Information Ethics

Information Ethics is the ethical and moral use of materials and resources from the internet as well as text and media.  There are four principles of information ethics – 1) Respect for intellectual property, 2) Respect for privacy, 3) Fair Representation, and 4) Non maleficence.  Unfortunately, not everyone behaves morally and ethically.

I asked my librarian friends which of the principles of information ethics they had the most issues with and their answer was “respect for intellectual property”.  The reason they felt that this was the most abused principle is because students regularly take things from the internet and don’t give credit where it is due and they do not check for a creative commons license.  But the misuse of this principle doesn’t stop with students.  It is also an issue with teachers.  Teachers misuse internet resources as well as photocopy workbooks and textbooks on a regular basis because there are not enough funds to buy the needed materials for student use. 

The librarians attempted to resolve these situations with a high regard for ethics and morality.  In the case of the student’s misuse of  internet resources, the librarian approached the English teachers and asked to teach collaborative lessons with the teachers about digital citizenship, respecting other’s intellectual property, and how to properly cite sources.  She reported that the lesson worked well and the students were doing a much better job with using the internet ethically in projects and presentations.  In this case, I feel that the librarian approached the situation in a positive way in order to reach the most students.  It was a proactive plan that worked well.

In the case of the teachers breaking copyright laws, the librarian was not as successful.  She talked to the teachers at a staff meeting about copyright laws and posted a copy of the copyright laws at the copy machines.  She also talked to the campus administrator about copyright laws, but the Principal was not concerned.  She was not successful at lowering the amount of illegal copying that was occurring on her campus because she did not have the support of administration.  In this case, the librarian did her job, but to no avail.

I also had a librarian share with me an issue regarding student privacy.  She had a student on campus that she had noticed was had checked out several books that might indicate that he was not doing well emotionally – An Angry Guy’s Guide by Hal Marcovitz, A Lonely Guy’s Guide by Hal Marcovitz, An Unloved Guy’s Guide by John Logan, and A Stressed Out Guy’s Guide by Travis Clark.  She did not want to violate his privacy by sharing information about what he was checking out from the library but felt that he needed to talk to someone.  Her solution was to tell the school counselor that she had noticed that the student was quiet and having trouble making friends and she suggested to the counselor that she might meet with him to see how he was adjusting to his new school.  The librarian also made an effort to make conversation with him and get to know him.  Her solution worked well and the student has become more comfortable at the school and made friends.  I feel that her solution was a great way to secure the student’s privacy and get him the help he needed.  I think another idea would be to include him in a book study or club that the librarian could sponsor because she already has a connection with him.

Information Ethics will continue to be an issue because people rely on the internet as a resource for work and school.  School librarians need to be vigilant in teaching about digital citizenship, advising their students and staff to follow the copyright laws, and promoting good privacy practices on their campuses.

-Lisa

Bell, M. (1998). Kiss and information ethics. TAET Journal, Spring, 1998.

Clark, T. (2014). A stressed-out guy's guide: how to deal (a guy's guide). Jasmine Health: NY.

Logan, J. (2014). An unloved guy's guide: how to deal (a guy's guide). Jasmine Health: NY.

Marcovitz, H. (2014). An angry guy’s guide: how to deal (a guy’s guide). Jasmine Health: NY.

Marcovitz, H. (2014). A lonely guy’s guide: how to deal (a guy’s guide). Jasmine Health: NY.