Automation and Ethics: A View from the Trenches
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/eb047666 |
| Published date | 01 April 1986 |
| Pages | 53-57 |
| Date | 01 April 1986 |
| Author | Wilson M. Stahl |
| Subject Matter | Information & knowledge management,Library & information science |
Automation and Ethics:
A View from the Trenches
Wilson M. Stahl
It is important that librarians
know that unethical practices
occasionally have occurred, and
will occur in the future, in the
field of library automation. Some
vendors have "low-balled" a bid—undersized
a system—in order to make a sale.
Some have bid undeliverable
products. Libraries have occasionally
"wired" a request for proposal—stated
required specifications so that only
one vendor can qualify. Consultants
have occasionally compromised
their objectivity and independence.
Examples of unethical practices are
described, as are procedures that
will help identify and prevent
those practices in the future.
My interest in professional ethics comes from
experience rather than from scholarly research.
My experience includes being an academic library
administrator who faced the challenges and, at
times,
moral dilemmas, of trying to provide the
best possible library services within the confines
of bureaucratic procedures. For the past several
years,
I have also been employed by a consulting
firm in various capacities. This work has put me
in several roles: consultant and project manager
for a wide variety of libraries, vendor working
with other vendors in both general contractor and
subcontractor roles, and member of the overall
library vendor community.
To help readers to understand my comments,
I must define the ethical values used for this ar-
ticle.
These are not presented as the ideal. There
are probably many in our profession whose ethical
concepts are much more narrowly defined than
these. I believe that to be ethical is to do some-
thing only for the stated or obvious reasons. (It
is assumed that these reasons are morally accept-
able.) There are many definitions of what con-
stitutes being ethical and a large body of literature
on the topic, so my rather practical definition may
be found wanting in some circles. However, this
definition has seemed to keep me on the right track.
If I am not able to state the real reason I am doing
something, I probably ought not to be doing it.
(I do admit to violating this principle for surprise
birthday parties.) The unfortunate thing about
trying to gauge other people's ethics is that they
are often based as much on intentions as on actions.
In these cases, the breach of ethics may not surface
until long after the activity is over, or it may
Stahl is Associate Director at The University
of North Carolina at Charlotte. He has served
as a consultant on numerous library automation
projects.
ISSUE 16 53
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