Marginalized Knowledge: An Agenda for Indigenous Knowledge Development and Integration with Other Forms of Knowledge

Ethical Dilemmas Facing Information Professionals

According to Fallis (2005:13), information professionals play an extremely important role in society, as their mission includes gathering, processing, distributing, providing access, and using information. He believes that just like lawyers, doctors, and other professionals, they need to carry out their duties in an ethical manner, and like these other professionals, they regularly face ethical problems. Some of the ethical problems faced by information professionals in a library environment, as observed by Fallis (2005:14), include the following:

1. 
   Should they put internet filters on all computers in the library?
   
2. 
   Should they tell the law enforcement officers investigating potential terrorists what a particular person has checked out?
   
3. 
   Should they add books donated by a racist organization to the library collection?
   
4. 
   Should they allow a homeless person that smells very bad to use the library?
   
5. 
   Should they include Holocaust denial literature in the library collection?
   
6. 
   Should they charge for specialized information services in a public library?
   
7. 
   Should they put a warning label on an encyclopedia that contains clearly inaccurate information?
   

What can be noted from these dilemmas is that they are all elements of the issues of information ethics already discussed, i.e. the issues of privacy, accuracy, intellectual property and access. According to Hannabus (1996:3), despite the ethical dilemmas facing information professionals, they are still obliged by society to provide accurate and reliable information; maintain a confidential relationship with their clients; observe and encourage respect for the intellectual property rights connected to information products; and ensure equitable access to information. Fallis (2005:12) proposes that some of the ethical dilemmas faced by information professionals have arisen because of the advances in information technology. He warns though, that information ethics is not just about the problems of information technology, but rather that information technology only forms a small part of information ethics. According to the author, all these problems facing information professionals fall within the scope of information ethics.