Ethics Literacy

Much like information literacy, information professionals should also be ethically literate as well. Information professionals may deal with many different types of ethical scenarios daily and therefore having good background knowledge, and a strong understanding of ethics is important. The American Library Association (ALA) has deemed ethics as an important component in library science since the 1930s. The ALA Code of Ethics has informed many professionals about ethics but it may not be enough. Its accreditation does not mandate that coursework include any sort of ethics training nor does it standardize ethics curriculum (Buchanan, 2004, p. 51). Though it’s important for the ALA to continue to demonstrate the importance of ethics in the workforce, it doesn’t seem to be truly effective in practical applications.

Luo (2016, p. 197) found that when dealing with an ethically ambiguous situation, many professionals reached out to others in their field to seek advice on how to handle the situation. This may be an issue because organizational ethics may differ from company to company and, in some instances, from the ALA Code of Ethics as a whole (Luo, 2016, p.197). Because of this, it is necessary that organizations have ethics policies in place so that staff may defer to them when ethical situations arise. However, this may be easier said than done since situations that involve ethics do not have clear-cut outcomes. It is in the best interest of organizations and especially those who work in reference services to partake in an ethics course or attend ethics workshops where practical applications may be discussed.

References

Buchanan, E. (2004). Ethics in library and information science. What are we teaching? Journal of Information Ethics, 13(1), 51-60. doi:10.3172/JIE.13.1.51

Luo, L. (2016). Ethical issues in reference: An in-depth view from the librarians’ perspective. Reference & User Services Quarterly, 55(3), 189-198.

Big Data

Big data can be defined by the three Vs: volume, velocity, and variety (Laney, 2001). But simply put, it is data that is so large in volume, that happens so fast, and across a variety of platforms that it used to be impossible to mine all the data with (what used to be) typical software. Now that technology has advanced, big data is used in organizations around the world to tailor user experiences and to help the company see trends in regards to its users. For example, which links are being clicked on the most, which devices users use the most to visit the site, and more.

Using big data in libraries is a complicated issue. The biggest issue is that recording and mining data from users can directly violate their right to privacy. Article VII in the American Library Association’s Bill of Rights states that all people “possess a right to privacy and confidentiality in their library use” (2006). It is a core value that many within the library profession believe in firmly. Though there may be ways to anonymize data, breaches from companies like Target to Experian prove that data can be hacked.

However, using big data in libraries can prove to be beneficial not only to the library but to the users as well. One way libraries can use big data to help users is by providing relevant information to their searches (Li, Jiao, Zhang, & Xu, 2019, p. 25). In much the same way Netflix tailors recommendations based on your previously watched media, libraries can utilize big data to provide relevant information to patrons that they might not have been actively searching for. This feature is not only beneficial to the user but to the library as well. It can save library resources such as time and money. It also can help the users return to the library because they had a pleasant user experience.

References

Laney, D. (2001). 3D data management: Controlling data volume, velocity and variety. 6(70). META Group Research Note.

Li, S., Jiao, F., Zhang, Y., & Xu, X. (2019). Problems and changes in digital libraries in the age of big data from the perspective of user services. The Journal of Academic Librarianship, 45(1), 22-30.

Library Bill of Rights. (2006). American Library Association. Retrieved from http://www.ala.org/advocacy/intfreedom/librarybill

Ethical Dilemmas with Modern Technology

In today's world, the ethical dilemmas faced by information professionals in the workplace are numerous. The evolution of modern technology has changed the way in which people interact with information, interact with each other and their environment. Describe two ethical scenarios concerning the designing or implementation of digital services in libraries. Based on your descriptions, please analyze these two scenarios with a careful consideration of the Code of Ethics and provide possible solutions for these two scenarios.

Dilemma 1: People have high expectations of libraries. According to a Pew Research Center survey, 78% of respondents felt that “public libraries help them find information that is trustworthy and reliable” (Geiger, 2017, para. 2). That is great news to hear. However, what happens when library users come to use the internet and do not seek out librarians for help with information retrieval?

We live in a world of fake news. From memes to questionable posts, from deepfakes to blatant lies - the internet is full of false information masquerading as truth. The issue of fake news is a vast topic that has its own set of ethical issues. What I’d like to discuss briefly, is the ethical dilemma of using technology to alert our users to information that is questionable. Even now, Facebook is trying to combat some of the issues within its social sphere by adding disclaimers to certain posts that it deems untrue or questionable (Heijmans, 2019). If users come into the library expecting trustworthy, high-quality, reliable information, how do we ensure we are giving it to them? Especially when there is no human interaction?

The technology exists now to add a Chrome extension that purports to fight fake news. Adding a chrome extension would be simple enough but do we need to? Should we have to? The ethical implications are, like every other response on the thread, varied and multifaceted.

It is our duty to give patrons “the highest level of service” (American Library Association, 2008) which includes the best, most correct information. However, adding a plugin or extension might violate users’ privacy.  We also may be unwittingly forcing the user to censor or limit their information results by adding the disclaimer. Also, it turns out that adding disclaimers to fake news may make people “more willing to believe other stories…[e]ven if those additional untagged stories also turn out to be false” (Dizikes, 2020).

Information literacy is becoming more and more important. As librarians, workshops and classes on how to apply critical thinking skills and tools to evaluate websites should be shared to help combat fake or questionable content. But as Orick (2000) states, the internet is so quickly changing that the validity of the content might change from day-to-day.

Dilemma 2: Online learning is a convenient and popular technology that has really gained traction within the last decade. As the UNT Library Science program can attest, face-to-face is not necessary to learn a topic or to engage with peers. Many online courses use web-based software (e.g. Canvas, Blackboard) that allow users to login, interact, and work from anywhere with an internet connection. However, this software has ways to mine data from its users. It can track students’ clicks, time on page, who they’ve interacted with, files uploaded, files downloaded, and more. From a business perspective, this mined data is gold. It can help show correlations between students receiving A's and the time they spend on the software. It can help show areas that are being underutilized or not used at all that can then be eliminated from future budgets. However, as Jones and Salo (2018) explain, the software and the data that are able to be mined have ethical implications in the field of library and information science, especially when the same set of data mining standards are used in mining the library’s service.

Knowing which actions and services a patron uses can be beneficial to the university. Having that knowledge in quantifiable measures with the ability to provide correlations and statistically relevant data can help the university gain revenue and focus on areas where they may have been lacking before. However, patrons have the right to privacy. The webpages they visited, the clicks they made, and the articles they read should not be saved and put on a server waiting to be analyzed later. Especially without identifiers removed and especially not without patron’s consent. The duty to keep our patrons’ information private should be a top priority. Whether they are using a public, academic, or another type of library they should be comfortable in knowing that their information will not be sold or used for means in which they have no say.

References

American Library Association. (2008). Code of Ethics. Retrieved from http://www.ala.org/tools/ethics

Dizikes, P. (2020, March 2). The catch to putting warning labels on fake news. MIT News. Retrieved from http://news.mit.edu/2020/warning-labels-fake-news-trustworthy-0303

Geiger. A. W. (2017, August 30). Most Americans – especially Millennials – say libraries can help them find reliable, trustworthy information. Pew Center Research Fact Tank. Retrieved from https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2017/08/30/most-americans-especially-millennials-say-libraries-can-help-them-find-reliable-trustworthy-information/

Heijmans, P. (2019, November 30). Facebook adds disclaimer to post that Singapore deems false. Bloomberg.Retrieved from https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-11-29/singapore-orders-facebook-to-correct-blog-s-false-statements

Jones, K., & Salo, D. (2018). Learning analytics and the academic library: Professional ethics commitments at a crossroads. College & Research Libraries, 79(3). DOI: https://doi.org/10.5860/crl.79.3.304

Orick, J. (2000). The virtual library: Changing Roles and ethical challenges for librarians. International Information & Library Review, 32(3/4), 313-624. DOI: 10.1080/10572317.2000.10762520