Introduction to Reference and Information Services Spring 2013 Dr. Diane Nahl University of Hawaii Library and Information Science Program

1. LIS 601
Reference Ethics
Spring 2013
Dr. Diane Nahl
University of Hawaii
Library and Information Science Program

2. Published Ethical Standards
for Reference Service
 Behavioral Reference Standards [Handout pp. 20-27]
 Professional Competencies [pp. 28-39]
 Ethical Guidelines [pp. 46-50]
 Codes for specializations [Ch. 18 pp. 372-73]
 ALA Library Bill of Rights [Ch. 18 pp. 376-77]
 ALA Code of Ethics [pp. 49-50; Ch. 18 p. 372]
Ch. 18 in Cassell & Hiremath, 2012, Reference & Information Services: An Introduction, 3rd ed., Neal Schuman.
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3. Ethical Principles of Reference
Librarianship
 Service Ethics
 Equitable Access
 Confidentiality
 Copyright and Intellectual Property Rights
 Intellectual Freedom
Cassell & Hiremath, Ch. 18, “Ethics in Reference.” pp.371-386, 2012 .
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4. Ethics in Reference Work
 Service-orientation
 Commitment to answering reader queries
 Persistence and professionalism in seeking answers to
reader queries
 Subject & collection specialist Liaison to departments
 Online search intermediary User experience designer
 Instruction librarian Instructional designer
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5. Ethical Principles of Reference
Librarianship
 Service Ethics
 Updated Knowledge Base
 Collaboration within and across institutions
 Equitable Access to Information
 Information Literacy Instruction
 Outreach
 Evaluation and Assessment
 Confidentiality
 Rights to privacy
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6. Ethical Principles of Reference
Librarianship
 Copyright and IP Rights
 Public Domain
 First Sale Doctrine
 Fair Use
 Open Access
 Creative Commons
 Digital Rights Management
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7. Ethical Principles of Reference
Librarianship
 Intellectual Freedom
 Censorship
 Cultural Studies
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8. Concentric Spheres
of Ethical Conduct
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9. Concentric Spheres
of Ethical Conduct
 Individual Level
 Treat each person ethically
 Organizational Level
 Act in accord with the mission and goals of the organization
 Professional Level
 Promote established standards of professional conduct
 Societal Level
 Serve the best interests of society as a whole
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10. Student Conduct Codes
Professional Expectations:
http://www.hawaii.edu/lis/students.php?page=profexp
Student Conduct Codes:
http://studentaffairs.manoa.hawaii.edu/policies/conduc
t_code/
http://studentaffairs.manoa.hawaii.edu/policies/conduc
t_code/proscribed_conduct.php
IV.B.1 Academic Dishonesty
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11. Ethics in Action
in Reference Work
 Library users have a right to access information
 Library users have a right to excellent reference and
information service
 Library users have a right to privacy in their
information access
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12. Ethics in Reference Queries
 Legal information
 Medical information
 Financial information
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13. Avoiding an Ethical Breach
 Be circumspect at public reference desks
 Be approachable and interested
 Listen carefully and ask probing questions
 Avoid bias
 Keep current in your specialty
 Refer questions only if you know it will work (call ahead)
 Provide sources, not interpretation
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14. Avoiding an Ethical Breach
 Check several sources
 Show how to evaluate sources
 Provide current, accurate sources
 Don’t withhold information
 Give advice about search strategy and merits of sources
 Use tact and discretion
 Follow-up
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15. Ethical Standards for
Remote Reference Formats
Telephone, FAX, Email, IM, Live Chat, Blog,
Virtual World
Give only factual information
Identify sources with complete citation and call
number or URL or SLURL
Read or type brief information verbatim
Provide transcript of text chat session or email
thread
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16. Ethical Dilemma Exercise 1:
How do you respond as the
reference librarian?
A caller who sounds like an adult asks for information
on making the street drug ‘ice’ or ethyl-
methamphetamine.
 Discuss and create a reference librarian response
with justifications that follow the Code of Ethics (pp.
49-50 Handouts). Cite relevant Code numbers.
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17. Ethical Dilemma Exercise 2:
How do you respond as the
reference librarian?
At a public library, a high school student asks for the
book Final Exit [on methods of suicide].
 Discuss and create a reference librarian response
with justifications that follow the Code of Ethics (pp.
49-50 Handouts). Cite relevant Code numbers.
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18. Ethical Dilemma Exercise 3:
How do you respond as the
reference librarian?
At a college library, a librarian notes that a student
downloads a term paper, and later his instructor
mentions to the librarian she fears the student’s paper
may be plagiarized and asks how to check.
 Discuss and create a reference librarian response
with justifications that follow the Code of Ethics (pp.
49-50 Handouts). Cite relevant Code numbers. Are
there relevant codes of conduct besides ALA?
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