Information ethics

1. Professional Ethics in
Using Library
Resources
By: Olivia Garcia

2. The following areas will be
addressed:
• Plagiarism
• Copyright
• Right to privacy
• Challenges to Library materials
• Internet Ethics

3. What is Professional Ethics?
To be a professional ethical user of information means to be a
fair, principled and decent user of informational library
resources.
"Intellectual freedom can exist only where two essential
conditions are met: first, that all individuals have the right to
hold any belief on any subject and to convey their ideas in
any form they deem appropriate, and second, that society
makes an equal commitment to the right of unrestricted
access to information and ideas regardless of the
communication medium used, the content of work, and the
viewpoints of both the author and the receiver of
information.”
Intellectual Freedom Manual, 7th
edition

4. Library Bill of Rights
The American Library Association affirms that all libraries are forums for information and ideas, and
that the following basic policies should guide their services.
I. Books and other library resources should be provided for the interest, information, and enlightenment of all
people of the community the library serves. Materials should not be excluded because of the origin,
background, or views of those contributing to their creation.
II. Libraries should provide materials and information presenting all points of view on current and historical
issues. Materials should not be proscribed or removed because of partisan or doctrinal disapproval.
III. Libraries should challenge censorship in the fulfillment of their responsibility to provide information and
enlightenment.
IV. Libraries should cooperate with all persons and groups concerned with resisting abridgment of free
expression and free access to ideas.
V. A person’s right to use a library should not be denied or abridged because of origin, age, background, or
views.
VI. Libraries which make exhibit spaces and meeting rooms available to the public they serve should make such
facilities available on an equitable basis, regardless of the beliefs or affiliations of individuals or groups
requesting their use.
The Intellectual Freedom Manual

5. What is Plagiarism?
According to Merriam-Webster Dictionary it means:
• to steal and pass off (the ideas or words of another) as
one's own
• to use (another's production) without crediting the source
• to commit literary theft
• to present as new and original an idea or product derived
from an existing source
• In other words, plagiarism is an act of fraud. It involves
both stealing someone else's work and lying about it
afterward.

6. How to Ensure You are Not
Plagiarizing
• The Fair Use Policy
The Copyright Office at the Library of Congress defines fair use as
"purposes for which the reproduction of a particular work may be
considered ‘fair,' such as criticism, comment, news reporting,
teaching, scholarship, and research."
• Paraphrase
A restatement of another source’s ideas, and information in your own
words.
• Cite your sources
Identify and give credit to the source where you retrieved your
information.

7. What is Copyright?
• Permission given to the creator of an original work to
reproduce and distribute their work.
• Users of original works must respect the copyright
and adhere to laws in place to protect originator’s
work.
• The Fair Use Policy allows the use of copyrighted
works for purposes of criticism, comments, news
reports or research.
• In libraries, permission to make reproductions of
copyrighted words is allowed for preservation and
replacement purposes.

8. What is the Right to Privacy?
• Users have the right to be informed what policies and procedures govern the amount and
retention of personally identifiable information, why that information is necessary for the
library, and what the user can do to maintain his or her privacy.
• Library users expect and in many places have a legal right to have their information
protected and kept private and confidential by anyone with direct or indirect access to
that information.
• In addition, Article V of the Library Bill of Rights states: “A person’s right to use a library
should not be denied or abridged because of origin, age, background, or views.”
• Everyone (paid or unpaid) who provides governance, administration or service in libraries
has a responsibility to maintain an environment respectful and protective of the privacy of
all users. Users have the responsibility to respect each others’ privacy.
• Libraries should not share personally identifiable user information with third parties or
with vendors that provide resources and library services unless the library has obtained
the permission of the user or has entered into a legal agreement with the vendor.

9. What are Challenges to
Library materials?
Who challenges library materials?
• Well-meaning individuals, parents, teachers, students, etc.
• These individuals find something offensive or objectionable in the content of the resource.
Essential Preparation
Have a library policy in place at the district level that delineates the process that will be conducted if such challenges may
occur as well as the process of selecting library resources.
Dealing with Challenges
•
Handle each complaint in a respectful and fair manner.
• Challenged resources should remain in the collection and accessible during the review process.
• The Library Bill of Rights states in Article I that “Materials should not be excluded because of the origin, background, or
views of those contributing to their creation,” and in Article II, that “Materials should not be proscribed or removed because
of partisan or doctrinal disapproval.” Freedom of expression is protected by the Constitution of the United States, but
constitutionally protected expression is often separated from unprotected expression only by a dim and uncertain line. The
Supreme Court has held that the Constitution requires a procedure designed to examine critically all challenged
expression before it can be suppressed. This procedure should be open, transparent, and conform to all applicable open
meeting and public records laws. Resources that meet the criteria for selection and inclusion within the collection should
not be removed.

10. What are Internet Ethics?
• Internet ethics generally focus on the appropriate use of online resources
• The digital environment offers opportunities for accessing, creating, and sharing information.
• The rights of minors to retrieve, interact with, and create information posted on the Internet in
schools and libraries are extensions of their First Amendment rights.
• The best tools to keep kids safe is education and parental involvement.
The following are characterized as unethical and unacceptable in any activity which purposely:
• Seeking to gain unauthorized access to Internet resources
• Disrupting the intended use of the Internet
• Destroying the integrity of a computer-based information
• Compromising the privacy of users

11. When in doubt, ask…
Is it what is best for all concerned and not just for
myself? Would I want someone else to do the
same thing to me?

12. Resources
Plagiarism
http://www.ala.org/Template.cfm?Section=interpretations&Template=/ContentManagement/ContentDisplay.cfm&Conte
ntID=132904
Copyright
http://www.ala.org/advocacy/copyright/copyrightarticle/librariescreatures
Privacy Rights
http://www.ala.org/Template.cfm?Section=interpretations&Template=/ContentManagement/ContentDisplay.cfm&Conte
ntID=88625
Challenges to Library Resources
http://www.ala.org/bbooks/challengedmaterials
Internet Ethics
http://www.ethicssage.com/2011/09/-internet-ethics.html