Teacher Librarians (TLs) must have Library Ethics at the forefront of their minds when managing and developing collections. With a clearly developed collection development policy, TLs are equipped with their tools for accountability and transparency when complaints and disgruntles arise. TLs should record decisions made so that their practice method is open for stakeholders to review, and can see how the TL applies the collection development policy to ensure a collection has been carefully curated to serve the teaching and learning needs of the school community.
The saying “the squeaky wheel gets the grease” should not apply to collection development when multiple faculties are involved. Often there are faculty members who send in many requests for purchases, while teachers from other faculties for whatever reason are reticent to do so. TLs must collaborate with all of the teaching faculty when developing the honing the collection for our patrons. This reading was a good reminder that faculty budgets cannot be mixed; this could lead to serious yet completely avoidable issues.
When reading that we must “protect each library user’s right to privacy and confidentiality …” I thought of many beautiful students who have come to the circulation desk, ensuring that none of their peers were present, to borrow a book that they needed for their own personal health or development such as a book about consent, puberty, LGBTQI+ identities etc. Students have the right to maintain confidentiality surrounding their borrowing choices. When a student made a suggestion for a book and we purchased it, a TL placed a special sticker inside the book inscribed with “This book was purchased with the recommendation of [name of student]”. The student was uncomfortable about this and we have since made these stickers anonymous – which is much more appropriate.
Recognising and respecting intellectual property (IP) rights is part of a TL’s raison d’être. This reading was an important reminder that although we are passionate about IP rights, our students and colleagues may not be aware of its intricacies and we must remind students of their academic honesty obligations.
Not advancing private interests at the expense of library users is a guideline I would personally need to be conscious of. I do get excited by some topics, while bored to tears by others, but I must remember all the students and teachers in the school when developing collections.
Distinguishing between personal convictions and professional duties is very important and perhaps one of the hardest guidelines to uphold. Some resources may seem to be promoting dangerous and extremist perspectives but there are several questions we can ask when curating a balanced collection. We must analyse whether the resource is well-researched by an authoritative source, and from by a reputable publisher? These kinds of questions makes sure acquisitions decisions are not based on emotions but rather on our professional duties to provide free access to information.
Reference:
Morrisey, L. J. (2008). Ethical issues in collection development. Journal of Library Administration, 47(3-4), 163-171.