Last revised May 11, 2007.

Course Syllabus for IRLS 520, Section 031: Ethics for Library and Information Professionals

Phoenix Weekend Course

Link to Course Outline

Summer 07 Presession
Instructor: Kay Mathiesen

COURSE NAME, NUMBER, AND PREREQUISITES

Ethics for Library and Information Professionals

IRLS 520

Prerequisites: None

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COURSE DESCRIPTION

"Study of the basics of ethical theory and its application to problems in information management.  Application and development of ethical codes in case studies."
 

Content of the Course

Information professionals play an extremely important role in society.  And it is critical that they carry out their mission in an ethical manner.  Toward this end, many organizations of information professionals have adopted codes of professional ethics.  See, for example, ALA’s Code of Ethics and ASIST’s Professional Guidelines.

Such codes of professional ethics provide information professionals with guiding principles.  However, there are a number of reasons why information professionals need to understand the ethical reasoning that justifies acting in accordance with these principles.  First, it is no simple matter to apply these principles to particular concrete situations.  An understanding of the underlying ethical reasoning can help us to apply these principles to such situations.  Second, these principles often come into conflict with other obligations that we have. (They can even come into conflict with each other.)  An understanding of the underlying ethical reasoning can help us to resolve such conflicts.  Third, our ethical duties can be supported by or come into conflict with various organizational rules, public policy, and laws. An understanding of the relationship between law and ethics and the basic principles of public policy and legal theory will help us act within the law and advocate for change when that is appropriate.

In this course, we will study the various ethical theories that have been proposed by philosophers.  We will then apply these theories to the ethical dilemmas that most commonly confront information professionals.  We will also look more in depth at public policy, economic, and legal issues surrounding the provision of information and library services.  In particular, we will focus on issues such as intellectual freedom, equitable access to information, privacy, and intellectual property.  In addition, we will look at how advances in information technology have created new ethical dilemmas.

Students will be encouraged to develop their own views on the issues. These views will be developed and defended, however, in relation to understanding of ethical theory and key aspects of information policy and law.

Teaching/Learning Methods

This course will be delivered virtually through d2l.  The course will include such assignments and activities as reading or listening to on-line lectures, engaging in on-line discussions, journaling, taking exams, writing short summary pieces and longer papers, creating web-pages, and presenting research via virtual presentations. 
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COURSE OBJECTIVES
By the end of this course you should:
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REQUIRED COURSE MATERIALS

Readings:
The readings for this course will be from various sources, book chapters, journal articles, and on-line lectures and guides.  There will be a link to the readings from the course outline. Some readings are on the web; other readings are available online from the UA Library; still other readings are available through electronic reserves.  The password will be provided when classes begin.
Textbook:

There is no required text for this course.  However, the following book on information ethics is highly recommended:

     Spinello, Richard A. 1995. Ethical Aspects of Information Technology. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice Hall.

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COURSE REQUIREMENTS 
Graded Assignments
Individual Project 30%
Midterm 25%
Short Assignments 25%
Participation 20%

Individual Project/Presentation:  Students will pursue an individual project on a topic chosen in consultation with the professor.  They will present the results of this project to the class.

Midterm: The midterm will be open book and open notes. The midterm will cover the basic ethical theories and ask students to explain and analyze these theories as well as apply them to various cases.

Short Assignments: Short writing assignments will ask students to do such things as dissect the readings, apply theories to cases, and analyze information issues in the news.

Participation:  The participation grade will include participation in both on-line and face-to-face discussion. Students will be evaluated on the basis of both the frequency and the quality of their participation.

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COURSE POLICIES

Academic Code of Integrity

Students are expected to abide by The University of Arizona Code of Academic Integrity, see . 'The guiding principle of academic integrity is that a student's submitted work must be the student's own.' If you have any questions regarding what is acceptable practice under this Code, please ask an Instructor.

Accommodating Disabilities

The University has a Disability Resource Center. If you anticipate the need for reasonable accommodations to meet the requirements of this course, you must register with the Disability Resource Center and request that the DRC send me, the Instructor, official notification of your accommodation needs as soon as possible. Please plan to meet with me by appointment or during office hours to discuss accommodations and how my course requirements and activities may impact your ability to fully participate.

Assignment Policies

Incompletes

The 1997-8 University of Arizona General Academic Manual (p.23) reads:
 
The grade of I may be awarded only at the end of a semester, when all but a minor portion of the course work has been satisfactorily completed. The grade of I is not to be awarded when the student is expected to repeat the course; in such a case the grade of E must be assigned. Students should make arrangements with the instructor to receive an incompete grade before the end of the semester.

If the incomplete is not removed by the instructor within one year the I grade will revert to a failing grade.

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GRADING POLICIES AND PROCEDURES

All assignments (except for individual short assignments) will be graded out of 100 points on a standard scale.  Individual short assignments will be graded check (3 pts), check-plus (4 pts), or check-minus (2 pts). The overall grade for the short assignments will be on a percentage scale (someone who got a check for all assignments will have a 100% for the short assignments).

The final grades will be given as follows:
A 100-90
B 89-80
C 79-70
D 69-60

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CONTACTING ME

E-mail: kmathies@email.arizona.edu
Office hours: By appointment only
Office: SIRLS Room 6
Phone Number: 520-621-5219
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