Competency A

Core Competency A: demonstrate awareness of the ethics, values, and foundational principles of one of the information professions, and discuss the importance of intellectual freedom within that profession.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Introduction:

In early January, an article caught my eye as I was browsing through my online newsletters. The article was a news report on an incident that occurred at the Temple Public Library in the city of Temple, Texas (Weems, 2018). A religious group called Concerned Christian Citizens started a petition in response to LGBT library displays that highlighted LGBT books in the library’s collection, believing that they advocated for a “dangerous” and “immoral” lifestyle (Weems, 2018). I use this example to highlight the important role ethics play within the Library and Information Science (LIS) profession.

Ethics can be defined as “a set of principles that guide decision making in a specified setting” (Hirsh, 2015, p. 289). The topic of ethics is certainly not unique to the LIS field. Every organization, corporation, or institution is guided by some form of ethics. However, the topic of ethics appears to be much more prominent in the LIS field than in many other professions. It is so prominent that there are several documents drafted by the American Library Association (ALA) that are dedicated to this very concept.

Ethics, as defined in the paragraph above, are based on principles or values. The core values for librarians are addressed within the ALA document titled “Core Values of Librarianship” (2004a). The topic of ethics itself are addressed in ALA’s Code of Ethics (2008). Both of these documents are meant to be used as guidelines on which librarians or information professionals base their services.

Both documents emphasize confidentiality/privacy—materials that library users have borrowed from the library are generally not recorded in order to protect users’ right to privacy. Both documents emphasize diversity—all library users are welcomed within libraries regardless of ethnicity, gender, age, or other characteristics. Both documents also emphasize professionalism—librarians must be qualified for their jobs and treat library users and other colleagues with respect. But most importantly, both documents emphasize intellectual freedom.

At its most basic, intellectual freedom describes an individual’s “freedom to read, view, discuss, or interact with information in any format” (Hirsh, 2015, p. 357). However, the topic of intellectual freedom often involves a number of more complex issues. The ALA Library Bill of Rights (1996) and the ALA Freedom to Read Statement (2004b) are documents which lay out the groundwork for how librarians should approach these issues. Both of these documents take a strongly anti-censorship stance. Materials within the library should not be removed or excluded due to their subject matter or the views of their authors. Library users should not be restricted from using library resources based on their “origin, age, background, or views” (ALA, 1996). And librarians should not impose their beliefs about certain materials onto library users.

On the surface, the statements outlined in these documents appear straight-forward, obvious, and logical. But as the example at the top of this page demonstrates, actually enforcing these policies in a real life setting can sometimes prove difficult. Book challenges and attempts at censoring materials are not new issues within the LIS field. Calls for book bannings most often crop up in public and school libraries, where children make up a large part of the library’s user-base. Parents’ concern about protecting their children from materials deemed “dangerous” or “offensive” often clash against librarian values.

Librarians themselves, too, must sometimes battle between their inner beliefs and what the ALA Code of Ethics dictates. Should librarians intentionally remove select books written in the earlier half of the 1900s that have racially insensitive themes? Or should these books be kept as a reminder of the social landscape in the past and become a relic to show how far we have come as a society? Addressing ethical issues have only become more challenging with the widespread use of the internet. Librarians of the modern age must now deal with internet filters, which are typically installed on library computers used by children. While they are meant to act as safeguards, such internet filters may also overfilter websites on certain topics, such as LGBT content and health information (Hirsh, 2015, p. 362). In this case, would this not be considered a form of censorship?

Ultimately, there are no clearly defined “right” or “wrong” answers to these types of situations. Each scenario must be considered on a case-by-case basis. The consideration of ethics in the library profession may make it an especially challenging one. However, such considerations must be taken into account in order to truly give equal access to information and to uphold the rights of all library users.

Coursework/Experience that Prepared Me for this Competency:

Info 200 (Information Communities) was the one of the very first classes that I took upon entering into the MLIS program. I am glad that this class marked the beginning of my first step into the library and information science field, as it laid down many of the foundational principles of librarianship that I have discussed on this page. The one lecture from Info 200 that has always stuck in my mind was a lecture on ethics. It discussed many situations in history where librarians had to make challenging decisions that often involved a careful examination of their values and beliefs. This opened my eyes to how complex our work as information professionals can be. This class also introduced me to the ALA Code of Ethics and Library Bill of Rights, which were documents I constantly referenced during my time at SJSU.

References:

American Library Association (2004a). Core Values of Librarianship. Retrieved from http://www.ala.org/advocacy/intfreedom/corevalues

American Library Association (1996). Library Bill of Rights. Retrieved from http://www.ala.org/advocacy/intfreedom/librarybill

American Library Association (2008). Professional Ethics. Retrieved from http://www.ala.org/tools/ethics

American Library Association (2004b). The Freedom to Read Statement. Retrieved from http://www.ala.org/advocacy/intfreedom/freedomreadstatement

Hirsh, S. (Ed.). (2015). Information services today: An introduction. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.

Weems, C. (2018, January 5). Petition seeks changes after 2017 LGBT displays. Temple Daily Telegram. Retrieved from http://www.tdtnews.com/

Evidence:

1. Info 210 Reference Interview Transcript Assignment

My first piece of evidence to show my mastery of competency A is a reference interview transcript assignment that I completed in Info 210 (Reference and Information Services). For this assignment, I created a transcript of an exchange that might occur in a public library. I presented this transcript within a table, with dialogue of the exchange in the left column, and guidelines that the librarian followed in the right column. We were expected to follow the guidelines laid out by the Reference & User Services Association (RUSA) for reference interactions, and any other guidelines created by ALA or other organizations as necessary. In this mock-exchange, I decided to write out a scenario in which the reference librarian interacts with a parent who wants a book to be moved from the teen section or completely removed from the library.

This paper portrays a classic example of a potential ethical issue that might appear in the LIS profession. A parent objects to a book being in the library (or a certain section of the library). Although it is a seemingly harmless and reasonable objection, a librarian must carefully consider their actions in this scenario. The removal of any library materials to appease an individual can be considered a form of censorship, which goes against the ALA Code of Ethics. When writing out the reference librarian’s actions, I made sure to carefully reference any relevant ALA documents to ensure that the librarian acted appropriately in this situation. This establishes my knowledge of the ethical principles guiding the LIS profession, as well as my awareness of the official LIS documents on matters relating to ethics. This portrayal of a minor conflict caused by a parent’s and librarian’s differing values also establishes my understanding of the challenges that can arise when applying professional values in a real setting. Both of these points demonstrate my mastery of competency A.

The entire reference interview transcript document can be found below.

2. Info 200 Reflective Blog Post on Ethical Issues

My second piece of evidence is a reflective blog post that I wrote for Info 200 (Information Communities). This was only one blog post out of many. These blog posts were intended to lead up to the creation of a final report for the class. They were intended to make us think about a particular community (that we chose at the beginning of the school term) and their information needs/how they sought out information. I decided to focus on the Vietnamese-American community and their relationship with health care information.

This particular blog post addresses a few of the ethical issues that can arise in studies/research that involve Vietnamese-Americans. I emphasized the importance of addressing topics of diversity and privacy in the Vietnamese-American community due to cultural differences and stigma which may not be as present in Western culture. This establishes my knowledge of the ethical principles present within an information profession. The latter part of my blog post brings up the topic of treating mental illnesses in illegal Vietnamese immigrants, which is a potential point of conflict between ethical obligations and the law. While this blog post does not directly reference the work of librarians, it does establish my understanding of the difficulties in enforcing ethical values in a real life context, therefore demonstrating my mastery of competency A.

This blog post originally appeared on a writing blog that I developed solely for the Info 200 class. I have included the blog post below in an MS Word document format for archival purposes.

3. Info 275 Final Term Paper -- "Censorship and Other Barriers to Information for LGBTQ Library Users"

My final piece of evidence is a final term paper that I wrote for Info 275 (Library Services for Racially and Ethnically Diverse Communities). For this final term paper, we were expected to write a report on some issue related to an underserved population within the LIS field. My topic of focus was on the many barriers to information that LGBTQ individuals faced within libraries.

In my paper, I highlighted the three major barriers to information that LGBTQ individuals faced within libraries: collection-related barriers (where collections are inadequate or librarians intentionally under-select LGBTQ materials); technology-related barriers (where the presence of internet filters filtered out helpful LGBTQ online resources); and service-related (in which librarians are reluctant to create LGBTQ-inclusive programming). Two of these barriers are a direct result of librarian passivity, which I argue is a form of censorship. Censorship is not simply the removal of information; it can also involve the purposeful exclusion of information as well. This point establishes my understanding of the challenges in adhering to the ALA Code of Ethics. We as librarians may understand this code, but actually enforcing it may cause us to face issues that go against our beliefs, or involve issues that we are uncomfortable with. I submit this report as evidence towards competency A to demonstrate my understanding of the complexity in applying LIS foundational principles in real life situations.

My final term paper can be read below.

Conclusion:

I am incredibly thankful that the ethics and values of librarianship were always emphasized in every class I have taken towards my MLIS degree. As an aspiring public librarian, I am aware that the public library is a place where calls for censorship are most likely to appear. I am glad that my time in the LIS program has prepared me for this situation. It will not be a matter of “if” such situations will occur, but “when” they will. I know that these situations will not be easy to handle, and may sometimes conflict with my own inner values. Despite this, I vow to follow the ALA Code of Ethics, Bill of Rights, and all of the other ALA documents on ethics to the best of my ability. It is only by doing so that I, as a librarian, can provide consistent and fair service to all users; and uphold their right to intellectual freedom.