IFLA/FAIFE
Ethics and Information
Ethical principles of the library and information professionals
Issued by BID - Federal Union of German Library and Information Associations
(Last updated: 19 March 2007)
The BID is the umbrella organization of library and related institutions and personnel federations, and advocates the interests of its members.
Library and information professionals in the member associations act according to ethical principles establishing codes of conduct to become part of the professional identity. Library and information professionals do not get professionally involved with organizations whose activities and goals contradict those ethical principles.
The BID and its member associations are committed to work according to those ethical principles. This can be achieved through continuous information, professional education and training, cooperation with related organizations, and through reacting publicly to known breaches of those principles. The members of the BID declare those ethical principles within the profession and the general public.
1. Ethical principles: client services
- We serve all of our clients equally in accordance with our mandate and legal bases. We offer high quality services to all of our clients.
- We provide our clients access to our holdings and publicly accessible information resources.
- We inform and advise our clients objectively, impartially and courteously, and assist them in retrieving the information they need.
- We treat all our clients with equal respect, regardless of their origin, race, age, social status, creed, gender or sexual orientation.
- We observe the principles of barrier free accessibility.
- We protect children and youths from contents unsuitable for them according to the Young Persons Protection Act and other legal regulations.
- We respect our clients' privacy. Personal data will be saved only to ensure service delivery and only within the legal framework. We will share personal data with other institutions only as required by law.
- We perform our duties in a professional manner regardless of our personal opinion and view.
2. Ethical principles: other services
- We encourage the shaping of opinion and the free flow of information as well as the existence of libraries and information services to facilitate free access to all kinds of information resources provided by our democratic society. We reject censorship of content.
- We protect our cultural heritage according to the libraries' collecting mandate.
- We support science and research by providing information, resources and related services. We also promote the freedom of science and research.
- We are committed to the principle of lifelong learning in order to improve our own competence and the competence of all members of the public. In this context we see ourselves in a continual improvement process to optimize services for our clients.
- We organize events to promote reading and the active use of information, alone and in cooperation with partners.
- Our relationship with suppliers and other business partners is based on a high ethical standard.
- We choose information resources exclusively according to objective criteria, their quality and their suitability to meet the needs of our clients regardless of personal preferences and influences of third parties. Our reference services and professional competence guarantee access to all information resources.
- We actively advertise our services and facilities to the members of the public to make them aware of all means of access to public information.
- We provide information on the internet as data and full-texts within the legal limits to increase accessibility.
- We recognize the rights of creators and copyright holders of copyright-protected library and information material.
- We apply our professional competence to preserve heritage holdings for future generations.
- We treat our colleagues with fairness and respect, and promote a culture of cooperation, responsible acting and mutual trust.
- Professional independence, respect, fairness, willingness to cooperate and critical loyalty define our interactions with our superiors and superior authorities.
Leipzig, March 19, 2007
Barbara Lison
Spokesperson of the BID
(Translated from German by Maria Reinhard
April 2007)
