Readings for IRLS 520

Textbook:

There is no required text for this course.  However, the following book on information ethics is highly recommended:

Spinello, Richard A. 1995. Ethical Aspects of Information Technology. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice Hall.

Readings:  The readings for this course are listed below according to topic.

1. Some readings are on the web. (W)
2. Other readings are available online from the UA Library (e.g., through JSTOR, Expanded Academic ASAP, etc.). (L)
3. Still other readings (viz., those which do not have links) are available through electronic course reserves.  The password is ethics. (ER)

 
The Mission of the Information Professional

Ortega y Gasset, Jose. 1961. "The Mission of the Librarian." Antioch Review 2:133-54. (ER)

Wengert, Robert. 2001. "Some Ethical Aspects of Being an Information Professional." Library Trends 49:486-509. (ER)

Mathiesen, Kay and Fallis, Don. 2008. "Information Ethics and the Library Profession." Handbook of Computer and Information Ethics. Wiley.

Codes of Ethics

• American Library Association. 1995. "Code of Ethics." (W)
• American Society for Information Science and Technology. 1992. "ASIST Professional Guidelines." (W)
• American Library Association. 1996. "Library Bill of Rights." (W)
• Society of American Archivists. 1992. "A Code of Ethics for Archivists." (W)
  

Ethical Theories

Spinello, Richard A. 1995. "Frameworks for Ethical Analysis." Pp. 14-44 in Ethical Aspects of Information Technology. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice Hall. (ER)

Woodward, Diana. 1990. "A Framework for Deciding Issues in Ethics." Library Trends 39:8-17. (ER)

Woodward, Diana. 1990. "Paternalistic Censorship and Privacy Protection." Library Trends 39:5-7. (ER)

Ethical Diversity

• Noddings, Nel. 2003. "An Ethics of Caring." Chapter 4, Caring: A Feminine Approach to Ethics and Moral Education. 79-92. (ER)
• Ihara, Craig K. 2004. "Are Individual Rights Necessary? A Confucian Perspective". Confucian Ethics: A Comparative Study of Self, Autonomy, and Community. Kwong-Loi Shun and David Wong, eds. Cambridge University Press: Cambridge. 11-30. (ER)
• Brant, Clare C. "Native Ethics and Rules of Behavior." Canadian Journal of Psychiatry. 35(6): 534-539: 1990. (ER)
• Wilburn, Brad. 1999. "Spice for the Good Life." Issues in Ethics. 10(1). (W)

Intellectual Freedom

Doyle, Tony. 2001. "A Utilitarian Case for Intellectual Freedom in Libraries." Library Quarterly. 71:44-71. (ER)

Mill, John Stuart. 1859. "Of the Liberty of Thought and Discussion." On Liberty. (W)

Wolkoff, Kathleen Nietzke. 1996. "The Problem of Holocaust Denial Literature in Libraries." Library Trends 45:87-96. (ER)

Nesta, Fred and Henry Blanke. 1991. "Warning: Propaganda!" Library Journal (May 15):41-43. (W)

Baldwin, Gordon B. 1996. "The Library Bill of Rights--A Critique." Library Trends. 45:7-27. (L)

ALA Intellectual Freedom Basics (W)

Supreme Court decision for United States vs. the American Library Association  (W)

Access to Information

Sheerin, William E. 1991. "Absolutism on Access and Confidentiality: Principled or Irresponsible?"American Libraries. Vol. 22, Issue 5 (May):440-44. (ER)

Privacy

• Warren and Brandeis, "The Right to Privacy" (W)
• Garoogian, Rhoda. 1991. "Librarian/Patron Confidentiality: An Ethical Challenge." Library Trends 40:216-33. (ER)

Intellectual Property

The History of Copyright in the U.S. Association of Research Libraries. (W)

Copyright and Fairuse Overview Stanford University Libraries. (W)

Harper, Georgia K. 2001. "Copyright Crash Course." (W)

Hettinger, Edwin C. 1989. "Justifying Intellectual Property." Philosophy and Public Affairs.18:31-52. (ER)

Vaidhyanathan, Siva. 2002. "Copyright As Cudgel." The Chronicle of Higher Education 48:B7. (W)