Ben Shirley's Professional Values Statement

Ben Shirley MLIS 600 Dr. Hersberger 12/4/06 Professional Values Statement Introductory Statement As a library and information science professional, my professional values are based on how I feel information can best be communicated and organized in our society. Universally Available Information The foremost professional value that I hold is making information universally available to uses. It is the structure of our society that limits the implications of this value. First, it is necessary that information be made available to people in a way that helps them, educates them, and lets them make their own decisions about the information's value. A system that provides universal open access to all, but does not promote positive critical interpretation and use of information becomes dangerous, volatile and self destructive. I believe that luckily, it is human nature to do otherwise. A good system takes ethics into account, but also treats those ethics just as other pieces of information are treated, as something, if it is useful, to be communicated to users, and communicated about by users of the information system. This gives the opportunity for users to participate in information creation and not just the consumption of it. If through use, information is critically examined and then synthesized by the user and not just by the information authority, then the process of information nurturing and culling will be infinitely more efficient and accurate to the needs and ethics of the information society. To mix metaphors: the wheat will separate from the chaff, and the cream will rise to the top, but only if the system is designed for this to happen. It is the information process which is most essential in the creation of good cream and wheat (yum!). The information process can be defined as communication of information. It is information in its kinetic state. Like matter, information is most useful when it is dynamic, creating energy. There are two important values that I also hold which I derive from the universal availability of information. Those are communication of information, and diversification of the information authority. As I my discussion of these values becomes more specific, it will be necessary to also be more concrete with the concept of libraries as a type of information system. Responsible Communication of Information I value the responsible and progressive communication of information. Here,

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responsibility does not mean strict control of the information but cultivating the freedom of the information user. A library provides information service by facilitating the communication of information the users. I see four ways that the process takes place. Information to User First there is self facilitation by the user. For example, a user can enter a library, search for the information that is individually required, and then leave without criticism or outside influence. This gives users a freedom to choose their own path and rate at which they process information. Librarian to User The second is facilitation of information communication by a librarian to a user. This has been a thoroughly and well developed process in the library field. As an information authority, the librarian communicates with the user. Through this exchange of information, the librarian is able to guide the users to information which will be useful to them. Library to user The third form of communication that takes place in a library is the library as an institution communicating with users. This process of information exchange takes place in many ways, but some examples are the Library publicizing its services to users, or the communication or rules, guidelines, or services to users. This communication can take the form of publications, postings, web information, or even librarian to user information. Often the problem with this type of information communication is that the information stems from a bureaucratic decision making process that hardly represents the mission of filling of users information needs. The structure of the data itself can also be an example of the communication of the library as an institution, and convolution of that structure from the bureaucratic decision process can be the bane of the library’s existence. Traditionally businesses have been much more successful at the institution to user type of communication because their capitalistic goals are much more straight forward. Often in business, a mass need is created or seized upon and exploited for monetary gain. Libraries are faced with a very complex task of meeting the individual information needs of all its users. User to User I believe that a solution may be found in the fourth type of information communication in a library, the communication of information from user to user. This is the aspect of communication in libraries that I believe has the most potential for improving the

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information structure of the library. The growth of technology is making this type of structured communication more possible and more beneficial to the whole system. Library users should be encouraged to create information about information. If this new information is then readily shared with all other users when and were it is relevant to their search for information, all will benefit. The job of information authorities will multiplied by the masses and users will have more control over the flow of information that they receive, for the betterment of other users. Examples of this type of communication are found largely outside of the average library information system, but could be applied to great benefit. One example is an online user rating system for information. Users can assign a ranking to different pieces of information marking their relevance for future researchers. User created content is a burgeoning information model on the world wide web. With the proper structure and guidance towards beneficial information communication, this could be a very powerful model for Library information communication. Disbursal of the Information Authority As stated earlier, my values include a widened view of the information authority. In our current information society this may require a redefinition of the role of the information authority. Users need to have a say in what information is authoritative, exercise critical thinking, and communicate it to others. In the academic world, the peer review system is a good example of information authority being checked. But it excludes most users from the process, through the definition of who is peer to who. It lacks public exposure and accountability. In the development of the academic system it had been a necessity for checks to evolve to this end, but now using rapidly growing communication technologies, all members of an information system can benefit from a more open system. Another important part of promoting responsible information authority disbursement is a process of active deferment of information authority. In this process one user gains enough information to actively defer to another user who they believe is knowledgeable and thus worthy of being an authority on a topic. I believe that the disbursement of information authority is the only way for a true model of “the information commons” to be achieved in libraries. A good example of this type of structure at work is the Wikipeadia, the open source, users created online encyclopedia. A major setback to its content is that it is being created all from scratch. It lacks the previously established authoritative information that libraries possess. Responsible Use of Technology I have stated several times that I believe the expansion of technology can be used to create a structure of communication, making information more universally available and beneficial to all users. I have also cited a few other professional information values that I believe are important in this process. This leads me to a final value statement. I value responsible and effective use of technology. I see technology as a set of tools for organizing and giving access to information. And it is the information professional, or the

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librarian’s job to use these tools to clean up people’s information messes. Some of these messes are overt, but most are more latent, owning to the evolution of information structures. These must be carefully subverted to create a new and more beneficial information system. In the use of technology, the human need should not be overshadowed by technological advance but uplifted by it. Part of making these tools effective involves closing the “digital divide,” providing equal access and thus participation in information communication though technology. Another part of the responsible use of technology is knowing when to not use it. Many of the examples I have given of egalitarian contribution to information can and has been conducted without new technologies. Among these are Interest group meetings, open panel discussions, and learning circles. Electronic books are a good example of a technology that is moving slowly because of important human factors. People are used to books and paper. They have been using them for thousands of years. In this sense, technology is actually lagging behind the needs of humans, not the other way around. This has lead to developments of solutions such as digital paper technology. Another value that is directly tied into responsible use of technology is responsible use of information resources. Minimizing material waste and waste of people’s energy is important to our progress a an information society. Taking the previous example of ebooks, it is clear that one benefit is the reduction of waste paper. For this reason other technological advances are being explored such as plastic pages that have ink that can be removed and reprinted. Conclusion Through the statement of these values I have made suggestions a revised information system such as a library. The structure of this system is, of course, subject to its own rules. I, as an individual cannot decide that these values are the best for the information system. The users of the system would decide that. In that sense these values are very much personal opinion subject to scrutiny of the surrounding information system.

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