Ethical Challenges and Their Impact on the Library Professional - Essay Example

Ethical issues of library profession     Professional standards of conducts are called ethics. There are a number of issues that are faced by librarians when they deal in information providing in libraries. In public and academic, librarians have a responsibility to make sure that the information given by them is accurate and reliable and they are providing it equally to members of the population. A new dilemma recently has faced that the librarians questioning whether or not to provide information that potentially could be harmful to the person making request or society as a whole. To give an overview of the most profound ethical dilemmas facing libraries and librarians this essay will endeavor, and try to establish if Wendi Arant ' concerns are still valid today. It will be stated that the issue of privacy is so important and essential in any discussion of ethics, and its promotion, maintenance, and preservation the custodial duty of every library employee, that it will be considered an underlying and assumed practice. Overview of Library Professionals The repositories for humanity's knowledge are libraries they are our past, our present and our future. The accessibility of all information available within the confine of the library to all people is a must, irrespective of wealth or status. Libraries today are much more than a warehouse of books and may also include other forms of electronic data. Specialized knowledge is required a unique technique of retrieval and database searches can be quite costly. An important is that who will pay for them. As the modern technology is rising, the logistic of workplace has been changed forever, for governing behavior and for the development of procedures for librarians on the Information Age front line. Hans Jonas states that the “modern technology has introduced actions of such novel scale, objects, and consequences, that the framework of former ethics can no longer contain them" (Prytherch 2005). Technology and Ethics The ethical dilemma faced by librarians and information professionals in today’s world are a lot. The interest in the topic of workplace ethics is rapidly growing with the passage of time. This is because the manner in which humans interact with each other and their environment has been changed by evolution of modern technology. Richard Severson states that, Technological innovation, for example, is enabling us to create "brave new worlds"... But automated environments are unfamiliar worlds. Our old intuitive habits of evaluation, which are adequate for determining what is best in traditional worlds, are inadequate in new and different settings (Douglass, 2008). . It is very important that libraries have started considering ethics, since it is frequently only librarians who have the skills needed to access information from these new databases. It is stressed highly by Alex C. Michalos that very critical information about their knowledge with patrons are shared by professionals. An impenetratable rift however will develop between those who have the power to obtain information and those who do not (Michalos 2003). There comes a question which is incorporated with the latest technologies. The question is of user fees and the problems associated for all levels of society with equal right of information The Censorship of Selection and Intellectual Freedom Consequences Wendi Arant wrote about the need for librarianship to develop a new code of ethics in 1991. Similarly in 1995 the ALA did the same. The conclusion drawn from the examination of code is that perhaps all of his concerns were not dealt with. Necessary to Lee W. Finks' thesis is the belief that a code of ethics for librarians and information professionals most not be a void statement written to convince either the public or library boards. There must be the personification of the principles and convictions that historically librarians hold valued, must "focus on the way we do our work and whether or not we perform in a way that can honestly be called professional" (ARANT 2003) . In addition to this all members must follow a clearly defined set of ethical standards as pointed by Johan Bekker, since a profession is judged by society by its individual member (ARANT 2003) .And particularly, selection of materials and intellectual freedom related all ethical issue should be carefully considered by librarians (ARANT 2003). The entire plot of intellectual freedom pivots on the assumption that is chosen by individuals as the path taken by their inquiries, but this is often a false assumption "how each selection is made in the process of providing information involves a value judgment" (Healy 2008). The direction taken by an inquiry is usually decided by librarians and hence becomes necessary that librarians continually make every effort not to let personal judgments hinder with their professional activities. Always, the client has no way to judge whether the librarian has acted unethically in any way (Low 2007). Librarians’ prejudices must be set aside by them and suppress any personal attitudes that may result in destruction of the validity of an institution that must have as its basic underlying principle: the social obligation that is to allow accessibility to all perspectives. In selection of David A. Baldwin addresses the issue of selection in libraries and argues that "the fact that librarians must examine and select the materials for their collection may make them de facto censors" (Kesselmen 2005). Ann also emphasizes that this selection must be free of censorship and in addition must be undertaken for library users, without any personal biases (Ann 2003). Theses decisions are correctly highlighted by Hauptman by saying that these decisions are becoming more essential considering the rising price of books and other materials, and the continual budget cuts that libraries are facing today. The avoidance of censorship and duplication of reference materials are well highlighted by him and also librarians are cautioned about it. Nowadays, monetary resources are even more unstable, as to keep up with modern technology and society's demands in libraries, so much have to be spent. What are libraries' responsibilities toward society? The Ethics of Librarians: Society and Clients When discussing ethics in the library profession it is always good to be aware of different codes of ethics of the different library associations.  Professional codes of ethics are very important because they can give the librarian a basis from which the can get help to make difficult decisions.  It is often difficult to provide information that may conflict with personal values and beliefs.  The codes of ethics are there to guide librarians in making decisions that support the goals and beliefs of the profession rather than making decisions based on personal values.       There is separate Code of Ethics of different library associations.  This partly is because the different organizations to libraries belong to and they usually have their own guidelines for ethical practices.  Consequently, it is essential for librarians to be aware of the beliefs and values held by their particular organizations, whereas at the same time they should also practice the behavior that is expected of library professionals.  Occasionally these two can contradict each other and this is when the librarian should decide of their own that which takes precedence, the profession or the organization.      There are numerous other library associations and organizations that have codes of ethics.  These can provide the librarian a basis from which to make particularly not so easy decisions. Everyday, in reference to work many ethical conundrums are faced and it is depending on how they should be dealt with, for overall society and individuals they can have some serious consequences. Some of the issues are brought to the forefront by Robert Hauptman, when he first undertook his experiment to obtain information on the ways the questions of an ethical manner are answered by reference librarians. In 1975, thirteen libraries were visited by him and asked the reference librarian to provide him with information for making a bomb that would help him to blow up suburban home. None of the three librarians he visited refused to provide the information requested by him. Here lies the fatal dilemma for the workforce working on the reference desks of our libraries. The question here is that are clients served by them blindly, compromising any moral obligation, or is it their primary duty to reconsider about the collective good? It is called dubious commitment to dispense information by many intellects. If there is any reason to deduce fetid play or that any corporeal harm could come to anyone by the giving away of information, then the responsibility is on the reference librarian to refuse to dispense any such information. Hence whenever there is a direct conflict between professional ethics and societal good, the latter must take primacy. A few has decisive views concerning where librarians' priorities should lie, stressing that the professional's first ethical of the essence step should be to provide altruistic service to the client. Nonetheless, there has been an argument that in view of vocational ethics which usually take precedence, librarians' duties should fall to society first for sure. Code of Ethics of Special Library We also have a lot of special libraries which have the advantage of being able to clearly define their usages and their needs (Baldwin 2003).  A number of special libraries do not serve general public but serve their organization’s members. If they start serving to the public, this may result in the placement of the needs of the primary users above those of the secondary users. However, the need to eliminate the problem of making sure that all primary users are receiving equal services cannot be achieved through this. There is a hierarchy of staff of organizations who are associated with special libraries. For instance, let’s suppose that any law firm partner need information a case right way. Earlier a new attorney at the firm too that same day requested information that he feels is likewise as important and also needs it as soon as possible. The need to put requirements of the partner above that of new employee is also a problem faced by librarians because the partner has more power at the firm and is regarded, in general, as being more important. The idea of equal treatment of users regardless of status is also one idea that is consistent in all professional codes of ethics. However it is actually not fair to treat the request of partner over the request of attorney simply because of his position. If the decision benefits the whole organization, it however becomes important to place the needs of the higher ranked partner above that of another employee. It is then up to the librarian to recognize when this is the case and what is required. Questions on ethics are usually posed in the situations where there are conflicts of interests. Special librarians will also face many situations where there may be disagreement and conflicts of interests and they must rely on their professional values of the organization. Conflicts of Interest Freelancing is also very controversial topic in libraries. There may be instances when a library is approached by an organization’s employee with the request to help them research information for a project that is not directly to their work. Librarian may be offered to be paid by for their time given to this activity. However, this may also through word of mouth could potentially lead to more freelance work and hence quite a bit of extra income for the librarian can be earned. To do research for someone to pay outside of work, there is nothing unethical in this activity. Though, it is important for the librarian to make sure that this outside of work activity remains where freelancing is. The biggest problem that librarian are to face with this freelancing is to consider the options about how interference with their duties of work can be avoided (Zmuda2008). This outside research however cannot be done by librarian of course but this also should be made sure that this outside research isn’t keeping them up late at night or causing stress that in result could interfere with their performance at work. There is also the issue of using the employer’s databases to perform research even if the librarian has the intention of reimbursing the company.  The only way this is satisfactory is if the librarian has authorization from their supervisor. In addition to this, another ethical issue includes consulting users. There are different libraries in law firms, medical facilities or companies which are usually specific to their purpose of use. The librarian may be asked for advice or for information at times. For example, a corporate librarian could be asked their advice on what stock to buy or a law librarian could be asked for legal advice from an outside user.  A medical librarian from patients will sometimes be asked for medical advice or even a diagnosis (Crew 2005).Giving any legal or medical advice to the person making request, should be avoided by librarians. This is because the requester could hold the librarian and the organization responsible. Guiding a user and giving out advice has a very thin line in between. This is specifically true in the case of medical and law library. It is not only a poor ethical practice to give out advice; it is also completely against the law. Furthermore the librarian and the organization could be held liable by law. Wherever there is a risk of legal action being taken, Librarians should never put themselves in situation like such. Once the point where the information being given is beyond facts or instruction is reached by librarian is becomes important to recommend patron to contact someone who is trained to help them such as a doctor or lawyer. The importance of client’s privacy protection is an issue on which almost all the library organizations have stressed upon. Suppose the head of the organization wants to know about what information the employees are researching.  Does the employer have the right to inquire about that information or do the employees have the right to privacy still.  There is no clear way to the resolution of this issue.  This is an instance when the librarian will have to look at the policies and values of the organization and eventually help making the decision of what they feel is the right thing to do.  It should be kept in mind when making this decision that what will be the consequences. It would be adequate to reveal this information if the employees were aware of it, but the librarian should never make it an information sharing practice with the employer without the knowledge or approval of the employee. The primary users in libraries are not restricted only to the students, lawyers, doctors etc, but they cater to population from all walks of life. The importance of librarians maintaining the privacy of the clients is reemphasized because it extends beyond that one user in the library in situations discussed above. Hence a good librarian is always trustworthy. Concluding Remarks Questions of sanctions have been raised and the argument made that they must go hand in hand with codes of ethics, if ethical behavior is to be adhered to by librarians. Sullivan speculates on how a code can be enforced when ethics are usually very subjective. He advocates that codes integrate a series of rules for librarians to follow in the face of "moral questions raised by the diverse applications and growing technological sophistication of computers" (Sullivan 2008). Additionally, Lanier envisions libraries of higher standards, if the administrators exercise and expect exemplary behavior from all staff (Sullivan 2008). Because librarians are important individuals who possess valuable knowledge, skills, and experiences badly needed in a world of people who must come to terms with the power of information in their lives . . . We know that free access to information preserves democratic ideas, that information resources must be managed with care, and that the human spirit depends upon remembering the past, sharing the present in community, and dreaming about the future (Low 2007). References   Scott Douglas. (2008) Quiet, Please: Dispatches from a Public Librarian. Da Capo Press. Lee Ann. (2003) Law for K-12 Libraries and Librarians. Torrans Alex C. Michalos. (2004). A Pragmatic Approach to Business Ethics. Sage Publications, Inc Ray Prytherch. (2005) Harrods’s Librarians' Glossary and Reference. BookAshgate Publishing David A. Baldwin.2005) Global Librarianship .CRC Routledge Allison Zmuda. (2008) Librarians as Learning Specialists: Meeting the Learning Imperative for the 21st Century. Libraries Unlimited Kathleen Low. (2007) Casanova Was a Librarian: A Light-Hearted Look at the Profession Doreen Sullivan. (2008) where we came from (2). It's so good, we've reviewed it again The Australian Library Journal. Kathleen McFarland & Company Kenneth D. Crews. (2005) Copyright Law for Librarians and Educators: Creative Strategies and Practical Solutions. American Library Association Paul D. Healey. (2008) Professional Liability Issues for Librarians and Information Professionals (Legal Advisor for Librarians, Educators, and Information Pro) .Neal Schuman Publishers Carrie Russell. (2004) Complete Copyright: An Everyday Guide for Librarians. American Library Association (Russell 2004) Wendi Arant. (2003) the Image and Role of the Librarian. Routledge David A. Baldwin. (2003) the Library Compensation Handbook: A Guide for Administrators, Librarians Libraries Unlimited Allison Zmuda. (2008) Librarians as Learning Specialists: Meeting the Learning Imperative for the 21st Century .Libraries Unlimited Read More