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The
first question to address is why the library association should concern itself
with the formulation of professional ethics. The overall aim of the association
is to help uphold all lawful aspects of the library and information profession.
It is clear in the objectives of the association that it is in the
association’s best interest to have all professionals having a coordinated and
uniform code for their core conduct
The
objectives are as follows:
v
To unite all persons engaged, or interested in library and
information work by holding conferences, meetings seminars etc
v
To encourage the establishment, improvement and promotion of libraries and information
services
v
To promote and encourage bibliographical study and research
v
To improve the status of library and information workers
v
To improve the standards of library and information practice
v
To monitor any legislation affecting library and information
workers
v
To collect and publish regularly (as proceedings, journals,
bulletins, newsletters etc.) information
of benefit to its members, or for the promotion of the aims and objectives of
the association.
v
To assess and offer recommendations on courses of library
and information training
v
To recommend appropriate salaries and conditions of service
for library and information workers.
A
set of professional ethics accepted by practicing persons in the relevant
fields would go a long way towards achieving the goals.
Mason's 1986 writes about "Four Ethical Issues of the
Information Age". In his article Mason emphasizes four issues of Privacy,
Accuracy, Property and Accessibility (PAPA). While these are good foundations
for library professional ethics, the library profession has become very dynamic
calling for the librarians’ definition of their moral role and consideration
for issues currently at hand. The Institute for Global Ethics on the
justification for the need for ethics makes an observation that “The immense power of modern
technology extends globally. Many hands guide the controls and many decisions
move those hands. A good decision can benefit millions, while an unethical one
can cripple our future.” (http://www.globalethics.org/ethics.html,
May 2000) It is modern technology that has blurred clarity on intellectual
property and copyright regulations; it is the same technology that has the
potential to broaden the scope and ease information provision. BLA needs a set
of professional ethics to guide us all in the profession and make us aware of
our expected roles and obligations.
While
technology might be a powerful invention that influences our services and
interaction with the clientele, the main factor in librarianship or information
service is people relations. The people outside the profession, commonly
referred to as users or clients, have different expectations of the
professional. The professionals also have expectations of one another as they
interact with each other or with the users. The way professionals relate and
behave towards each other and towards their users portrays an image for the
profession. A lot of professions have decided to draw up a set of professional
ethics to systematically coordinate moral and ethical behaviour within their
professions. In Botswana, the library
profession not popular to the extent that majority of the population
understands its role. It is a profession that needs nurturing and whose image
needs proper molding and protection as we leap forward into the information
age. A stipulated set of professional ethics is needed to ensure uniformity in
moral and ethical behaviour in service provision. All professionals should be
striving for the same goal, to portray an image of a profession that upholds
good conduct, good governance, accountability, respect for human rights at all
levels and respect for the societal cultural diversity.
Librarians / Information
Workers:
All trained
information workers serving in all types of information providing institutions
such as libraries, information centres, documentation centres, archives, etc.
Professional Ethics :
A set of moral principles that guide
individuals or groups of people in the endeavor to achieve a standard behaviour
in conducting their business and in relating with others so that their conducts
is seen to reflect their values, good governance, integrity, honesty,
accountability and other virtues deemed desirable.
Core issues in the Professional Ethics
While the library association perceives the
profession as the overall guiding light on which to build all principles in
formulating a set of ethics, it identifies four main levels of relations or
interactions that form the whole arena in which the professionals operate.
v
Society
v
Users
v
Institution
v
Self
1.
Information
age – Librarian
must advocate and usher in the information technologies to enhance library
service and avoid restrictions to inflow of information that were inherent in
old information delivery services.
2.
Lobbying - Librarians
must lobby government stakeholders and other concerned groups to get the
necessary information provision environment and
move with the IT tides.
3. Networking,
resource sharing and collaboration – Librarians
must work with their fellow professionals to achieve high quality service
provision.
4. Advocate conducive working conditions – Librarians must secure appropriate
labour conditions for the development and pursuit of professional library
services
5. Corruption – Librarians must strive to make
library and information practice corruption free.
6.
Collegial Respect – Librarians should not discriminate
against each other.
7. Intellectual
Property – Librarians must
strive to protect intellectual property through enforcement of the copyright
legislation and give advice on the copyright regulations.
Society
8.
Social
compatibility and obligation - Librarians must, and are expected to
work within the boundaries of social values and within an environment shaped by
the specific users’ needs.
9. Democracy – Librarians must, in addition to
upholding and promoting democratic principles or freedoms presented in the
country’s constitution as a “non-racial democracy which maintains freedom of
speech, freedom of the press and
freedom of association (NDP8 p.1),
advocate information freedoms including intellectual freedom “Intellectual
Freedom is the right of every individual to both seek and receive information
from all points of view without restriction. It provides for free access to all
expressions of ideas through which any and all sides of a question, cause or
movement may be explored.” ALA Office for intellectual freedom (http://www.ala.org/oif.html,
May 2000)
10. Participation
in cultural development – Librarians
must cooperate with society to stimulate the development of cultural
environment in society and the community they serve. Librarians must network
with appropriate groups and organisations within the societies they serve.
11. Discrimination – Librarian must never discriminate
against any user in their daily information service provision. Libraries should
be discrimination free zones..
12. Confidentiality – Librarians must never disclose to a
third party any information pertaining to information sought or received, and
materials consulted, borrowed or acquired by any library user. Librarians must
protect each user's right to privacy.
13.
Free flow of information – Librarians must advocate the users’
right to access information, talk against any form of censorship, encourage and
take a proactive role in the dissemination of information.
14.
Leadership in information related
issues – Librarians must,
through their institutions provide leadership and expertise in the design,
development, implementation and management of knowledge based information
systems that meet their institutions needs in particular and those of their
users in general.
15. Knowledge of
Information Sources – Librarians
must always strive to be familiar with various sources of information.
Librarians are expected to be familiar with materials within their libraries
but also to have some idea about contents of other libraries.
16. Self-development - Librarian must
strive to constantly acquire new knowledge through professional training,
conference attendance, professional networking, private study and research.
17. Obligation to
uphold professional integrity -
Librarian must uphold and adhere to moral principles at all times.
18. The
Library Association will monitor adherence and forward any case worth hearing to the ad hoc
Disciplinary Committee, which is one of the organs of the association.