Facilitating ethical enactment: a survey of the communication of core values in alabama public library online policy statements

Burgess, John; Mestre, Juliana

Permalink

https://hdl.handle.net/2142/110938 Copy

Description

Title

Facilitating ethical enactment: a survey of the communication of core values in alabama public library online policy statements

Author(s)

• Burgess, John
• Mestre, Juliana

Issue Date

2021-09-20

Keyword(s)

• Information ethics
• Information policy enactment
• Public libraries
• Sense making

Abstract

Professional ethics are often presented in the LIS classroom as satisfying normative and constitutive goals. This paper argues for considering how professional ethics can build trust relationships between public libraries and patrons, using the enactivist model of cognition, and the intersubjective ethics of Emmanuel Levinas. These explain how communicating professional ethics may help inform the sense making processes of patrons experiencing affective vulnerability as they determine whether to trust the library. A quantitative stratified sampling of thirty public libraries in Alabama revealed that libraries serving smaller, more rural communities were less likely to share professional values on their web sites. Values such as intellectual freedom, diversity, and sustainability were particularly underrepresented. This paper concludes with a recommendation to emphasize values communication, particularly in the construction of policies, when teaching professional ethics. These communications will aid those experiencing affective vulnerability, such as during a pandemic, in making informed trust decisions.

Series/Report Name or Number

• Information ethics
• Public libraries
• Community engagement
• Information policy

Type of Resource

Text

Permalink

http://hdl.handle.net/2142/110938

Owning Collections