Competency A
Articulate the ethics, values, and foundational principles of library and information professionals and their role in the promotion of intellectual freedom
Introduction
During the first few core courses in SLIS I learned and participated in deep discussions about how ethics and professional values run throughout the core of the information professional field. Libraries are frequently described as “cornerstones of liberty” and as a “democratic institution”. Libraries support democracy by preparing citizens to participate in it, and by providing the information and knowledge needed to make that involvement meaningful and effective. They offer materials representing all points of view on a given topic. Freedom of expression and freedom of access are all fundamental principles in a democratic society. It follows that libraries play an integral role in assisting citizens to fully and effectively participate in such a society. Democracy cannot exist without educated and informed citizens. Libraries are at the core of providing access to that participation and to intellectual freedom necessary to support that access. Libraries make a major contribution to the promotion and strengthening of democracy.
Ethics
During my first semester in SLIS I learned the importance of ethical judgment within the information field. Ethics is especially important to those who have the responsibility of ensuring the free flow of information to its citizens in present and future generations. The importance of this responsibility has been a driving principle of the American Library Association, which in 1939 developed a Code of Ethics containing broad statements to guide ethical decision-making. This document, which has been updated several times, provides information professionals with helpful guidance as we make daily decisions and face ethical dilemmas.
The complexity of the libraries ethics can be categorized into two parts 1) information ethics and 2) professional ethics. Information ethics applies to the use and misuse of information, including information ownership, intellectual property rights, open or restricted access to information, government information, and assuring the core fundamental principles are intact. Professional ethics relates to how informational professionals apply ethical principles to their decisions and actions. Learning that these two parts often times overlap, and that when ethical decisions are being made there are at least four factors that impact the ethical process 1) social utility 2) survival 3) social responsibility and 4) respect for individuals. All the factors are important to anyone in the information field and balancing them is a complex and challenging task. However, if information professionals abide by fundamental ethical notions provided in professional contexts, the mission and the values that underline libraries can be preserved and sustained. (Rubin, 2004)
Ethical judgments are made on a daily basis. Using sound ethics is a continual effort. In my own experiences working in the academic library field I have ongoing experience with ethical decision-making. Every time I help a patron or send information to an affiliated person I have to ask what the information is being used for. Is it within fair use, is the person going to use this information for profit and where do the copyright laws come into play? One example of this is when a professor wants to use an article in a class. We ethically have to inform them that when they download or copy the article it is for their use only. Copying the article a number of times for a class is not within copyright law. It’s fair use for one person, but for multiple people it’s a violation. This is the type of ethical thinking that goes into working in any type of knowledge management and information science field.
Values
In the SLIS program I learned that librarians and content providers share a great many core values, and work symbiotically to promote common goals. Information professionals play an important role in society and their values underline the democratic processes. Our decisions on who receives what information are something that cannot be taken lightly. Information professionals are morale agents, responsible to themselves, others and the society as a whole. Their ethical conduct is an affiliation of critical value of service, respect for others, and the need to improve society. We have a significant influence on selection, organization, preservation and dissemination of information. I have learned that librarians are ethically obligated to protect users, uphold the principles of intellectual freedom, provide a high level of service and respect intellectual property. They must also treat other information professionals and para-professionals with respect, have an unbiased mind set keeping our personal and professional views separate, and strive for a state of excellence to provide the most up to date information and services for our users. The basic function of the library/information center is to optimize the value of recorded information of mankind.
I also discovered that the information infrastructure is a complex and dynamic environment. I realized that information professionals’ roles have changed so dramatically, but still are and have been a constant source of information in the United States. I have learned that values of information professionals rest on an essential set of core values that define, inform, and guide our professional practice. Some major values include access, confidentiality, democracy, diversity, education/lifetime learning, intellectual freedom, preservation, the public good, professionalism, services and social responsibility. I also learned about ALA's Freedom to Read Statement, the Library Bill of Rights, the ALA Mission Statement, Libraries: An American Value, and other documents that have been articulated, debated, and approved by the ALA Council. These are ever changing growing documents that have over time embodied these policies, and have been embraced by the majority of information professionals as the foundations of their practice. There is an obligation for information professionals to support the free flow of information and ideas to present to future generations.
Intellectual Freedom
Intellectual freedom is the right to freedom of thought and of expression of thought. Freedom of speech and thought is a primary right for each citizen and protects not only the right to express oneself, but receive information. During my core courses I also learned that Intellectual freedom issues are embedded into information professionals’ responsibilities, and we need to preserve it. In my course readings I was introduced to the 1953 ALA and the American Book Publishers Council who created the Freedom to Read Statement. The statement emphasis the importance of reading to our democratic society and the inadvisability of permitting suppression of ideas due to perceived controversial or immoral materials. It also asserted the importance of freedom of expression, the need for diverse collections, and the obligation to resist censorship (American Library Association, 1997-2012). In 1979 the Education Films and Video Association adopted the Freedom to View Statement that protected viewers and creators and paralleled the rights asserted in the Library Bill of Rights (American Library Association, 1997-2012).
The protection of intellectual freedom is a primary function of information professionals. In the SLIS program I learned that Intellectual freedom is embedded in the core of information management. Currently technology plays a key role in the intellectual freedom of the future. Information professionals play a critical role in controlling censorship efforts, providing user access, assuring user privacy, software filtering, economic barriers and the information gap, and copyright and budget issues. In most of my courses we discussed how libraries are critical information providers and part of their function is to develop and adopt appropriate information policies on the selection, organization, and dissemination of the information they possess. Libraries represent a special niche that provides a place where users should be able to find a broad range of points of view on topics of interest. The intellectual freedom policies adopted by ALA serve as both a philosophical and instructional foundation for the practice of libraries and information professionals. A firm understanding of the principles of the profession can provide the necessary rationale to protect patrons’ rights to read, view and access the library materials of their choosing (Rubin, 2004).
Experience
The importance of ethics, values, intellectual freedom and foundational principles of librarians and information professionals was reinforced in each course that I took in the SLIS program. These provide the foundation that every librarian builds their careers upon and uses in their daily practices. Upon completing the core courses, LIBR 200, 202 and 204 and LIBR 285 Digital Copyright, I have a concrete understanding of the ethics, values and fundamental principles and their role in promoting intellectual freedom within the information science field. Throughout my SLIS courses the integrity of the profession has been emphasized. LIBR 200 is where I began learning information science introduction on the fundamentals of the information profession. I learned the foundations and structure of the information profession, demonstrated in depth knowledge of major library issues. My first pieces of evidence are two articles that critique current issues facing the information field. I chose to critiques issues that are important to my work in the field, Interlibrary loan/peer sharing and copyright and fair use. As budgets are declining, fair use questioned and copyright laws changing, I thought these two articles were insightful and important topics to research and critique. My last piece of evidence is a paper on digital copyright and the rise of technology and the increasingly important topic of open access. In LIBR 281, Digital Copyright, I learned that protecting and adhering to copyright is essential to every part of the information science profession. This is ingrained in the profession, and the more we grow digitally the more challenges we have in protecting intellectual property and freedom. In that course I constructed a paper on digital copyright and the rise of technology and open access. These are two areas that are currently important issues in my work. The pieces of evidence submitted show that I understand the importance of and can articulate the ethics, values, and foundational principles of library and information professionals and their role in the promotion of intellectual freedom.
Conclusion
Ethics, values, and foundational principles of library and information professionals are critical in their role of the promotion of intellectual freedom. If citizens are to successfully participate in our democratic society they must have access to intellectual freedom. There is consensus among library professionals as to guidelines and professional responsibilities that promote ethics and values that lead to intellectual freedom. Each generation of library and information professionals has a responsibility to be guided by these principles and to pass them along to the next generation of library leaders.
Introduction
During the first few core courses in SLIS I learned and participated in deep discussions about how ethics and professional values run throughout the core of the information professional field. Libraries are frequently described as “cornerstones of liberty” and as a “democratic institution”. Libraries support democracy by preparing citizens to participate in it, and by providing the information and knowledge needed to make that involvement meaningful and effective. They offer materials representing all points of view on a given topic. Freedom of expression and freedom of access are all fundamental principles in a democratic society. It follows that libraries play an integral role in assisting citizens to fully and effectively participate in such a society. Democracy cannot exist without educated and informed citizens. Libraries are at the core of providing access to that participation and to intellectual freedom necessary to support that access. Libraries make a major contribution to the promotion and strengthening of democracy.
Ethics
During my first semester in SLIS I learned the importance of ethical judgment within the information field. Ethics is especially important to those who have the responsibility of ensuring the free flow of information to its citizens in present and future generations. The importance of this responsibility has been a driving principle of the American Library Association, which in 1939 developed a Code of Ethics containing broad statements to guide ethical decision-making. This document, which has been updated several times, provides information professionals with helpful guidance as we make daily decisions and face ethical dilemmas.
The complexity of the libraries ethics can be categorized into two parts 1) information ethics and 2) professional ethics. Information ethics applies to the use and misuse of information, including information ownership, intellectual property rights, open or restricted access to information, government information, and assuring the core fundamental principles are intact. Professional ethics relates to how informational professionals apply ethical principles to their decisions and actions. Learning that these two parts often times overlap, and that when ethical decisions are being made there are at least four factors that impact the ethical process 1) social utility 2) survival 3) social responsibility and 4) respect for individuals. All the factors are important to anyone in the information field and balancing them is a complex and challenging task. However, if information professionals abide by fundamental ethical notions provided in professional contexts, the mission and the values that underline libraries can be preserved and sustained. (Rubin, 2004)
Ethical judgments are made on a daily basis. Using sound ethics is a continual effort. In my own experiences working in the academic library field I have ongoing experience with ethical decision-making. Every time I help a patron or send information to an affiliated person I have to ask what the information is being used for. Is it within fair use, is the person going to use this information for profit and where do the copyright laws come into play? One example of this is when a professor wants to use an article in a class. We ethically have to inform them that when they download or copy the article it is for their use only. Copying the article a number of times for a class is not within copyright law. It’s fair use for one person, but for multiple people it’s a violation. This is the type of ethical thinking that goes into working in any type of knowledge management and information science field.
Values
In the SLIS program I learned that librarians and content providers share a great many core values, and work symbiotically to promote common goals. Information professionals play an important role in society and their values underline the democratic processes. Our decisions on who receives what information are something that cannot be taken lightly. Information professionals are morale agents, responsible to themselves, others and the society as a whole. Their ethical conduct is an affiliation of critical value of service, respect for others, and the need to improve society. We have a significant influence on selection, organization, preservation and dissemination of information. I have learned that librarians are ethically obligated to protect users, uphold the principles of intellectual freedom, provide a high level of service and respect intellectual property. They must also treat other information professionals and para-professionals with respect, have an unbiased mind set keeping our personal and professional views separate, and strive for a state of excellence to provide the most up to date information and services for our users. The basic function of the library/information center is to optimize the value of recorded information of mankind.
I also discovered that the information infrastructure is a complex and dynamic environment. I realized that information professionals’ roles have changed so dramatically, but still are and have been a constant source of information in the United States. I have learned that values of information professionals rest on an essential set of core values that define, inform, and guide our professional practice. Some major values include access, confidentiality, democracy, diversity, education/lifetime learning, intellectual freedom, preservation, the public good, professionalism, services and social responsibility. I also learned about ALA's Freedom to Read Statement, the Library Bill of Rights, the ALA Mission Statement, Libraries: An American Value, and other documents that have been articulated, debated, and approved by the ALA Council. These are ever changing growing documents that have over time embodied these policies, and have been embraced by the majority of information professionals as the foundations of their practice. There is an obligation for information professionals to support the free flow of information and ideas to present to future generations.
Intellectual Freedom
Intellectual freedom is the right to freedom of thought and of expression of thought. Freedom of speech and thought is a primary right for each citizen and protects not only the right to express oneself, but receive information. During my core courses I also learned that Intellectual freedom issues are embedded into information professionals’ responsibilities, and we need to preserve it. In my course readings I was introduced to the 1953 ALA and the American Book Publishers Council who created the Freedom to Read Statement. The statement emphasis the importance of reading to our democratic society and the inadvisability of permitting suppression of ideas due to perceived controversial or immoral materials. It also asserted the importance of freedom of expression, the need for diverse collections, and the obligation to resist censorship (American Library Association, 1997-2012). In 1979 the Education Films and Video Association adopted the Freedom to View Statement that protected viewers and creators and paralleled the rights asserted in the Library Bill of Rights (American Library Association, 1997-2012).
The protection of intellectual freedom is a primary function of information professionals. In the SLIS program I learned that Intellectual freedom is embedded in the core of information management. Currently technology plays a key role in the intellectual freedom of the future. Information professionals play a critical role in controlling censorship efforts, providing user access, assuring user privacy, software filtering, economic barriers and the information gap, and copyright and budget issues. In most of my courses we discussed how libraries are critical information providers and part of their function is to develop and adopt appropriate information policies on the selection, organization, and dissemination of the information they possess. Libraries represent a special niche that provides a place where users should be able to find a broad range of points of view on topics of interest. The intellectual freedom policies adopted by ALA serve as both a philosophical and instructional foundation for the practice of libraries and information professionals. A firm understanding of the principles of the profession can provide the necessary rationale to protect patrons’ rights to read, view and access the library materials of their choosing (Rubin, 2004).
Experience
The importance of ethics, values, intellectual freedom and foundational principles of librarians and information professionals was reinforced in each course that I took in the SLIS program. These provide the foundation that every librarian builds their careers upon and uses in their daily practices. Upon completing the core courses, LIBR 200, 202 and 204 and LIBR 285 Digital Copyright, I have a concrete understanding of the ethics, values and fundamental principles and their role in promoting intellectual freedom within the information science field. Throughout my SLIS courses the integrity of the profession has been emphasized. LIBR 200 is where I began learning information science introduction on the fundamentals of the information profession. I learned the foundations and structure of the information profession, demonstrated in depth knowledge of major library issues. My first pieces of evidence are two articles that critique current issues facing the information field. I chose to critiques issues that are important to my work in the field, Interlibrary loan/peer sharing and copyright and fair use. As budgets are declining, fair use questioned and copyright laws changing, I thought these two articles were insightful and important topics to research and critique. My last piece of evidence is a paper on digital copyright and the rise of technology and the increasingly important topic of open access. In LIBR 281, Digital Copyright, I learned that protecting and adhering to copyright is essential to every part of the information science profession. This is ingrained in the profession, and the more we grow digitally the more challenges we have in protecting intellectual property and freedom. In that course I constructed a paper on digital copyright and the rise of technology and open access. These are two areas that are currently important issues in my work. The pieces of evidence submitted show that I understand the importance of and can articulate the ethics, values, and foundational principles of library and information professionals and their role in the promotion of intellectual freedom.
Conclusion
Ethics, values, and foundational principles of library and information professionals are critical in their role of the promotion of intellectual freedom. If citizens are to successfully participate in our democratic society they must have access to intellectual freedom. There is consensus among library professionals as to guidelines and professional responsibilities that promote ethics and values that lead to intellectual freedom. Each generation of library and information professionals has a responsibility to be guided by these principles and to pass them along to the next generation of library leaders.
Evidence Summary and Artifacts
#1 Paper from LIBR 281: Digital Copyright
Due to the rise of information technology and digital access to library collections intellectual freedom is an issue on the minds of information professionals, now more then ever. As it gets easier and easier to assess information now, more then ever, copyright is being challenged and enforced. As a result of budget cuts and libraries looking to get more for their money open access is a promising new frontier for libraries, at the same time challenging libraries values and ethical practices and policies.
Open Access and Copyright
As a result of rising license subscription costs, and economic pressures, Open Access to online literature that users may access for free is inevitable. Increasing technology, decreasing knowledge access costs, and the desire for more knowledge as a basis of economic growth are what drives the Open Access movement. Open Access allows users to obtain free access to knowledge without restrictions. This paper will introduce readers to Open Access, types of Open Access, its copyright and legal implications, as well as its benefits and future.
Due to the rise of information technology and digital access to library collections intellectual freedom is an issue on the minds of information professionals, now more then ever. As it gets easier and easier to assess information now, more then ever, copyright is being challenged and enforced. As a result of budget cuts and libraries looking to get more for their money open access is a promising new frontier for libraries, at the same time challenging libraries values and ethical practices and policies.
Open Access and Copyright
As a result of rising license subscription costs, and economic pressures, Open Access to online literature that users may access for free is inevitable. Increasing technology, decreasing knowledge access costs, and the desire for more knowledge as a basis of economic growth are what drives the Open Access movement. Open Access allows users to obtain free access to knowledge without restrictions. This paper will introduce readers to Open Access, types of Open Access, its copyright and legal implications, as well as its benefits and future.
libr281_paper_open_access_and_copyright.docx | |
File Size: | 48 kb |
File Type: | docx |
#2 LIBR 200 Information and Society
Article Critiques
Intellectual property and copyright are at the forefront of every information technology position. The two article critiques analyzed the values, ethics and the future of information professionals in regards to copyright and peer sharing.
Article Critiques
Intellectual property and copyright are at the forefront of every information technology position. The two article critiques analyzed the values, ethics and the future of information professionals in regards to copyright and peer sharing.
libr_200__article_critique_copyright_intellectual_property_and_fair_use.doc | |
File Size: | 31 kb |
File Type: | doc |
libr_200_article_critique_2_illpeering_into_the_future.docx | |
File Size: | 14 kb |
File Type: | docx |
References
Association, A. L. (1997-2012). Code of Ethics of the American Library Association. Retrieved Feburary 12, 2012, from American Library Association: http://www.ala.org/advocacy/proethics/codeofethics/codeethics
American Library Association. (1997-2012). Retrieved February 6, 2012, from Freedom to Read Statement: http://www.ala.org/offices/oif/statementspols/ftrstatement/freedomreadstatement
American Library Association. (1997-2012). Core values of librarianship. Retrieved February 2, 2012, from ALA: http://www.ala.org/offices/oif/statementspols/corevaluesstatement/corevalues
American Library Association. (1997-2012). Freedom to view and Library Bill of Rights. Retrieved Febrary 6, 2012, from American Library Association: http://www.ala.org/advocacy/intfreedom/librarybill
Rubin, R. (2004). Foundations of Library and Information Science. New York: Neal-Schuman.
American Library Association. (1997-2012). Retrieved February 6, 2012, from Freedom to Read Statement: http://www.ala.org/offices/oif/statementspols/ftrstatement/freedomreadstatement
American Library Association. (1997-2012). Core values of librarianship. Retrieved February 2, 2012, from ALA: http://www.ala.org/offices/oif/statementspols/corevaluesstatement/corevalues
American Library Association. (1997-2012). Freedom to view and Library Bill of Rights. Retrieved Febrary 6, 2012, from American Library Association: http://www.ala.org/advocacy/intfreedom/librarybill
Rubin, R. (2004). Foundations of Library and Information Science. New York: Neal-Schuman.