Global Information Ethics in LIS: An Examination of Select National Library Association English- Language Codes of Ethics

Even the most rational approach to ethics is defenseless if there isn't the will to do what is right.-Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn (1918-2008)Ethics, or moral philosophy, derived from ethos, is the principle, character, and behavior of knowing and doing what is right and just. Defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as "the science of morals; the department of study concerned with the principles of human duty" and "the rules of conduct recognized in certain associations," professional ethical responsibilities have long been expected of many professions including teaching, medicine, finance, and law, yet formal ethical standards for library and information professionals have only recently, relative to the age of the profession, been considered, developed, and published.Information ethics in library and information science, a term first expressed in 1988 (Hauptman, 1988, p. 3; Capurro, 1998), refers to the "production, dissemination, storage, retrieval, security and application of information within an ethical context" (Hauptman, 2002, p. 121). The ethical and moral obligations, challenges and conflicts which may result when people, information, and facilitators (i.e., librarians) interact, demonstrate the need for ethical standards to guide the facilitator, and indeed to ensure the optimal conditions for information to be created, used, and preserved. They are statements to guide and define ideals and standards of librarianship in the particular societal contexts in which they are formulated.Yet, information ethics standards must first be governed by national, federal, and local laws, covering aspects such as labor standards (what is a librarian required to do, or to not do?), technology (what technology can be used/ accessed, and how, especially at the tax-payers' expense?), information laws (what limits have been placed on access to information about potentially controversial subjects?), audience (who may or may not access a library's services and why? and how (or is) the privacy of the user ensured?). The American Library Association (ALA) Library Bill of Rights, for example, provides an ideal statement of principles, and refines those principles to refer specifically to intellectual freedom in the Code of Ethics; however, any conflicts, challenges or obligation in ensuring those standards and ideals would be governed by American law, making the code unenforceable (Wiegand, 1996, p. 84) at the professional level, and thus remaining hopeful ideals. The importance of recognizing ethical standards is not in question, yet the need for often unenforceable codes must be examined; why are formal codes necessary, what makes a code effective, and how can rhetoric, rights, responsibility, and reality be reconciled in the context of information ethics in library and information science?The ALA Code of Ethics includes the following in its short preamble: "...we recognize the importance of codifying and making known to the profession and to the general public the ethical principles that guide the work of librarians..."; can library and information professionals move beyond the ethical ideals in principle to mindful application and implementation? Many formal ethical codes of national library/librarians associations refer to a national charter, constitution or similar document, and sometimes directly or indirectly to global human rights and some specifically to elements of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). While also not legally binding, the UDHR can be used to morally or politically influence those states, nations, leaders or governments which violate the principles of the declaration, though the language of the document is subjective. Should codes of ethics be based on the UDHR, even though it has no legal authority? Can a code be applicable to all information (Baldwin, 1996), regardless of the technology or format? Can a code accommodate as yet unknown privacy or security concerns (Moor, 2005)? Can a code exclude anyone for some reason? …