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Library and Information Society

Notes is critical that information professionals share their knowledge with patrons. If not, an impenetratable
rift will develop between those who have the power to obtain information and those who do not
(Schweinsburg 1995,331). Incorporated with the latest technologies come questions of user fees and
the problems associated with fair and equal rights to information for all levels of society.

The Ethics of Reference Librarians: Society and Clients

In reference work many ethical conundrums are faced everyday, and depending upon how they are
dealt with, they can have some serious repercussions for individuals and for society overall. Robert
Hauptman brought some of these issues to the forefront when he undertook his experiment to obtain
information on the ways reference librarians respond to questions of an ethical manner. In 1975 he
visited thirteen libraries, asking the reference librarians to provide him with information for building
a bomb that would enable him to blow up a suburban home. Not one librarian refused to help fulfil
his request. Herein lays the dilemma for the women and men who work the reference desks of our
libraries: do they blindly serve clients, discounting any moral obligation, or is it their primary duty to
think of the collective.
Being a librarian can be a lonely profession. Joining professional organizations help connect you to
other librarians who understand your goals and vision.
Many librarians don’t see the need to be part of a professional organization. Yet, these groups are
the place where you can connect to others who understand what it is to be a public librarian, medical
librarian, or adademic librarian. They know the passion that the cataloguer feels for making
information accessable to users. They know the joy of seeing the eyes of pre-school children wide
with wonder during story time.
Professional organizations connect librarians to each other in many ways. At my first American
Association of School Librarians’ convention. During a chance conversation with another Catholic
school librarian I learned about running a Birthday Book Club. At another convention I had a
wonderful conversation with Fred McKissack as he shared his memories of fishing in the town
where I live—he grew up just 30 miles away.
These moments cannot happen when we sit in our own library with no connection to others. We
can feel isolated, as if no one understands what our work entails, that no one shares our frustrations.
This isolation will lead to burn out.
Here are several professional organizations that you may want to explore:

American Library Association (ALA)

Strives to promote high-quality library and information services as well as public access to information.

Public Library Association

Devoted to enhancing the development and effectiveness of public librarians and library services.

Association for Library Service to Children
Network of children’s and youth librarians, children’s literature experts, and publishers.

American Association of School Librarians

Advocates excellence, facilitates change, and develops leaders in the school library media field.

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