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 those principles within that profession.

Librarianship is guided by key principles and ethical standards. Competency A ensures a graduate’s awareness of the values and ethics that are foundational to our profession. These values hold true across all information settings and inform the daily practices of librarians in the field. Two major documents that guide the values of information professions are the Library Bill of Rights (2006) and the Library Code of Ethics (2017), both published by the American Library Association.

The Library Bill of Rights (2016) is a document protecting patrons’ use of the library by clearly stating those positions and actions that information organizations and professionals can and should take to ensure equal access to information, services, facilities, and resources. According to Garnar (2018) ethical codes guide decision making such as materials selection and deselection. Librarians do this by using processes informed by these documents such as the CREW method. The CREW method is a document that highlights criteria for material selection and deselection of fiction and non-fiction such as quality, currency, relevancy, attractiveness. In addition, it asks librarians to consider the population that is being served and whether or not the material fills a gap in the collection. This is especially important for ensuring more vulnerable student populations such as BIPOC and LGBTQ have access to materials that reflect their needs (Larson, 2012).

Understanding and enforcing the ethics and values of the school library profession is a complex endeavor. These values and ethics are shaped in part by Intellectual Freedom laws and help to give guidance to the practice of librarianship. The Library Bill of Rights (2016) states that librarians are advocates for intellectual property rights, and that we need to ensure the rights of both creators and information users (Minow & Hamilton, 2018). These documents champion the underlying value that information is for everyone. Information can and should be used ethically, including with respect to the rights of the creators of works. Educating students and staff about copyright issues will be an important part of my role as a teacher librarian. Fair use in an educational setting is challenging because whether something is fair use depends on the materials being used, how much is being used, and how it is being applied in the classroom. This makes every copyright question unique.

Another foundational value of librarianship is that we are called to challenge censorship of materials (ALA, 2006). This censorship could be external in the form of challenges from parents or community members, or internal where the librarian’s personal beliefs infiltrate the selection and deselection process. Combating censorship is especially challenging in a school setting. According to the (2021) State of America’s Libraries Report, 53% of materials challenges happen in public schools and school libraries, so not only are school librarians more likely to deal with materials challenges, parental, rights may come into conflict with a student’s rights when a parent challenges a book their student chooses to read Balancing parental rights with patron rights is a fine line, but is easier to navigate with a strong materials challenge policy. The evidence listed below demonstrates my ability to apply my knowledge of the ethics and values of my chosen profession.

Evidence 1: Issues in School Library Collection Development Research Paper

I wrote this paper, Issues in School Library Collection Development, in my INFO 266 Collection Management course. I had free rein to select any topic related to collection development. As an aspiring high school librarian, I chose to investigate how collection development in K12 might have some concerns and applications that may differ from other types of libraries. I discovered that having clear and published policies governing the library is critically important in school districts because lack of funding often leads to situations where there is no certified librarian or one librarian serving many schools. Some schools and districts rely on volunteers or classroom teachers who may not understand the role of intellectual freedom, and this is where having a policy can help to ensure equitable access to information. Having clear policies also supports also protects vulnerable populations such as students of color, students with disabilities and those in the LGBTQ community by creating a framework where a librarian’s (or other stakeholder’s) personal beliefs do not interfere with student’s right’s to access information and protects their rights to accessing information privately (Adams, 2009).

Evidence 2: Copyright infographic

As part of INFO 233, I created an infographic about common copyright concerns in teaching, especially teaching virtually which has become a necessity with COVID-19 related closures.

After completing this assignment, I have a much stronger grasp on common copyright issues in the educational setting. Helping teachers and students avoid copyright violations is an important legal and ethical responsibility of the teacher librarian.

Evidence 3: Collection Development Policy

The collection development policy was an individual assignment in INFO 266 Collection Management. However, portions of the “materials challenge” section of the policy was completed as a group project in INFO 233. My contribution to the project was to write the first draft of the informal challenge and edit the final version. I also contributed to the formal challenge section and served as zoom facilitator. The Collection Development policy supports this competency because it’s development relied upon foundational documents outlining the professions ethics and values, including the ALA’s statement on Intellectual Freedom, The Library Bill of Rights, and the AASL’s Common Beliefs. The policy contains the mission and vision of the library program to give context to the policies and clarify who/what the policy is supporting, in this case, primarily students and staff and the curriculum. The policy outlines the criteria to be used for selection and deselection of fiction and non-fiction materials, and it explains that any gifts or donations to the library must also align with the values and goals of the library.

References

Adams, H.R., (2009). Access for students with disabilities. School Library Media Activities Monthly, 25(10), 54.

American Library Association. (2019, January 29). Library bill of rights. ALA. http://www.ala.org/advocacy/intfreedom/librarybill

American Library Association. (2017, May 19). Professional ethics, ALA.

http://www.ala.org/tools/ethics

American Library Association. (2021). State of America’s libraries: Special report: COVID-19. ALA. https://www.ala.org/news/sites/ala.org.news/files/content/State-of-Americas-Libraries-Report-2021-4-21.pdf

Garnar, M. L. (2018). Information ethics. In S. Hirsh (Ed.), Information services today: An introduction (2^nd ed., pp. 366-377). Rowman & Littlefield.

Larson, J. (2012). CREW: A weeding manual for modern libraries. Texas State Libraries and Archives Commission. https://www.tsl.texas.gov/sites/default/files/public/tslac/ld/ld/pubs/crew/crewmethod12.pdf

Minow, M., & Hamilton, L. (2018). Copyright and creative commons. In S. Hirsh (Ed.) Information services today: An introduction (2^nd ed., pp. 378-396).