Homepage for IRLS520 Ethics for Information Professionals Martin Frické Material may be added or changed on a continuing basis. One file that will remain untouched throughout is that containing the course requirements.
Description	As an Information Professional you will most likely belong to an organization that has adopted a code of ethics. The American Library Association's "Code of Ethics" , for example, refers to a number of important ethical concepts: equity, fairness, freedom, rights, public interest, etc. So too do the others, like Software Engineering Code of Ethics and Professional Practice. However, while such codes give us a set of principles to work with, they do not tell us how we are to go about implementing these ideals in our everyday practice. First of all, such codes often do not clearly define the notoriously complex ethical concepts which they use. The ALA code, for example, leaves us with a number of questions: What constitutes an "equitable" distribution? Under what conditions is something someone's "property"? How do we show respect for a "right"? Secondly, such codes do not tell us what to do when (inevitably) various rights and interests conflict. So, for example, the ALA code does not tell us how to answer such questions as: How do we balance equity of access with protecting intellectual property rights? What if the intellectual freedom of one person creates a hostile atmosphere for others? What if our personal convictions conflict with the "interests of the institution" which we serve? A course that simply helped you learn how to implement a particular code of ethics would have serious limitations. It is also important to consider why these are the ethical ideals that should regulate the behavior of information professionals. Through our discussion of this question we will become better able to understand the rationale for this code of ethics, to revise it over time to keep pace with this rapidly changing field, and/or to develop specific ethical codes for our particular work environments. While all these questions are of particular importance to information professionals, they are not unique to them. In fact, these kinds of issues have been discussed by ethicists and political philosophers for centuries. Thus, some acquaintance with the ethical theories as developed by these authors will help define and sharpen our own thinking about these issues.
Objectives	You will learn the basics of ethical theory and its application to problems in information resource management. You will learn how to apply ethical codes in concrete cases You will learn how to develop your own personal and professional code.
Some important links	Assignments received <link to be established later> Coursework and assignments Course outline Readings Requirements