Ethical Issues of Information Technology

Citation

Freeman, M. (2002), "Ethical Issues of Information Technology", New Library World, Vol. 103 No. 1/2, pp. 72-75. https://doi.org/10.1108/nlw.2002.103.1_2.72.3

The long‐established and reputable quarterly journal, Library Trends, has produced yet another solid, workmanlike issue on a topic of increasing concern to our profession – that of the ethics of our professional practice in the information technology age. We seem to have been so caught up with IT, the Internet and the brave new wired world that the underlying important issues of ethical and moral professional behaviour have been sidelined. As the world gets more litigious then librarians must surely be drawn into the front line regarding legal liability and malpractice in the location and dissemination of information.

Auer and Krupar give good coverage of the increasing problem of plagiarism among students arising from the Internet’s cheapness and easy availability. Assessing the credibility and substance of information garnered from the vastness of the Internet poses real difficulties for librarians, and Burbules’ clear article on the ethical dimension of credibility helps clarify the problem for information professionals. Other good, informative articles include that of Wengert on some ethical aspects of the Web and censorship and Carbo and Almagno’s excellent account of the University of Pittsburgh’s Dean’s Forum on lnformation Ethics. It is reassuring that at least one prestigious LIS school is dealing with the information ethics problem in its education and training of young professionals.

Summing up, this is a thoughtful and well‐produced book, with well chosen and authoritative contributions bringing forward many interesting, provocative and, above all, timely ideas for the LIS profession to recognise, assimilate, and act upon – before it is too late!