Over the last few decades, there has been a dramatic increase in the number of papers and journal articles dealing with various ethical issues in librarianship, but only a few books. Information workers find themselves rendering new services and providing new kinds of information without much recourse to universally accepted ethical standards.
This work is an up-to-date and comprehensive overview of the subject. It promotes the view that as information managers, librarians must join with other professionals to renew a commitment to and interest in ethics. The book deals with such topics as ethics in general, the control of ideas, building collections, acquisitions and cataloging, access services, the reference function, special libraries, research and publication, and intellectual property and copyright. A chapter discusses why ethics matters.

Robert Hauptman is professor emeritus of St. Cloud State University and editor of the Journal of Information Ethics.

Robert Hauptman
Foreword by Peter Hernon
Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 161
Bibliographic Info: bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2002
pISBN: 978-0-7864-1306-5
eISBN: 978-0-7864-8080-7
Imprint: McFarland

“thought-provoking…useful in library-school classes…valuable to library managers…extensive bibliography”—Booklist; “highly recommended”—C&RL News; “explains why ethics matter”—American Libraries; “timely and comprehensive…recommended”—Catholic Library World; “a very valuable contribution to the information ethics dialogue”—Newsletter on Intellectual Freedom; “extensive bibliography”—Reference & User Services Quarterly; “recommended”—Feliciter; “a must-read”—Against the Grain; “informative…very good overview of the topic”—Counterpoise.