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Ethics for
Academic Librarians
Barbara M. Wildemuth
School of Information & Library Science
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Tapping the vast reservoir of human knowledge --Louis Round Wilson, founder, 1931
Ethical Issues in Librarianship
Intellectual property
Information accuracy
Access to information
Access to technology
Privacy
Davis Library
Reasoning about Ethical Issues
Personal values
Professional values
Ethical reasoning:
Consequences, principles
Ethical
decisions
Values
Personal values
From upbringing
From religious beliefs
Professional values
From professional associations
ALA Code of Ethics
 the highest level of service to all library users…
equitable service policies; equitable access…
 uphold the principles of intellectual freedom and
resist all efforts to censor…
 protect each library user's right to privacy and confidentiality…
 respect intellectual property rights
 treat co-workers and other colleagues with respect,
fairness and good faith…
 do not advance private interests at the expense of
library users, colleagues, or our employing institutions
 do not allow our personal beliefs to interfere with
fair representation of the aims of our institutions…
 strive for excellence in the profession…
Ethical Reasoning
Based on the consequences of your action
Utilitarianism:
Choose the action that has the best overall consequences
for everyone concerned.
Based on a general principle or rule
Kant’s categorical imperative:
“Act only according to that maxim by which you can at the
same time will that it should become a universal law.”
An example: privacy
Consider a hypothetical chat
reference service offered by
the UNC Health Sciences
Library
 What moral obligation does
the library have to protect
the privacy of those engaged
in chat reference sessions?
Health Sciences Library
Reminders

Clarify your own values

Check for professional
codes of ethics that
pertain to your setting

Consider the
consequences

Consider general
principles that pertain to
the situation
Wilson Library