SLO 1. The student assess the philosophy principles, and ethics of the library and information field.
When my library career began nearly a decade ago, I was not aware of the core philosophy, principles, and ethics of the library and information field. I was unaware of the immense responsibility library professionals have to uphold the core values of librarianship and by not doing so we will provide a vast disservice to our customers. The philosophy principles of librarianship make up the foundation of our field. The core values of librarianship define, inform and guide all the work done in our field (American Library Association, 2006). By pursuing a Master of Library and Information Science at the University of North Carolina-Greensboro I completed assignments and listened to lectures that began to lay the foundation for me that will guide the work that I do in my professional career.
In my first semester of the program, I was enrolled in LIS 600 Foundations of Library Science. This course not only taught me the core ethics of the library, I was also introduced to the key policies and trends of all information organizations. More importantly, this course taught me the true responsibility of the work that I do in the library, and how my work can transform my community. The main assignment that I completed in this class was a research paper on the ethical practice of librarianship. One of my main points in this paper was that to be an efficient librarian you must follow a basic code of ethics. The American Library Association details a code of ethics that defines the principles that should be used by professionals in the library setting. But before conducting any research and completed any assignments I received IRB Certification which prepared me ethically to conduct research.
As I completed my coursework in LIS 600 and learned about the code of ethics a few of them resonated with me during my first semester of the program and still do today. Professional ethic number seven according to the American Library Association is that we must be able to decipher between our convictions and professional responsibilities. And we cannot allow our personal beliefs or biases to interfere with the level of service that we provide to the community (American Library Association, 2017).
That core value still rings true to me every time I facilitate a library outreach in my community. As a Teen Services Specialist at ImaginOn Library in Charlotte, NC I facilitate weekly outreach visits for at-risk young women between the ages of 10-18. And when I visit a community group home many of my program participants are pregnant young women that are in DSS custody or are experiencing homelessness. During my outreach visits, we cover social issues and I often must mediate discussions on very sensitive topics after the program attendees complete the session's reading assignment. The discussions that we have can often be very difficult to stomach and I often want to intervene and share my personal beliefs on a topic. Instead, I put this core ethical value into practice by remaining neutral and ensuring that our environment during the session remains safe, respectful, and fair. I would be doing a disservice to all if I allowed my personal beliefs and feelings to dictate the type of service that I provided, especially to those with differing viewpoints.
In LIS 600 I also learned the importance of upholding ALA's first principle in their code of ethics which is to provide the highest level of service to all users through organized resources, equitable policies, equitable access, and unbiased responses to all inquiries (American Library Association, 2017). I believe that this value is extremely important when it comes to providing services to members of our community that are at-risk. In another LIS 600 assignment, I was tasked to conduct a user experience for a potential library customer of my choosing. For the assignment, I selected to focus on an African-American male with a 6th-grade reading level that was referred by NCworks to access online job search assistance after ten years of incarceration. After reviewing numerous sites to gain insight into the struggles formerly incarcerated individuals face when seeking employment, I also learned that many of them suffer from mental conditions or physical impairments that make it hard for them to advance after being released (Visher, Debus, & Yahner, 2008). After selecting my user for this assignment, I was then tasked with conducting a physical and virtual visit at a library assuming what would be the experiences of this user. I chose to visit a library system that I was unfamiliar with and my thesis for this assignment was that in a state where African American males are disproportionately incarcerated library professionals must recognize potential gaps in service and ensure that we are equipped with the necessary skills to expand our reach to meet all of the needs of any potential customer.
By assuming the hardships of this hypothetical customer, I realized ways that libraries and library professionals could improve on their level of service to meet more of the dire needs that our customers are facing. For example, at the library location that I visited, I found out that they do not offer free temporary library cards for dislocated users. For many individuals that are newly released from prison they are placed in transitional housing and that address would not be considered permanent. Even though there is the option to pay for a card this would most likely be viewed as a hindrance for my selected user trying to search for employment. I considered this to be a gap in service. And in my opinion, this is a gap that could be easily filled once it’s how this policy could negatively affect some of our customers and a change is made by upholding the ethical value to always provide equitable access.
Libraries strive to be community learning centers for all, and as a future librarian, I strive to be an advocate for lifelong learning for my community, colleagues, and myself. This belief coincides with the American Library Association’s eighth ethical value which is that we must strive for excellence by maintaining and enhancing our knowledge and skills (American Library Association, 2017). In my current roles as a Teen Services Specialist for Charlotte Mecklenburg Library and as a Graduate student I have spent the entirety of my career so far seeking professional development and advanced learning opportunities. In the professional realm, I set a goal for myself to attend at least one professional training per quarter. A goal that I have not only met but exceeded. But as a student, I reached a new depth of understanding of the core values, principles, and ethics of librarianship when I became a 2018-2019 American Library Association Spectrum Scholar. As a Spectrum Scholar, I was surrounded by like-minded future librarians that are putting action behind the core ethical values of librarianship nationwide. That program taught me to always strive for excellence and to be an advocate for life long learning in my community.
Learning about the foundations of librarianship taught me that it’s not about learning a set of rules that will dictate the work that I do as a librarian. It is truly about learning to go above and beyond to protect our customer’s intellectual freedom, to remain neutral as we serve, to create a safe learning space for all by providing the highest level of service, to strive for excellence professionally, to treat our colleagues with good faith, and to , to always show respect to our customers, the library, and the community (American Library Association, 2017). My foundation to become a librarian began as a child in my community's library. I am from a low-income community and the library changed my life. My library career began in that same library that did so much for me as a child. And now nearly ten years later I am still doing my part to advance my community through the library just as the library did for me.
In my first semester of the program, I was enrolled in LIS 600 Foundations of Library Science. This course not only taught me the core ethics of the library, I was also introduced to the key policies and trends of all information organizations. More importantly, this course taught me the true responsibility of the work that I do in the library, and how my work can transform my community. The main assignment that I completed in this class was a research paper on the ethical practice of librarianship. One of my main points in this paper was that to be an efficient librarian you must follow a basic code of ethics. The American Library Association details a code of ethics that defines the principles that should be used by professionals in the library setting. But before conducting any research and completed any assignments I received IRB Certification which prepared me ethically to conduct research.
As I completed my coursework in LIS 600 and learned about the code of ethics a few of them resonated with me during my first semester of the program and still do today. Professional ethic number seven according to the American Library Association is that we must be able to decipher between our convictions and professional responsibilities. And we cannot allow our personal beliefs or biases to interfere with the level of service that we provide to the community (American Library Association, 2017).
That core value still rings true to me every time I facilitate a library outreach in my community. As a Teen Services Specialist at ImaginOn Library in Charlotte, NC I facilitate weekly outreach visits for at-risk young women between the ages of 10-18. And when I visit a community group home many of my program participants are pregnant young women that are in DSS custody or are experiencing homelessness. During my outreach visits, we cover social issues and I often must mediate discussions on very sensitive topics after the program attendees complete the session's reading assignment. The discussions that we have can often be very difficult to stomach and I often want to intervene and share my personal beliefs on a topic. Instead, I put this core ethical value into practice by remaining neutral and ensuring that our environment during the session remains safe, respectful, and fair. I would be doing a disservice to all if I allowed my personal beliefs and feelings to dictate the type of service that I provided, especially to those with differing viewpoints.
In LIS 600 I also learned the importance of upholding ALA's first principle in their code of ethics which is to provide the highest level of service to all users through organized resources, equitable policies, equitable access, and unbiased responses to all inquiries (American Library Association, 2017). I believe that this value is extremely important when it comes to providing services to members of our community that are at-risk. In another LIS 600 assignment, I was tasked to conduct a user experience for a potential library customer of my choosing. For the assignment, I selected to focus on an African-American male with a 6th-grade reading level that was referred by NCworks to access online job search assistance after ten years of incarceration. After reviewing numerous sites to gain insight into the struggles formerly incarcerated individuals face when seeking employment, I also learned that many of them suffer from mental conditions or physical impairments that make it hard for them to advance after being released (Visher, Debus, & Yahner, 2008). After selecting my user for this assignment, I was then tasked with conducting a physical and virtual visit at a library assuming what would be the experiences of this user. I chose to visit a library system that I was unfamiliar with and my thesis for this assignment was that in a state where African American males are disproportionately incarcerated library professionals must recognize potential gaps in service and ensure that we are equipped with the necessary skills to expand our reach to meet all of the needs of any potential customer.
By assuming the hardships of this hypothetical customer, I realized ways that libraries and library professionals could improve on their level of service to meet more of the dire needs that our customers are facing. For example, at the library location that I visited, I found out that they do not offer free temporary library cards for dislocated users. For many individuals that are newly released from prison they are placed in transitional housing and that address would not be considered permanent. Even though there is the option to pay for a card this would most likely be viewed as a hindrance for my selected user trying to search for employment. I considered this to be a gap in service. And in my opinion, this is a gap that could be easily filled once it’s how this policy could negatively affect some of our customers and a change is made by upholding the ethical value to always provide equitable access.
Libraries strive to be community learning centers for all, and as a future librarian, I strive to be an advocate for lifelong learning for my community, colleagues, and myself. This belief coincides with the American Library Association’s eighth ethical value which is that we must strive for excellence by maintaining and enhancing our knowledge and skills (American Library Association, 2017). In my current roles as a Teen Services Specialist for Charlotte Mecklenburg Library and as a Graduate student I have spent the entirety of my career so far seeking professional development and advanced learning opportunities. In the professional realm, I set a goal for myself to attend at least one professional training per quarter. A goal that I have not only met but exceeded. But as a student, I reached a new depth of understanding of the core values, principles, and ethics of librarianship when I became a 2018-2019 American Library Association Spectrum Scholar. As a Spectrum Scholar, I was surrounded by like-minded future librarians that are putting action behind the core ethical values of librarianship nationwide. That program taught me to always strive for excellence and to be an advocate for life long learning in my community.
Learning about the foundations of librarianship taught me that it’s not about learning a set of rules that will dictate the work that I do as a librarian. It is truly about learning to go above and beyond to protect our customer’s intellectual freedom, to remain neutral as we serve, to create a safe learning space for all by providing the highest level of service, to strive for excellence professionally, to treat our colleagues with good faith, and to , to always show respect to our customers, the library, and the community (American Library Association, 2017). My foundation to become a librarian began as a child in my community's library. I am from a low-income community and the library changed my life. My library career began in that same library that did so much for me as a child. And now nearly ten years later I am still doing my part to advance my community through the library just as the library did for me.
Artifacts
Cearra Harris LIS 600 User Experiences Paper | |
File Size: | 31 kb |
File Type: | docx |
Cearra Harris IRB Certification | |
File Size: | 419 kb |
File Type: |
Cearra Harris Ethical Practice of Librarianship (LIS 600 Digital Profile Assignment) | |
File Size: | 25 kb |
File Type: | docx |
References
ReferencesAmerican Library Association. (2006, July 26). Core Values of Librarianship. Retrieved from American Library Association: http://www.ala.org/advocacy/intfreedom/corevalues
American Library Association. (2017, May 19). Professional Ethics. Retrieved from American Library Association: http://www.ala.org/tools/ethics
Visher, C., Debus, S., & Yahner, J. (2008, October). Employment after Prison: A Longitudinal Study of Releases in Three States. Retrieved from Urban Institute: Justice Policy Center: https://www.urban.org/sites/default/files/publication/32106/411778=Employment-after-Prision_A-Longitudinal-Study-of_Releasees-in-Three-States.PDF
American Library Association. (2017, May 19). Professional Ethics. Retrieved from American Library Association: http://www.ala.org/tools/ethics
Visher, C., Debus, S., & Yahner, J. (2008, October). Employment after Prison: A Longitudinal Study of Releases in Three States. Retrieved from Urban Institute: Justice Policy Center: https://www.urban.org/sites/default/files/publication/32106/411778=Employment-after-Prision_A-Longitudinal-Study-of_Releasees-in-Three-States.PDF