We believe in excellence within the profession through professional development activities and skill enhancement.
Being in an academic environment, it is critical to lead by example. Academic law librarians should increase their knowledge and enhance their skills, just like the students within their academic community are pursuing their own educational goals. According to Finks (1991), when entering into the field of librarianship, one knows that “lifelong learning is an occupational obligation implicit in the social contract of the professional” (p.86). Encouraging co-workers and others in the field to continue learning new practices, further creates excellence within the profession. In order to consistently improve the profession, it “requires that librarians seek out promising library practices and relevant research findings and share with others” (Finks, 1991, p.86). As both the ALA Code of Ethics and the AALL Ethical Principles state, “We strive for excellence in the profession by maintaining and enhancing our own knowledge and skills, by encouraging the professional development of co-workers, and by fostering the aspirations of potential members of the profession.”
Justification for this principle can be argued from a non-consequentialist perspective. According to W.D. Ross, it is self-evident that we as human beings have moral duties, which are shown by our moral intuition to do the right thing (Fallis, 2009). Ross provides seven basic duties, one which justifies the reason for a librarian to enhance their skills through professional development activities. This duty describes that “one ought to improve oneself with respect to virtue and intelligence (self-improvement)” (Spinello, 1995, p.27). In other words, it is our duty as human beings to improve ourselves in regards to intelligence, so we should continue to enhance our skills and develop as professionals.
This principle could come into conflict with Principle 1, providing service and satisfying user needs, because an academic law librarian would be satisfying their own needs to enhance their skills and create excellence within the profession. However, as long as the librarian maintains the effort to gain knowledge that would enhance their ability to serve the academic community and fulfill user needs, the conflict can be avoided. It is only when one tries to use their paid time to advance their own interests that have nothing to do providing better service or helping others that these two principles clash.
A good example of a concrete application of this principle would be through the attendance of professional association conferences, to discuss current issues and trends with others within the field. Associations that would be of interest to academic law librarians would be: the American Association of Law Libraries (AALL), the American Library Association (ALA), Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL), regional AALL chapters such as the Southwestern Association of Law Libraries (SWALL), and local AALL chapters such as the Arizona Association of Law Libraries (AzALL). Also, through participating in webinars and workshops that teach new skills, an academic law librarian can gain a new perspective on how to assist the community they serve.