The
Ethics of Information Provision
By Misty Smith
Table
of Contents
I.
Introduction
II.
Quality of Service
III.
Equity of Service
IV.
Conflict of Interest
V.
Confidentiality
VI.
Personal Ethics
VII.
Professional Codes of Ethics
VIII.
Conclusion
Introduction
Ethics are
professional standards of conduct. There
are many ethical issues that librarians must deal with when providing
information in libraries. Librarians in
academic and public have a responsibility to make sure the information they are
giving is accurate and reliable and that they are providing this information
equally to all members of the population.
Recently, a new dilemma has surfaced that has librarians questioning
whether or not to provide information that could be potentially harmful to the
requestor or society as a whole. Special
librarians usually are not faced with this type of dilemma because they
generally serve smaller groups that have a professional or organizational
association with the library. Special libraries
are different from any other library which means the librarians will face their
own unique ethical problems. This
chapter will explore the ethical dilemmas special librarians must deal with in
order to provide information to their users.
Quality
of Information
There are several aspects to quality of
information provided to users and each aspect has its own ethical issue. A large part of a special librarian’s job
requires researching information for users.
The user is relying on the information to be accurate and from a
reliable source. The librarian should
always conduct complete and careful research (Mintz
1991). Special librarians are often the
only professional in their library. This
causes the librarian to be overworked and pulled in many different
directions. When a client asks the
librarian to conduct research on a topic for them and gives a deadline the
librarian is faced with some ethical issues.
The easiest and least time consuming thing to do would be to conduct the
research, find some kind of information and give it to the client by the
deadline. However, the librarian must
ask herself if it is truly professional to present the client with information
that has been thrown together in order to meet the time limit. Sometimes it is necessary to tell the client
in order to provide them with the best information available on that topic the
deadline will have to be extended. It is
the duty of the librarian to provide the best available information to their
users. Doing otherwise could reflect
badly on the librarian, the organization and the profession.
Special librarians must continue their
education in order to make sure they are providing information and services
that are up to date. Many librarians
feel that once they have completed their degree their education is
completed. This poses a big ethical
dilemma in special libraries (Hauptman 1988).
There are many responsibilities that go along with being a professional
librarian. These responsibilities
include being skilled in information retrieval and research techniques. The technology in this field changes very
rapidly. Not keeping up with these
changes and learning how to utilize the new technology leads to poor and
out-of-date services for users (Mintz 1991). With an increase in technology comes the need
for librarians to be aware of how to authenticate online resources and the
limits of electronic resources as a whole (Diamond 2001). This is especially important when instructing
clients on how to use electronic resources and the Internet to research on
their own. Librarians should make it
their responsibility to share with the users their own knowledge of limits and
problems with electronic research (Diamond 2001). Librarians should also make sure the services
being offered users are current and of high quality. This involves communicating with the vendors
to make sure the library is receiving the best of what they have to offer (Mintz 1991).
Libraries housing special collection must
make sure the items in the collection are authentic. If items are fakes or forgeries it is the
responsibility of the librarian to make sure they are identified and share this
information with patrons (Eberhart 2000). The same is true for reproductions. The librarian must not misrepresent the items
in the collection.
Special librarians are held responsible
for the quality of information they provide.
The organization for which the librarian works is also held
responsible. Ethical decision regarding
the quality of the information provided protects the good name of the librarian
as well as the organization.
Equity
of Service
Special libraries have the advantage of being
able to clearly define their users and their needs (Gorman 2000). Many special libraries are not open to the
public and serve only the members of their organization. If they are open to the public it can be an
acceptable practice to place the needs of the primary users above those of the
secondary users. This does not
eliminate the problem of making sure all primary users are receiving equal
services. Special libraries are usually
associated with organizations that have a hierarchy of staff. This can cause some ethical dilemmas. Suppose a partner of the law firm needs
information for a case right away. Earlier
that same day a new attorney at the firm requested information that he feels is
equally as important and also needs it as soon as possible. The librarian is faced with a decision to put
the needs of the partner above that of the new employee because the partner has
more power at the firm and is regarded, in general, as being more important. The one idea that is consistent in all
professional codes of ethics is the idea of equal treatment of users regardless
of status. It would not be fair to place
the needs of the partner over that of the new attorney simply because of
position (Hauptman 1988). However,
sometimes it is necessary to make the decision to place the needs of the higher
ranked partner above that of another employee if the decision will benefit the
firm as a whole. It is up to the librarian
to recognize when this is the case.
Conflict
of Interest
Ethics are especially questioned in
situations where there is a conflict of interests. Special librarians will face many situations
where there may be conflict of interests and they must rely on their
professional standards and the values of the organization.
Freelancing is an area that is very controversial
in special libraries. There may be
instances when an employee of the organization approaches the librarian with
the request to help them research information for a project that is unrelated
to their work. This employee may offer
to pay the librarian for their time.
Through word of mouth this could potentially lead to more freelance work
and quite a bit of extra income for the librarian. There is nothing unethical about agreeing to
do research for someone for pay outside of work. However, the librarian must make sure that
“outside of work” is where this freelancing remains. The biggest problem that librarians will face
with freelancing is how to avoid having it interfere with their duties at work
(Hauptman 1988). The librarian of course
can’t do this outside research while at work but they must also make sure that
this outside research isn’t keeping them up late at night or causing stress
that could interfere with their performance at work (Hauptman 1988). 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 acceptable is if the librarian has permission from
their supervisor (Hauptman 1988).
Another ethical issue that may arise
involves consulting users. Many special
libraries are in law firms, medical facilities or companies. The librarian will sometimes be asked for
advice as well as information. For
example, a corporate librarian could be asked their advice on what stock to buy
or a law librarian could be asked legal advice from an outside user. A medical librarian will sometimes be asked
for medical advice or even a diagnosis from patients, etc (Hauptman 1988). Librarians must avoid giving medical or legal
advice to patrons because the patron could hold the librarian and the
organization responsible. There is a
thin line between guiding a user and giving out advice. This is especially true in a medical or law
library. It is not just a poor ethical
practice to give out advice it is also against the law and the librarian and
the organization could be held liable (Hauptman 1988). Librarians should never put themselves in
situation where they could be at risk of legal action being taken (Mintz 1991). Once
the librarian reaches the point where the information being given is beyond
facts or instruction it is necessary to recommend the patron contact someone
that is trained to help them such as a doctor or lawyer (Hauptman 1988).
Confidentiality
All the library organizations stress the
importance of protecting the client’s privacy.
In special libraries this can be a tricky situation depending on who is
determined as the client, the individual or the organization? Suppose the head of the organization wants to
know what the employees are researching.
Does the employer have the right to that information or do the employees
still have the right to privacy. There
is no clear way to resolve this issue.
This is an instance when the librarian will have to look at the policies
and values of the organization and ultimately make the decision of what they
feel is the right thing to do. This
decision should be made keeping in mind what the consequences and if the
decision is fair to all those involved (Blanchard 1988). It would be acceptable to divulge this
information if the employees were aware of it, but the librarian should never
make it a practice to share information with the employer without the knowledge
or consent of the employee.
The primary users in special libraries
often are researching information for their own clients. Examples are lawyers researching for clients
and doctors researching for patients.
These types of situation reemphasize the importance of librarians
maintaining the privacy of the clients because it extends beyond that one user
in the library (Hauptman 1988). A good
librarian is always trustworthy.
Personal
Ethics
In any library situation there will be a
time when the librarian is asked to provide information that disagrees with
their moral values and beliefs. Special
librarians are not exempt from this just because their user groups are smaller
and more defined. There could be many
instances in which a librarian’s moral and professional lives collide. For example, suppose a lawyer asks a
librarian to research information that would help him defend a person accused
of a heinous crime. The evidence against
this person is overwhelming and the librarian is convinced the person is guilty
and would rather not play a part in defending them. Or suppose a corporate librarian is asked to
gather all the information on a competitor that would assist the organization
in a hostile takeover. The librarian may
consider actions such as these to be morally unethical and against their better
judgment as a person. If the professional
codes are adhered to it calls for the librarian to remain neutral and provide
the information to the client (Alfino 1997). This does not mean that the librarian should
strive to eliminate any feelings they may have about particular issues. It simply means that librarians should be
aware that these are personal feelings and they should be able to put these
feelings aside in order to effectively do their job (Alfino
1997).
Sometimes this will be difficult to do and
this is when the librarian is faced with the ultimate question. What is worth losing a job over? Because this is what could
happen if information or service is refused. However, special librarians like any
librarian must make individual decision when faced with these types of
dilemmas. They should not compromise
their own principles just to do their job (Hauptman 1996).
Professional
Codes of Ethics
When discussing ethics in the library
profession it is good to be aware of the codes of ethics of the different
library associations. Professional codes
of ethics are important because they can give the librarian a basis form which
to make difficult decisions. Sometimes
it is difficult to provide information that may disagree 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.
The Special Library Association does not
have its own separate Code of Ethics.
This is partly because the different organizations of which the
libraries are a part of usually have their own guidelines for ethical
practices. Therefore it is necessary for
special librarians to be aware of the beliefs and values held by their
particular organizations while at the same time practicing the behavior that is
expected of library professionals.
Sometimes these two can contradict each other and this is when the
librarian must decide which takes precedence, the profession or the
organization.
There are a number of other library
associations and organizations that have codes of ethics. These can provide the librarian a basis from
which to make particularly difficult decisions.
Websites for guidance in
professional ethics and behavior
American
Library Association Code of Ethics
ASIST
Professional Guidelines
www.asis.org/AboutASIS/professional-guidelines.html
American
Association of Law Libraries Ethical Principles
www.aallnet.org/about/policy_ethics.asp
Core
Competencies of Law Librarianship
www.aallnet.org/prodev/comp.pdf
The
Association of Independent Information Professionals
Code of Ethical
Business Practice
Librarianship
and Information Service: A Statement on Core Values
www.ala.org/congress/corevalues/draft5.html
A Code of
Ethics for Archivists with Commentary
www.archivists.org/governance/handbook/app_ethics.asp
Code of
Ethics for Health Science Librarianship
www.mlanet.org/about/ethics.html
Competencies
for Special Librarians of the 21st Century
www.sla.org/content/SLA/professional/meaning/comp.cfm
Conclusion
The
purpose of this chapter has been to introduce new library professionals to some
ethical dilemmas of special libraries.
Every librarian has their own set of values and beliefs they will bring
with them to the job. Professional codes
of ethics have been written by several different organizations in order to
guide the librarian in making ethical decisions regarding the provision of information. Ethical decisions are not easy to make and
sometimes require the librarian to put aside their own beliefs. This is why codes have been written. They deal only with professional
behavior. Part of being a professional
requires the ability to make these ethical decisions and provide the client
with the best information available. It
also means being able to discern when a professional decision conflicts too
much with personal values.
Bibliography
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Blanchard,
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Eberhart, George M. Issues. The Whole Library Handbook.
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Michael. Our Enduring Values:
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Hauptman,
Robert. Ethical
Challenges in Librarianship.
Hauptman,
Robert. (1996) “Professional responsibility reconsidered” RQ v35 n3, 327-328.
Available on Infotrac One File
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