the collection based on biases;

all points of view should be reflected in the collection;

censorship should be challenged, libraries should cooperate with those who champion free expression and access to ideas;

library use should not be prohibited because of bias against age, origins, background, or views;

and finally that spaces should be available to the public on an equitable basis (2006).

 

When looking over the points discussed by the Bill of Rights, two important values are a recurring theme for information professionals. The first is providing access to materials, services, and space without bias. In this instance bias can be discrimination against individuals because of age, race, socioeconomic standing, or disability to mention only a few. The second value evident throughout the document is opposition to censorship, and championing free speech. This document places librarians as defenders of the First Amendment. Information professionals have some control over the access and dissemination of information, and with that control comes responsibility. For example, deciding what types of books, magazines, newspapers, and serials to add to the collection will affect the types of information that the community can access. Librarians have a duty to their community, not only to provide them with materials that they will enjoy, but to also provide materials of several different viewpoints and perspectives.

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The second foundational document is the Code of Ethics of the American Library Association. This code presents principles that are meant to guide information professionals through the decision making process when facing an ethical dilemma. Like the Bill of Rights, this document is broken up into the following key points:

 

Librarians provide appropriate and useful resources, equitable policies, access, and unbiased responses;

Uphold intellectual freedom while resisting censorship;

Protect patron privacy;

Respect intellectual property rights while advocating for information seekers;

Treat co-workers with respect;

Do not advance private interests;

Do not allow personal belief to interfere with information dissemination;

Strive for excellence through professional development (2006).

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While some of the points discussed in this document overlap with the Bill of Rights, there are a few statements included here that are significant from an ethical standpoint. According to this document, information professionals have an obligation to protect privacy, respect co-workers, provide information despite ideological differences, and to grow and develop as professionals. Privacy for patrons is a very important consideration, and something that we discussed extensively in INFO 210 (Reference and Information Services). Privacy concerns arise when patrons come in searching for information concerning sensitive issues including concerns about financial, medical, or sexuality issues. Librarians have a responsibility to assist these patrons in meeting their information needs, while ensuring that their inquiries are handled discreetly and tactfully.

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Evidence

My first piece of evidence is a blog post about ethical issues in information communities which comes from my INFO 200 course. In INFO 200, we chose an information community to study. One of the assignments for this course was to write a blog post about ethical considerations for our community. I chose an online weight loss community called Sparkpeople. For my community, there were many ethical considerations, which I discuss in-depth in this blog post. Although this site requires a password to access, once a member, posts on forums, blogs, and other areas of the website are public. This runs into privacy issues, issues with people sharing too much information, and people who are not health professionals giving and receiving health related advice.

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I submit this artifact to demonstrate my awareness of ethical issues such as a patron’s right to privacy, an information professional’s responsibility to provide information despite their own personal beliefs, and larger ethical considerations such as providing and seeking health related information online.

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My second piece of evidence to demonstrate mastery of this competency is a project that I completed in INFO 281: Open Access. This assignment was a comparison of two institutional repositories. In the course, we were required to test two repositories of our choosing, and after comparing them, decide which we would recommend, and why. This was my first experience with using institutional repositories, and the results were mixed. Institutional repositories are hosted by universities or other organizations, and they encourage authors to deposit scholarly works. These works then become accessible openly to the public. As information professionals, open access is a topic of growing concern and importance to the profession. As the price of digital materials subscriptions continue to rise, open access will be one of the key ways that librarians help to combat the growing digital divide. I submit this artifact to demonstrate my understanding and mastery of ethical considerations of ethical and equitable access to information.

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For my third piece of evidence, my Open Access Advocacy Plan, I created an open access plan for an academic institution of my choosing. For this project, I chose my alma mater, William Paterson University. I created profiles for stakeholders, complete with agendas targeted toward educating and informing them of the benefits of supporting open access initiatives on campus. This document also includes a video for faculty members at William Paterson explaining what open access is, and how faculty members can use it to their advantage. Part of the push for open access begins with college and university campuses and libraries. Many academic institutions require professors to publish scholarly writing in order to achieve tenure. As such, some universities have begun to require their employees to provide some type of open access to the scholarship that they produce. Requiring authors to deposit their work in repositories places pressure on the publishing industry to accommodate these scholars who seek publication. As someone who is currently employed in the publishing, I have seen firsthand the effects that these types of policies have had on the industry.

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I submit this project to demonstrate my awareness of ethical issues in providing equitable access to library patrons, and my commitment to protecting intellectual freedom rights while simultaneously advocating for information seekers.

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Conclusion

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Competency A contains what I consider to be the heart of librarianship; a solid foundation for information professionals built upon ethics, values, and a commitment to our patrons, our co-workers, and ourselves. These commitments include providing equitable access, helping to remove barriers to access, and striving to provide information and services for all of patrons - despite our own beliefs or prejudice. As public servants, librarians wear many hats, and often juggle competing responsibilities. In some instances, it is easy to get caught up in day to day activities and to overlook the fundamental principles of the profession. It is important to be reflective of the values and ethics of the profession, because while being an information professional is a career, to some it is also a calling. Librarianship is one of the few professions that, at its core, has a goal to make the world a better, more informed place. The evidence that I have submitted below demonstrates my commitment to the foundational concepts, values, and ethics of librarianship. In this evidence, I address issues about user privacy, oversharing information, providing equitable access to information, and protecting intellectual property while advocating for information seekers.

 

References:

American Library Association. (2006). Code of Ethics. Retrieved August 24, 2018 from: http://www.ala.org/advocacy/proethics/codeofethics/codeethics

 

American Library Association. (2006). Code of Ethics of the American Library Association. Retrieved August 24, 2018 from: http://www.ala.org/advocacy/proethics/codeofethics/codeethics