Shela F. Venancio Assignment #2LIS 10 (Librarianship and society) Outline

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Topic # 4: Library Ethics in the Philippines and abroad

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------A. Outline:

I. Professional Code of ethics for librarians

1.a IFLA Code of Ethics for Librarians and other Information Workers

1.a.1. Background

1.a.2. National Codes of Ethics for Librarians (by countries-Philippines)

II. The Professional Regulation Commission of the Republic of the Philippines

2.a Code of Ethics for Registered Librarians

2.a.1: Preamble

2.a.2 Art. I: Relation with State and Society

2.a.3.Art. II : Relation with Clients

2.a.4 Art. III : Relation with profession and Colleagues

2.a.5 Art. IV : Relation with Agency

2.a.6 Art. V: Relation to Oneself

2.a.7 Art VI : Effectivity of the Code

2.b Indigenous peoples

III. Information ethics for twenty-first century library professionals

3.a The Growing Gap Between the Information Rich and the Information Poor, Both Within Countries and Between Countries

3.b Foundational issues in information ethics

3.c Regulating cyberspace: concepts and controversies

IV. Challenges of the Future

4.a The future of libraries

V. References:

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B. Outline details and subtopic details:

I. Professional Code of ethics for librarians

1.a IFLA Code of Ethics for Librarians and other Information Workers

1.a.1. Background

Librarians all over the world are well aware of their profession's ethical implications. In more than 60 countries library associations have developed and approved a national code of ethics for librarians. But a similar document on an international level adopted by IFLA didn't exist until 2012.

During 2010 and 2012 a working group from FAIFE drafted and consulted extensively on a draft international code of ethics for librarians and other information workers. Hundreds of comments from IFLA Members and Non-Members were received to the draft, and a final version was prepared for the endorsement by the IFLA Governing Board. The "IFLA Code of Ethics for Librarians and Other Information Workers" was approved endorsed in August 2012.

1.a.2. National Codes of Ethics for Librarians (by countries)FAIFE has collected more than 60 codes of ethics for librarians from around the

world. These guidelines customarily are adopted by national library or librarians associations or in some cases implemented by government agencies. The collection will be completed and updated successively.

II. The Professional Regulation Commission of the Republic of the Philippines 2.a Code of Ethics for Registered Librarians

Approved by the Professional Regulation Commission of the Republic of the Philippines in the City of Manila the 14th of August, 1992 (Resolution No. 02 8 1992)

2.a.1: Preamble

Librarians are imbued with lofty ideals of service to people through books and other records of knowledge, a service they believe is their best way to serve humanity, enrich people's lives and attain self actualization.

Through the years the profession of librarianship has developed, and a codification of ideal practices and relationship has become necessary to guide the practitioner in maintaining standards of ethical behavior in his relation with state and society, with clients, with profession and colleagues, with agency, and with oneself.

2.a.2 Art. I: Relation with State and Society

1. Librarians should recognize and respect the supreme authority of the State as expressed through its laws and implemented by its agencies.

2. Librarians should always observe that the well-being of the public and interest of the State are above the well-being and interest of any individual.

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3. Librarians should get involved in civic affairs and cooperate with other organizations to promote the growth and development of the community.

2.a.3.Art. II : Relation with Clients

4. Librarians should remain true to the people they serve. They must act with dignity, fairness, justice, sincerity and genuine willingness in the discharge of their duties. They should refrain from doing acts contrary to laws, morals, customs and public interest.

5. Librarians should provide the highest level of service through courteous, prompt, adequate, skillful, accurate and unbiased responses to all requests for assistance.

6. Librarians should keep in confidence information that has been obtained in the course of professional service except when disclosure to the appropriate authority is clearly in the public interest.

7. Librarians should not discriminate against any library user. They should always make known to the public the resources and services of the library.

2.a.4 Art. III : Relation with profession and Colleagues

8. Librarians should regard their profession as a public trust and at all times uphold the integrity and dignity of the profession and protect it from misrepresentation.

9. Librarians should not directly or indirectly assist in the unauthorized practice of librarianship. They should report any violation of any provision of existing laws, rules and regulations, the Code of Ethics for Registered Librarians and other laws affecting the practice of librarianship to the Board for Librarians for proper action.

10. Librarians should exchange information with their fellow librarians, contribute to the work of library associations and library schools and cooperate in such other endeavors as to enhance the effectiveness of the library and information science profession.

11. Librarians should observe punctuality in appointments, in the discharge of duties, in the fulfillment of contracts, and in any other relationship with clients, employees and employers.

12. Librarians should avoid situations in which personal interest might be served or financial benefits gained at the expense of library users, colleagues or the employing agency.

13. Librarians should be guided in all their relations by the highest standards of honor and integrity and shall act with fairness and impartiality to all.

14. Librarians should keep their reputation above reproach and should so conduct themselves to gain public esteem and respect for the library and the profession.

15. Librarians should strive to improve, enhance and upgrade their professional knowledge through formal and informal means.

16. Librarians should encourage and provide opportunities for the professional development and advancement of librarians in their employ.

17. Librarians should perform and discharge their duties with the highest degree of professionalism, excellence, intelligence and skill.

18. Librarians should not malign directly or indirectly the professional reputation, competence, capability, prospects or practice of another professional. They should not use any unfair means to gain professional advancement.

19. Librarians should adhere to the principles of due process and equality of opportunity in peer relationships and personal actions.

20. Librarians should distinguish clearly in their actions and statements between their personal philosophies and attitudes and those of an institution or professional body.

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21. Librarians should help to create and maintain conditions under which scholarship can exist like freedom of inquiry, of thought and of expression.

22. Librarians should be receptive to new ideas, new knowledge and innovations that will contribute to the development of the profession.

2.a.5 Art. IV : Relation with Agency

23. Librarians should assist in the improvement of libraries and information systems.24. Librarians should be vigilant in the protection of all library property and resources.25. Librarians should resist all efforts by groups or individuals to censor library materials.26. Librarians should perform the functions of their office in good faith and to the best of their

abilities, using reasonable skills and diligence, particularly where rights of individuals may be jeopardized by their neglect.

27. Librarians should discharge their duties with promptness, punctuality and dispatch.

2.a.6 Art. V: Relation to Oneself

28. Librarians should not accept gifts or favors that might lead to unfair library practice, nor offer any favor, service or things of value to obtain special advantage.

29. Librarians should not engage in any activity that would result in a conflict of interest. They should not enter into transactions prejudicial to the library and should not appropriate resources of the library for their personal gain.

30. Librarians should be entitled to a just and fair compensation for services rendered. In the computation of such compensation, the period of time consumed, the knowledge, experience, ability and reputation brought into the plan/project, depreciation of materials/equipment used, if any, shall be taken into consideration. Every factor to be accorded such weight as shall be just and reasonable in each specific case.

31. Librarians should refrain from associating with, or allowing the use of their names by any persons or organizations whose relationship therewith would cast a doubt on their integrity and reputation.

2.a.7 Art VI : Effectivity of the Code

1. The herein Code shall upon approval hereof by the Commission, take effect after three (3) months following its publication in the Official Gazette or in any newspaper of general circulation.

2.b Indigenous peoples

Protocols concerning ethical issues in the handling of information and a range of library/ information/archives issues relating to Indigenous peoples.

III. Information ethics for twenty-first century library professionals

3.a The Growing Gap Between the Information Rich and the Information Poor, Both Within Countries and Between Countries

The information rich and poor are often defined in two separate and distinct ways: The North vs. the South (rich vs. poor countries) and the gap between the elite and the disadvantaged within countries. Our project seeks to unite these ideas. To a

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greater or larger extent all countries have information gaps. The United States and South Africa are examples of two countries that have extremely skewed distribution of wealth, resulting in excellent information services for some and poor or non-existent services for others. Although the United States is rich, its distribution of wealth and information is becoming more unequal. On the other hand, the great majority of South Africans are poor, but there are now efforts to equalize the standard of living that was constructed under apartheid.

3.b Foundational issues in information ethics

Information ethics, as is well known, has emerged as an independent area of ethical and philosophical inquiry. There are issues that are more abstract and basic than the substantive issues with which most information ethics theorizing is concerned. These issues are thought to be “foundational” in the sense that we cannot fully succeed in giving an analysis of the concrete problems of information ethics (e.g. are legal intellectual property rights justifiably protected?) until these issues are adequately addressed. A number of theorists have attempted to justify the study of computer ethics as a field by arguing that computer ethics is unique in some theoretically significant sense. On this line of analysis, the use of computing technologies gives rise to unique meta-ethical, ethical, or epistemic difficulties that warrant treating those problems as a theoretically unified class that requires specialization.

3.c Regulating cyberspace: concepts and controversies

Is the internet really a medium, or can it be better understood as a place such as a “public space”? Note that there are four types of media: publisher, broadcast, distributor, and common carrier. An example of a publisher would be a newspaper or a magazine; and examples of broadcast media include television and radio. Telephone companies and cable companies can be considered instances of common carriers. As such, they are conduits for the distribution of information. Camp and Chien (2000) argue that none of the four media models are appropriate for understanding the ’net. Instead, they believe that a spatial model – one in which cyberspace is viewed a “public space with certain digital characteristics” – is a more plausible way to conceive of the internet. Camp and Chien also believe that operating from such a model can influence our decisions about public policies on the internet. For example, if the internet is viewed as a public space, then there are good legal and moral reasons for ensuring that everyone has access to it, as in the case of whether on-line pornography and hate speech should be censored on the ’net.

IV. Challenges of the Future

Some graphic, social, and physical problems that afflict libraries today and the challenges with which we must deal. Together they add up to an intimidating, if not exceptional, agenda that, if not separated into its parts and thought about coherently,

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could well overwhelm us. There is little evidence that the latter will happen, however. In particular, it is far more likely that electronic documents and resources will find their level and rightful place in future library services and programs

4.a The future of libraries

We must confront the future without hysteria or pessimism and create new libraries not only with a due regard for the lessons of the past and our enduring values, but also with a reasonable optimism about the future. Our situation demands both clarity and purpose. It also demands tactical and strategic thinking. Each of these can only be achieved if they are based on facts and the rational approach. Those facts and that approach can only be derived from research. The great problem here is the ever-widening gulf between the people who work in libraries and those who teach in what used to be library schools.

V. References:

Online Databases:

Gorman, Michael. (2003). Enduring Library : Technology, Tradition, and the Quest for Balance. Chicago, IL, USA: ALA Editions, 2003. ProQuest ebrary. Web. 18 July 2014.

Himma, Kenneth Einar, ed. (2007).Information ethics. Bradford, GBR: Emerald Group Publishing Ltd, 2007. ProQuest ebrary. Web. 18 July 2014.

Ershova, T.V., and Hohlov, Yuri E.(2012) IFLA Publications : Libraries in the Information Society. Munchen, DEU: K. G. Saur, 2012. ProQuest ebrary. Web. 18 July 2014.

Internet Sources:

Code of ethics for registered librarians. Retreived from: http://archive.ifla.org/faife/ethics/filicode.htm. Retreived on July 157, 2014.

Professional code of ethics. Retreived from: http://www.ifla.org/faife/professional-codes-of-ethics-for-librarians#iflacodeofethics.Retreived on: July 17, 2014

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