Student Learning Outcome #1
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I had the privilege of attending Dr. Julia Hersberger‘s LIS 600: Introduction to Library Information Studies course, with the goal of achieving a couple of student learning outcomes. The first outcome was:
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pornography in libraries, I was asked to analyze whether users at a public library should be allowed to view pornography on public access computers. Later, I was asked to present my beliefs on what should and should not be accessible to library users.
It’s not easy to analyze the concepts of ethics, especially in relationship to information organizations, because so many questions arise in the process. In the American Library Association’s Code of Ethics, the very first principle states:
It’s not easy to analyze the concepts of ethics, especially in relationship to information organizations, because so many questions arise in the process. In the American Library Association’s Code of Ethics, the very first principle states:
“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.”
Ethical Library Practices Discussion Post
So what happens when a library patron wants to view potentially harmful material on a computer? To analyze how the concept of ethics plays a role in this hypothetical situation, I first recognized that the ALA Code of Ethics is comprised of general suggestion statements made to be applicable to a wide variety of situations. The code can have different meanings for different librarians, and understanding others’ interpretation of the code can help to understand the individuals working behind the library’s counter, as well as further interpersonal relationships.
Second, I had to dig deeper into the first principle. What exactly is ‘the highest level of service’? Is the highest level of service an allowance to view pornographic materials within a library setting? How does that affect the other users in the library, especially those in the library at the same time as patrons who want to view this material?
Next, who are ‘all library users’? Are they just the users who enter through the doors of the library every day? What about users who access the library’s resources remotely? Are they affected by another patron viewing pornography in the library building? Are users who enter the building every day affected by remote users viewing pornography?
And what are ‘usefully organized resources; equitable service policies’? Should there be an organization structure for patrons to view pornography? How is restricting pornography equitable and how is it inequitable?
Second, I had to dig deeper into the first principle. What exactly is ‘the highest level of service’? Is the highest level of service an allowance to view pornographic materials within a library setting? How does that affect the other users in the library, especially those in the library at the same time as patrons who want to view this material?
Next, who are ‘all library users’? Are they just the users who enter through the doors of the library every day? What about users who access the library’s resources remotely? Are they affected by another patron viewing pornography in the library building? Are users who enter the building every day affected by remote users viewing pornography?
And what are ‘usefully organized resources; equitable service policies’? Should there be an organization structure for patrons to view pornography? How is restricting pornography equitable and how is it inequitable?
A discussion post I wrote about the ethics of pornography in public libraries.
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What is ‘equitable access; and accurate, unbiased, and courteous responses to all requests’? If a library patron wants to view pornography in a library, is it biased to deny that request? If a library patron wants pornography banned, is it biased to deny that request as well? Can restricting access to pornography be equitable?
Needless to say, analyzing the ethics at play in an information organization is extremely complicated – and I didn’t even ask questions that touched base on any definition of what the said pornography could be, or what an ‘information organization’ even means. My discussion post to the left serves as evidence for how I met this SLO through analysis of the ethical situation presented. |
I learned that when it comes to ethical situations in libraries, there should be a depth of consideration, analysis, and understanding of motives. This discussion provided me with a foundational thought process of librarianship that will impact me throughout my career as I make decisions within libraries.
The key to analyzing ethics in relationship to information organizations is maintaining a solid middle ground. You’re never going to please every patron, but there are societal constructs that make some behaviors unacceptable, even in the most liberal of institutions where knowledge is to be accessible to all. Being able to anticipate a patron’s needs, wants, and behaviors is also vital – listening to patrons, even more so. As John Stuart Mill wrote,
The key to analyzing ethics in relationship to information organizations is maintaining a solid middle ground. You’re never going to please every patron, but there are societal constructs that make some behaviors unacceptable, even in the most liberal of institutions where knowledge is to be accessible to all. Being able to anticipate a patron’s needs, wants, and behaviors is also vital – listening to patrons, even more so. As John Stuart Mill wrote,
“To refuse a hearing to an opinion, because they are sure that it is false, is to assume that their certainty is the same thing as absolute certainty. All silencing of discussion is an assumption of infallibility.”
Because ethics are so subjective, they will be different for everyone. Understanding the concepts behind them is being able to be willing to open up to new and different opinions. And because opinions are singular to the person that holds them, they too, will be one-of-a-kind in their own ways, even about what an information organization even is.
IRB Certification and Ethical Research Implications
Throughout the introductory course, I was able to complete training to be certified through the University of North Carolina at Greensboro's Institutional Review Board (IRB). Through the training, I learned about topic areas on ethical research practices with human subjects and why IRB approval is vital to research. I learned more about the Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment and Nazi experiments as examples of abuse of research with human subjects. Receiving the certification gave me the experience needed to seek IRB approval in the future for research projects, which is vital to a practicing librarian in an academic library who is required to publish research. The ability to reflect on the certification allowed me to review how I understood ethical practices in research differently. The reflection paper below demonstrates analysis of ethics and applies them to my action research project in the library and information field. It also serves as reference point for the future of what I first understood about the philosophies, ethics, and principles of the LIS field. This paper provides me with a view of how my understanding may change over time as I grow professionally and set research goals during my career.
| IRB Certification Reflection.docx |
After completing my certification, I was able to contact the UNCG IRB for approval of my action research project that would focus on surveying undergraduate students about non-traditional collection materials. I analyzed the ethical implications of having mobile fitness trackers in my research, seen in the section documented below. This section of my action research project applies the philosophies, principles, and ethics of the LIS field to real research through the analysis of how a library would maintain data collected from mobile fitness trackers. Looking through an ethical lens at my first research endeavor will impact me throughout my career in the future, because I will want to follow this model if I conduct research in any future position I may have. Through this project, I learned that taking time to explore the ethical implications of the solutions we advocate for through research are just as important as the solutions themselves.
| Ethical Implications for Mobile Fitness Trackers.docx |