Competency A: Ethics
“Mae, what are you giving her to read?”
“Oh, what difference does it make? She’s reading, okay? That’s the important thing.“Evelyn and Mae (in regards to Shirley Baker), A League of Their Own
Introduction
Ethical considerations must always be made in the library and information field. No matter how carefully considered information studies are, there is always the risk of breaching an ethical issue, such as confidentiality. To mitigate these risks, information professionals take precautions, such as the CITI exam based on the Belmont Report, a study done by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (1979). Essentially, these documents prove that a researcher, such as an information scientist, can complete low-risk surveys and scientific data gathering with relative comfort and assurance that they are not breaking any major ethical rules.
The Ethics of Social Media in Libraries
According to Birdi and Jones (2024), their joint research and deep dive into the ethical principles of social media use (namely in this case, Twitter, now known simply as “X”), determined that social media is partly or fully ethical, at least in the hands of library professionals. This was determined partly by using earlier works, such as Ranganathan’s (1931) work regarding his five laws of library ethos. My argument for this being insufficient information is that 1931 was far too early to have developed such globalized social tools that were anywhere near the caliber of modern social media. I do not think this article calls into question the nuances and pitfalls of social media on modern human behavioral health.
My analysis of this ethical issue would be that it needs to be held up to a more modern standard, such as the Belmont Report (1979). Even this reference is not recent enough. Social media needs to be held to a new standard of ethos than what was once created. Ignoring this fact and failing to form any sort of think tank for modern library ethos is arguably unethical regarding the library and information science (LIS) field.
ALA Code of Ethics and Relevancy
At the very least, these standards should be partly or fully determined by more modern sets of standards, such as the American Library Association (ALA) Code of Ethics. As the ALA (n.d.) Code of Ethics states as its’ first rule: “We provide the highest level of service to all library users through appropriate and usefully organized resources; equitable service policies; equitable access; and accurate, unbiased, and courteous responses to all requests.”
Ultimately, this means that appropriate resources could theoretically include social media. However, there are many more rules to cite than there is time here, so I would like to simply state that “usefully organized resources” would include mature and ethical use of social media. Arguably, one could counter-state that social media is difficult to monitor and control, given the rapid and chaotic nature of always-on devices and their accompanying applications (apps). Therefore, this may be a difficult line to walk when attempting to make outreach materials and collateral, due to the somewhat edgy nature of being on the pulse of modern social media culture, sometimes known as “memes”. Mascarenhas et al. (2024) state that memes are often a form of viral “garbage” images and are often considered misinformation. This is not always the case; however, they are too often used in a disingenuous way to suit the opinions and views of the maker.
Conclusion
Thus, one has to consider with emerging technologies in the library whether or not the ethics of these new and exciting tools completely align with the ethos of what it means to be a librarian, and if not, why? There are so many things to consider ethically in modern forms of communication that one can scarcely pick a topic to focus on.
Artifacts and Evidence
Artifact 1
Assignment:
Course: INFO 285 Survey Design
Description:
This artifact signifies that I passed the CITI exam, which, after reading the Belmont Report, taught me the correct and incorrect way to present information (namely surveys) in a low-risk, low-harm, and ethical way. Ultimately, without this information, I would not understand how to properly conduct a survey or gather empirical research ethically and would likely make a grave error that could cause harm or anger to the group being surveyed. Thankfully, this was part of my training in Survey Design class, which allowed me to move forward with my own surveys and feel confident that I can make them as low-harm as possible within what is in my power to do so. Currently, for another class, I am working on some official surveys for an outside organization and I would feel completely lost without having had this prior training. I had no idea before this class the weight of responsibility that giving out a simple survey could have. The Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) course has been so valuable to me in my final semesters at SJSU.
Artifact 2
Assignment:
Course: INFO 204 Information Professions
Description:
This scenario involves fictional characters at a public library, who are attempting to discuss diversity and inclusion and incorporate it into their future library outlook. However, it’s clear that several members of the team have not kept up with their census and community research, and so have not lived up to their duty as librarians to provide the highest level of equitable service to all patrons. It’s clear that they want to help and improve the situation, but this would have been best completed some years ago, from the sounds of it. Certain members of the library staff are clearly too busy thinking with their stomachs to have much thought for the people using their services. It’s not too late to turn things around, but upper management will have to take responsibility for their lack of oversight, and everyone will have to work together to mend and repair this broken relationship within the community. Perhaps having a copy of the ALA Code of Ethics handy would help.
Artifact 3
Assignment:
Course: INFO 220 Visual Resources Curation and Arts Librarianship
Description:
In this assignment, while it may not seem as though directly related to ethical concerns, the preservation of fragile and irreplaceable materials, such as photography and film reels, is, in fact, a highly ethical issue. The deeply respectful care that is required to handle these materials is something that not every person would intuitively understand, and I believe that most librarians have an innate desire to be careful with these items. However, it may not be an intuitive desire for everyone, particularly if they are from a generation where these items did not exist. It is impossible to know how to handle materials from yesteryear if they are alien to the handler. For this reason, I would think it important to this e-Portfolio to point out as an unlikely artifact for Competency A. Future generations should know how fragile and fleeting even the most permanent-seeming artifacts can be, including digital works. Our memories of the past are only as good as our ability to treat them with care, which, after all, is the biggest ethical concern of all.
References
American Library Association. (n.d.). Code of ethics of the American Library Association. Retrieved November 7, 2024, from https://www.ala.org/tools/ethics
Birdi, B., & Jones, R. (2024). Is libraries’ use of social media ethical? A phenomenographic investigation of Twitter (X) use at the Bodleian Libraries. Journal of Documentation. https://doi.org/10.1108/JD-11-2023-0246
Mascarenhas, M., Friedman, D. A., & Cordes, R. J. (2024). Bridging gaps in image meme research: A multidisciplinary paradigm for scaling up qualitative analyses. Journal of the Association for Information Science and Technology, 75(10), 1087–1103. https://doi.org/10.1002/asi.24900
Ranganathan, S. R. (1931). The five laws of library science. Madras Library Association.
U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. (1979). The Belmont report: Ethical principles and guidelines for the protection of human subjects of research. Office for Human Research Protections. Retrieved from https://www.hhs.gov/ohrp/regulations-and-policy/belmont-report/index.html