Ethics,strengths and values

Reviews three books that deal with the mission, values, and ethics of the library profession, focusing on the theme of the necessity for continuing discussion and rethinking about librarianship’s values and mission in the new, ‘Information Age’. In Alfino and Pierce’s book ‘Information ethics for librarians’, a series of complex philosophical problems are described in a clear manner. Their concise and effective philosophical and historical accounts help to understand how certain ethical dilemmas have arisen. Gorman’s book, ‘ Our singular strengths: meditations for librarians ’, comprises a series of short essays discussing numerous and varied topics covering many aspects of librarianship and the author’s own professional life within the field and commenting on the lives of persons who influenced and inspired him. Gorman’s book, ‘ Our enduring values ’ describes values in terms of stewardship, service, intellectual freedom, rationalism, literacy and learning, equity of access, privacy, and democracy. The defence of basic librarianship values is well-reasoned and fervent and serves to raise doubts about Gorman’s discussion of stewardship as a ‘unique’ librarianship value. Concludes from the three books that access is at the heart of all ethical problems relating to the library’s mission of service. All of the books under review are useful for trying to understand the ethical complexities of librarianship, but ‘Information ethics for librarians’ has the fullest discussion for a framework relating to the complex ethical problems involved.