The Israeli Center for Libraries was established in 1965 by the Israeli Librarian's Association, the Department of Libraries in the Ministry of Education, and the School of Library, Archive and Information Studies at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
Translated by the Professional Ethics Committee of the Council of Public Libraries: Tamar Harari, Chair, Prof. Asa Kasher, Ophir Katz, attorney, Uri Bloch, Ph.D.
Principles of Professional Values
The librarian has professional training and fulfils a central role in collection, preservation and dissemination of knowledge.
The librarian belongs to a profession that has an obligation to intellectual freedom based on free access to information, and an obligation to foster arts and sciences, while taking into account public and educational responsibility.
The librarian has an obligation to encourage potential users of the library under his/her care to be aware of the existence of the library and how to use its services.
Professionalism
The librarian behaves professionally in all his/her activities within the library; strives for professional excellence, develops his/her abilities and skills, updates his/her knowledge, and works for the professional development of the library, of oneself and of colleagues.
Level of Service
The librarian renders service of the highest professional level, responsibly fulfilling user requests.
The librarian gives a full, exact and unbiased answer to each request for assistance, according to a policy of equal service to all.
In cases in which the library has a defined community of users, the librarian may give preference in rendering service to members of that community, as well as limiting use by others.
Censorship
The librarian chooses and makes use of literature without censoring material with respect to outlook, religion or political viewpoint, provided that the material is relevant to the goals of the library and meets its standards.
The librarian does not disqualify material for being controversial or possibly offending some library users.
The librarian is responsible for providing material which represents the variety of opinions on current issues, reflecting at least the variety among the users and their different interests; and does not remove material due to objections by pressure groups, or when it is of interest only to a specific minority group.
Libraries will cooperate with individuals, groups and institutions who support freedom of speech, of expression and the dissemination of information.
Bias
The librarian distinguishes clearly between his/her own opinions and those representing the library or institution in which he/she works. The librarian does not impose his/her own opinions on subjects of public controversy while formulating and executing library policy.
Confidentiality
The librarian does not disclose the information which a user has requested or received, and does not report the sources to which the user referred and the material he borrowed and/or circulated.
The librarian ensures that the user community of the library under his/her care will be aware of his/her duty to maintain professional confidentiality concerning the services rendered to users.
Copyright
The librarian will respect all copyright laws.
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