COMPETENCY A

“A LITTLE LEARNING IS A DANGEROUS THING;
DRINK DEEP OR TASTE NOT OF THE PIERIAN SPRING.” – Alexander Pope

A.
Articulate the ethics, values and foundational principles of library and information professionals and their role in the promotion of intellectual freedom.

      In every library, the goal of the librarian is to uphold intellectual freedom and to safeguard patrons from censorship. The American Library Association has a code of ethics that serve as a guideline for how libraries operate and for how librarians should behave. The ALA code of ethics states, “We uphold the principles of intellectual freedom and resist all efforts to censor library resources.” Censorship can be a difficult task for a Librarian. Personal biases as well as community biases come into play whenever a book is in question. Not every patron will agree on which books should be contained in the library. The librarian has to put the needs and opinions of their community above their own personal beliefs. I addressed this dilemma in a paper for Library 266, Collection Management. I created a collection development policy (Library 266 Collection Development Policy) for a library in Cavendish, Prince Edward Island. In the paper I focus on how censorship is handled within the library. I feel it is the responsibility of the librarian to receive any criticism from patrons and staff, however there should be a set standard within the policy on how the librarian will respond to that criticism. Censorship should not be an aspect of any library, yet there are times when a librarian has to make a choice for the benefit of the community and staff.
      Economy plays a large role in intellectual freedom. Patrons who are financially stable tend to be able to keep up on technology. With the increase of technology changing libraries, schools and the day-to-day world, lacking the funds to purchase or access new technology can put a library at a disadvantage. As much as a librarian strives to provide equal access to everyone, there never seems to be enough money in the budget to keep up with the latest technology. Many patrons access the library in order to read books they cannot otherwise purchase, to use the Internet and to gain help from different services. When libraries are closed or hours cut these patrons are put at a disadvantage from those who have access to services at home. Keeping up to date on what is being offered can help provide more opportunities to patrons. In Library 266, Collection Management, I created a Public Service Announcement (Library 266 Public Service Announcement) that let patrons know when the library was open and what new features and programs were available. Librarian may not be able to fix all the issues associated with economic problems, but they can continue to reach out to the community and to provide the best service possible to their patrons.
      You cannot focus on intellectual freedom without mentioning the Library of Congress. Created in 1897, the Library of Congress holds every published piece of work in the United States. The LOC went through many changes throughout the years, but it has always stood as a symbol for research and learning. I wrote a research paper for Library 200, Information and Society, on the LOC (Library 200 Reearch Paper). I focused on the history of the LOC from the very beginning all the way to the present day. All the information you could possible desire is located within the walls of the LOC and you can access the information for free online. The LOC is a sight to behold and I was grateful to have the experience of visiting the LOC while I was writing my paper. Many libraries have modeled themselves after the LOC and the website provides links to libraries across the nation. The LOC was a large step in the foundation of current libraries and their search systems.


References

American Library Association (2011). Code of Ethics. Retrieved July 20, 2011 from http://www.ala.org/ala/issuesadvocacy/proethics/codeofethics/codeethics.cfm

Library of Congress (2011). History. Retrieved July 20, 2011 from http://www.loc.gov/about/history.html

Library of Congress (2006). On These Walls. Retrieved July 20, 2011 from http://www.loc.gov/loc/walls/

Evidence:
Libr 200: Research paper
Libr 266: Collection Development Policy and Public Service Announcement