Program Learning Outcome 3.
Articulate
Critically articulate the philosophy, principles, and ethics of library and information science
Protecting intellectual freedom is the running theme that guides my philosophy of ethics around the principles of librarianship. In Dr. Burgess's Information Ethics course (LS 515), we learned of the many hermeneutical injustices that exist within libraries and beyond. What I found most practical in the completion of that course is to codify written policies to determine who they protected versus who they prohibit. At the bottom of this webpage, please find my work sample titled "Analysis and Critique of a Professional Ethics Document" to better understand my conclusion.
The nine principles in the ALA Code of ethics serve as a framework to examine the policies that guide library institutions during this analysis (Code of Ethics). Engaging in the revision of policies will make me an active civic agent, keeping the field relevant in changing times. As Taylor Willingham says, "how libraries contribute public value, the distinct competencies they can contribute to their community, and how they may be uniquely positioned to respond to a community's social and political needs," illustrates there will be shifts, and libraries ought to adjust civilly (Willingham, 2008).
The internet poses the greatest threat to library users under intellectual freedom. "Such activities as filtering, blocking, forced removal of content, hacking attacks, and restrictions on Internet access are all forms of censorship of Internet content" (Mathiesen, 2012). Thankfully, libraries take steps not to collect data from users, as we learned in many courses, particularly LS 500 Information and Technology, LS 501 Information in Communities, and LS 530 Public Libraries. Instruction by library staff to users on how to protect their data is an area all librarians can focus on when engaging with their guests. In the public libraries course I took, we discussed how to include information protection into library programming. From class discussion and materials read, there is general confusion about how the internet is mining peoples information. There are many disparities in who has access to the internet on top of who gets to review the information gathered. At the bottom of this page, please see my work from LS 501 entitled "Hot Topic Patron Privacy" to read more of my conclusion. As written in Public Libraries and Human Rights, libraries shouldn't censor but they should support citizen action groups with a high level of information support to protect human rights (McCook, et. all., 2007). With the unknown territory the internet will forge, plus the considerations the US Congress is reviewing regarding personal information, libraries must continue to stay their ground as an avenue where privacy is protected.
Focusing libraries as a gathering place for communities, where their privacy is protected, leads into the ongoing discussion of how to manage the public spaces. John Budd's article, "The Library, Praxis, and Symbolic Power," offers a philosophy of how to view the space: “do not simply respond passively to communities’ stated desires. They help to construct the desires and expectations of the communities,” (Budd 2003, 22). To me, this means that libraries hold a special place in communities as a gathering space where ideas can get explored and needs stated. If we as professionals don't take note of what our library users, and those who don't yet use the library are seeking, we'll fall behind the trends.
Emily Knox writes about "constructivist structuralism" and class structures--how even though they don't exist, people act like they do (Knox. 2014). To me, this illustrates how libraries ought to be a place of acceptance, where no matter a person's background, they are welcome and treated as equals. An extension of this mindset extends to how people engage on the internet when accessing information or creating new content (Mathiesen, 2012). Mathiesen also writes about "computer ethics" and how problems are also addressed on a case-by-case basis to fit into an existing framework (Mathiesen, 2004). This is an area I predict will see the most change during my career in librarianship, as we had lively course discussions about it in LS 512 Information Resources: Science, LS 562 Digital Libraries, and LS 566 Metadata and Semantic Web. Librarians are civic agents to drive change and to hold big tech companies and government accountable to give access to people and not collect data against them. Those industries could learn a thing or two from how libraries have operated to protect users for decades.
Sources:
Budd, John. 2003.“The Library, Praxis, and Symbolic Power.” Library Quarterly 73: 19–32.
Code of Ethics of the American Library Association (ALA): https://www.ala.org/tools/ethics
Knox, Emily J. M. 2014. “Supporting Intellectual Freedom: Symbolic Capital and Practical Philosophy in Librarianship.” Library Quarterly 84 (1): 8.
Mathiesen, Kay. 2012. Supporting Intellectual Freedom A Philosophical Defense.” International Review of Information Ethics 18 (12): 9–22.
Mathiesen, Kay. 2004. “What Is Information Ethics?” SIGCAS Computers and Society 34 (1): 6.
McCook, Kathleen de la Pena, and Katharine J. Phenix. 2007. “Public Libraries and Human Rights.” Public Library Quarterly 25 (1–2): 57–73.
Willingham, Taylor L. 2008. “Libraries as Civic Agents.” Public Library Quarterly 27 (2): 97–110.
The nine principles in the ALA Code of ethics serve as a framework to examine the policies that guide library institutions during this analysis (Code of Ethics). Engaging in the revision of policies will make me an active civic agent, keeping the field relevant in changing times. As Taylor Willingham says, "how libraries contribute public value, the distinct competencies they can contribute to their community, and how they may be uniquely positioned to respond to a community's social and political needs," illustrates there will be shifts, and libraries ought to adjust civilly (Willingham, 2008).
The internet poses the greatest threat to library users under intellectual freedom. "Such activities as filtering, blocking, forced removal of content, hacking attacks, and restrictions on Internet access are all forms of censorship of Internet content" (Mathiesen, 2012). Thankfully, libraries take steps not to collect data from users, as we learned in many courses, particularly LS 500 Information and Technology, LS 501 Information in Communities, and LS 530 Public Libraries. Instruction by library staff to users on how to protect their data is an area all librarians can focus on when engaging with their guests. In the public libraries course I took, we discussed how to include information protection into library programming. From class discussion and materials read, there is general confusion about how the internet is mining peoples information. There are many disparities in who has access to the internet on top of who gets to review the information gathered. At the bottom of this page, please see my work from LS 501 entitled "Hot Topic Patron Privacy" to read more of my conclusion. As written in Public Libraries and Human Rights, libraries shouldn't censor but they should support citizen action groups with a high level of information support to protect human rights (McCook, et. all., 2007). With the unknown territory the internet will forge, plus the considerations the US Congress is reviewing regarding personal information, libraries must continue to stay their ground as an avenue where privacy is protected.
Focusing libraries as a gathering place for communities, where their privacy is protected, leads into the ongoing discussion of how to manage the public spaces. John Budd's article, "The Library, Praxis, and Symbolic Power," offers a philosophy of how to view the space: “do not simply respond passively to communities’ stated desires. They help to construct the desires and expectations of the communities,” (Budd 2003, 22). To me, this means that libraries hold a special place in communities as a gathering space where ideas can get explored and needs stated. If we as professionals don't take note of what our library users, and those who don't yet use the library are seeking, we'll fall behind the trends.
Emily Knox writes about "constructivist structuralism" and class structures--how even though they don't exist, people act like they do (Knox. 2014). To me, this illustrates how libraries ought to be a place of acceptance, where no matter a person's background, they are welcome and treated as equals. An extension of this mindset extends to how people engage on the internet when accessing information or creating new content (Mathiesen, 2012). Mathiesen also writes about "computer ethics" and how problems are also addressed on a case-by-case basis to fit into an existing framework (Mathiesen, 2004). This is an area I predict will see the most change during my career in librarianship, as we had lively course discussions about it in LS 512 Information Resources: Science, LS 562 Digital Libraries, and LS 566 Metadata and Semantic Web. Librarians are civic agents to drive change and to hold big tech companies and government accountable to give access to people and not collect data against them. Those industries could learn a thing or two from how libraries have operated to protect users for decades.
Sources:
Budd, John. 2003.“The Library, Praxis, and Symbolic Power.” Library Quarterly 73: 19–32.
Code of Ethics of the American Library Association (ALA): https://www.ala.org/tools/ethics
Knox, Emily J. M. 2014. “Supporting Intellectual Freedom: Symbolic Capital and Practical Philosophy in Librarianship.” Library Quarterly 84 (1): 8.
Mathiesen, Kay. 2012. Supporting Intellectual Freedom A Philosophical Defense.” International Review of Information Ethics 18 (12): 9–22.
Mathiesen, Kay. 2004. “What Is Information Ethics?” SIGCAS Computers and Society 34 (1): 6.
McCook, Kathleen de la Pena, and Katharine J. Phenix. 2007. “Public Libraries and Human Rights.” Public Library Quarterly 25 (1–2): 57–73.
Willingham, Taylor L. 2008. “Libraries as Civic Agents.” Public Library Quarterly 27 (2): 97–110.
To read further examples from my coursework to substantiate my positions, click on the files below. To see more of my work, click on the quick link buttons at the bottom of this page.
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