Libraries and the Golden Rule

For my “Access to Information” class, I had to read an article called “Ethical Reference Practice” by Synnove Ulvik and Gunhild Salvesen (who are from Norway, hence the cool names). They discuss how important ethics are in reference librarianship because librarians have the power to shape what people know. Often, librarians are unable to help users because of ineffective communication between them and the user. The librarian might think that they have found the answer or resources that the user needs, when in fact the user remains unsatisfied or receives information that they don’t need. There is also the risk of biasing users, particularly young users to certain materials, without allowing them to decipher what they need on their own. The authors assert that ethical reference practices correspond to the basic values of librarianship, which include providing free and equal access to information. They cite the American Library Association’s code of ethics, which outlines basic principles for librarians to ensure respect of all patrons and their right to confidentiality, as well as to protect materials from censorship:

http://www.ala.org/ala/aboutala/offices/oif/statementspols/codeofethics/codeethics.cfm

These lofty ethics are pretty general and may not always be carried out in day-to-day practices, according to Ulvik and Salvesen.

The paper then proceeds to go off on a lengthy tangent about a Danish theologian and moral philosopher, named Knud Ejler Logstrup (more cool Scandinavian names!). They discuss his “Ethics of the Other” which is about interpersonal communication. His basic premise is that all humans are dependent on one another and this interdependence is something that humans cannot avoid. He says:

A person never has something to do with another person without holding a bit of the others life in his hands—it may be very little, a passing feeling, a dampening or quickening of spirit… but it also can be terribly much, so that one may be responsible for the success or failure of the other’s life.

Logstrup discusses the importance of trust in every personal interaction and the danger of not being accepted. He thinks that trust is a “spontaneous expression” of life and occurs naturally every day. We would not be able to care for others or help anyone without having some degree of trust. People wouldn’t seek medical help from doctors or go to the library without assuming that professionals would be able to help them in some capacity. Logstrup believes that trust is essential and that:

Human life could hardly exist if it were otherwise. We would simply not be able to live; our life would be impaired and wither away if we were in advance to distrust one another, if we were to suspect the other of thievery and falsehood from the very falsehood.

{Obviously, Logstrup never worked at Kohl’s the Danish equivalent of a mid-priced department store, where people do nothing but insist upon breaking the already lenient return policy, demand unfair price adjustments, and occasionally shoplift, then try to return the items. As much as I would really like to give the customers the benefit of the doubt, it drives me crazy when they waste time and argue with me about how they should hold up the line to get 30% off when they already got 20% then week before.}

Anyway, concerning trust, he also makes the point that trust and power are intricately related and that “all relationships based on trust thus imply a danger of the power being misused.” A professional, because of his or her position and knowledge, is automatically is “superior” and risks misusing that power by making decisions for the user.

Another element to his “Ethic of the Other” is the Golden Rule, which is generally associated as a key concept of Christianity. Jesus said, “Do unto others as you would have others do unto you.” The authors point out that this idea predated Christianity and is part of many other cultures and societies all over the world. I found a website that provides quotes from other texts that essentially say the same thing:

http://www.thegoldenrule.net/quotes.htm

Logstrup believes that the Golden Rule should be an essential part of every librarian’s mindset when serving patrons. He also believes that all humans, much like animals, wish to have control over our “territory” (i.e. own time and efforts), and that people may perceive demands and orders as a threat, which does nothing to maintain the trust of the particular professional or the field in general.

The authors do not think that it is unethical for one group (in this case, librarians) to have more knowledge/ power, but that it depends on how that power is utilized. They also do not think that librarians intentionally abuse their power; rather they suggest that they should be more aware of their interaction with patrons and make attempts to listen and encourage users to explain what they need and allow them to participate in the process of finding information. They believe that librarians, like other professionals (such as lawyers and health care workers) are in the position to empower others. They support applying the basis of the Golden Rule, that is treating users in an ethical and equal manner, by focusing services, above all, on the user’s needs.

I really wish that these idealistic aims would become a conscious effort.