STUDENT LEARNING Objectives: ETHICS
The student assesses the philosophy, principles, and ethics of the library and information field.
Artifacts for Ethics
I must admit before I discovered the world of librarianship I was unaware of its ethical principle and guidelines. I began to learn more about American Library Association Code of Ethics and how it relates to my ethical duty and role as a Librarian. In LIS 600, I learned the importance of Ranganathan’s Five Laws of Library Science. The laws are simple but yet compelling. These laws helped me grasp the principles of librarianship. It made me realize how important my role will be as a Librarian. This semester I tackled my preconceived notion of morality and how it relates to librarians making decisions that affect the patrons it serves. I learned that there is a difference between morality and legality in the profession. It is our duty to protects patron’s First Amendment right. The professor gave us the tools to distinguish whether a situation is legal or a moral issue. I walked away with a better understanding of how to evaluate materially ethically and not by my own personal opinion and beliefs. In return, this class helped me expand my thinking. I completed CITI IRB training in my LIS 600 course. I learned firsthand why the IRB committee is important as a researcher and as living human being. There were many injustices among the most vulnerable before the IRB was established. As I completed the modules, I began to be grateful for IRB committee. This committee takes an in-depth approach to make sure that research is conducted ethically.
The courses at UNCG helped me become more aware of my personal beliefs, and how to actively be conscientious about my own implicit biases. I completed an Action Research paper called. “Diversity in the Workplace: Race, Ethnicity and Gender.” I researched a local community college students body and its library staff. I compared the total of students by race, ethnicity, and gender. I made a recommendation that the local community college should take immediate action in diversifying its staff, so it can reflect the student body. In addition to, introducing workshops to assist current librarians and staff to become more culturally competent. During my research, I discovered the importance having a diverse library workforce that reflects the diverse community it serves. This assignment gave me the opportunity to educate myself about the profession ethical stance on diversity and why we should promote it. I learned that it is our duty to retain and recruit diverse personnel in our workforce because it promotes equity of access for all. I also learned that people of color are needed in the profession more than ever. The library field wants to not only wants to support people of color and their voices, cultural history, but it extends to various of areas of diversity; language, education, sexual orientation, disabilities, colorism and more. All must be reflected in the library’s collection.
Overall, I have learned in-depth knowledge from lectures, reading material and class discussion that helped contribute to a better understanding of the philosophy, principles, and ethics as a librarian. This course has helped me build a foundation and a great respect for the profession.