INFO 6800 (Winter 2013) Week Twelve: Ethics
Transcript of INFO 6800 (Winter 2013) Week Twelve: Ethics
INFO 6800 - Archives
• Announcements• Archival values and ethics• Seminar presentations
March 25, 2013 Week Twelve
http://dilbert.com/strips/comic/2011-01-06/ 1
2
What is an archivist?
March 25, 2013 Week Twelve
Greene (2008)
Ethics
“Defining ourselves in terms other than what we do each morning speaks to our ultimate ability to communicate our value to resource allocators, to find a suitable and sustainable place for ourselves in this information age, and to define and assert our power as a profession.”
3
• Professionalism• Collectivity • Activism• Selection• Preservation• Democracy
• Service• Use and Access• History
March 25, 2013 Week Twelve
Mark Greene’s Archival Values
4March 25, 2013 Week Twelve
Ethics
5March 25, 2013 Week Twelve
Ethics
6March 25, 2013 Week Twelve
Ethics
7March 25, 2013 Week Twelve
Jenkinson’s Moral Defense
9
• Does access trump privacy?• Does preservation trump access?• Should an archive impose access
restrictions beyond what it is legally required to impose?• Should archivists be politically
neutral or politically active?
March 25, 2013 Week Twelve
Ethical Questions
10
• You acquire and sign a deed of gift for some records from a donor who has requested restrictions on a particular series• Upon examination of the records you
see that some of the closed records reveal evidence of a crime
March 25, 2013 Week Twelve
Ethics Scenario #1
11
• You process a collection of archival materials and find a small set of early 20th century postcards• The postcards are potentially
valuable but they do not fit with the materials or the collection mandate of your archives
March 25, 2013 Week Twelve
Ethics Scenario #2
12
• You are working on a dissertation on labour history and also work at a busy archives with extensive labour holdings• Another employee makes a find that
would significantly enhance your thesis, but you know other researchers will also be interested
March 25, 2013 Week Twelve
Ethics Scenario #3
13
• You work in a government archives and hear from a friend in another department that a director has been deleting emails relating to the development of a controversial new policy• You don’t know if it is true
March 25, 2013 Week Twelve
Ethics Scenario #4
14
• You work in a small church archives and hear from a researcher about a large collection of papers of a well-known playwright that are about to be destroyed• The records do not fit your church
archives’ collection mandate
March 25, 2013 Week Twelve
Ethics Scenario #5
15
• Your archives association has signed a contract with a hotel• After the contract is signed, a labour
dispute arises between the hotel and the local hospitality workers union• The hotel will proceed with
replacement workers but the union is calling for a boycott
March 25, 2013 Week Twelve
Ethics Scenario #6
16
• A recent donor has requested a tax receipt for a significant donation• You bring in two NAAB certified
appraises who determine a fair market value of the collection• The donor is unsatisfied with the
result of the appraisal
March 25, 2013 Week Twelve
Ethics Scenario #7
17
• Codes of Ethics for archivists have been issued by:
• Many other associations and institutions have their own codes
March 25, 2013 Week Twelve
Codes of Ethics
• Archivists appraise, select, acquire, preserve, and make available for use archival records, ensuring their intellectual integrity and promoting responsible physical custodianship of these records, for the benefit of present users and future generations
March 26, 2012 Week Twelve - Ethics
ACA Code of Ethics: Principles
• Archivists have a responsibility to ensure that they and their colleagues are able to perform these and other professional activities in an environment free of discrimination and sexual or personal harassment
March 26, 2012 Week Twelve - Ethics
ACA Code of Ethics: Principles
• Archivists encourage and promote the greatest possible use of the records in their care, giving due attention to personal privacy and confidentiality, and the preservation of records
March 26, 2012 Week Twelve - Ethics
ACA Code of Ethics: Principles
• Archivists carry out their duties according to accepted archival principles and practices, to the best of their abilities, making every effort to promote and maintain the highest possible standards of conduct
March 26, 2012 Week Twelve - Ethics
ACA Code of Ethics: Principles
• Archivists contribute to the advancement of archival studies by developing personal knowledge and skills, and by sharing this information and experience with members of archival and related professions
March 26, 2012 Week Twelve - Ethics
ACA Code of Ethics: Principles
• Archivists use their specialized knowledge and experience for the benefit of society as a whole
March 26, 2012 Week Twelve - Ethics
ACA Code of Ethics: Principles
• Appraisal, Selection, and Acquisition
• A1 - Archivists appraise, select, and acquire records in accordance with their institutions' mandates and resources. These activities should be guided by consideration for the integrity of the fonds.
March 26, 2012 Week Twelve - Ethics
ACA Code of Ethics: Application of Principles
Redefining provenance
• Appraisal, Selection, and Acquisition
• A3 - Archivists, in determining acquisition, take into full consideration such factors as authority to transfer, donate or sell; financial arrangements, implications, and benefits; plans for processing; copyright, and conditions of access.
March 26, 2012 Week Twelve - Ethics
ACA Code of Ethics: Application of Principles
• Appraisal, Selection, and Acquisition
• A3 - Archivists discourage unreasonable restrictions on access or use… Archivists observe all agreements made at the time of transfer or acquisition.
March 26, 2012 Week Twelve - Ethics
ACA Code of Ethics: Application of Principles
• Preservation
• B1 - Archivists endeavour to protect the intellectual and physical integrity of the records in their care. Archivists document all actions which may alter the record.
March 26, 2012 Week Twelve - Ethics
ACA Code of Ethics: Application of Principles
• Preservation
• B2 - Archivists who find it necessary to deaccession archival records should make every effort to contact the donors or their representatives, and inform them of the decision.
March 26, 2012 Week Twelve - Ethics
ACA Code of Ethics: Application of Principles
• Preservation
• B2 - Archivists endeavour to offer the records to other repositories in preference to destruction. Archivists document all decisions and actions taken with regard to deaccessioning.
March 26, 2012 Week Twelve - Ethics
ACA Code of Ethics: Application of Principles
• Availability and Use
• C1 - Archivists arrange and describe all records in their custody in order to facilitate the fullest possible access to and use of their records.
March 26, 2012 Week Twelve - Ethics
ACA Code of Ethics: Application of Principles
Redefining provenance
• Availability and Use
• C2 - Archivists make every attempt possible to respect the privacy of the individuals who created or are the subjects of records, especially those who had no voice in the disposition of the records.
March 26, 2012 Week Twelve - Ethics
ACA Code of Ethics: Application of Principles
• Availability and Use
• C2 - Archivists should not reveal or profit from information gained through work with restricted records.
March 26, 2012 Week Twelve - Ethics
ACA Code of Ethics: Application of Principles
• Availability and Use
• C5 - Archivists protect each users' right to privacy with respect to information sought or received, and records consulted. Archivists may inform users of parallel research by others only with the prior agreement of the individuals concerned.
March 26, 2012 Week Twelve - Ethics
ACA Code of Ethics: Application of Principles
• Professional Conduct
• D1 - Archivists who use their institutions' records for personal research and/or publication must make these activities known to both their employers and to others using the same records.
March 26, 2012 Week Twelve - Ethics
ACA Code of Ethics: Application of Principles
• Professional Conduct
• D1 - Archivists, when undertaking personal research, must not use their knowledge of other researchers' findings without first notifying those researchers about the use intended by the Archivist.
March 26, 2012 Week Twelve - Ethics
ACA Code of Ethics: Application of Principles
• Advancement of Knowledge
• E1 - Archivists share their knowledge and experience with other archivists for their mutual professional development.
March 26, 2012 Week Twelve - Ethics
ACA Code of Ethics: Application of Principles
• Advancement of Knowledge
• E2 - Archivists share their specialized knowledge and experience with legislators and other policy-makers to assist them in formulating policies and making decisions in matters affecting the record-keeping environment.
March 26, 2012 Week Twelve - Ethics
ACA Code of Ethics: Application of Principles
38
• Your employer has issued a new code of conduct that calls teaching and public speaking a “high risk” activity • You are expected to abide by the
code or risk disciplinary action or job loss• You are encouraged to report
employees that violate the codeMarch 25, 2013 Week Twelve
Ethics Scenario #8
• Social justice refers to the principles of equality and solidarity, the value of human rights and dignity
• “Since the elite use ‘the archive’ as an instrument of power, it is a moral imperative to counter such control and the abuses it can create.” – Verne Harris
March 26, 2012 Week Twelve - Ethics
Archives and Social Justice
“If public libraries are to develop and grow in the future and become relevant to the majority of their local communities, then they need to abandon outmoded concepts of 'excellence' and fully grasp the 'equity' agenda.”
March 26, 2012 Week Twelve - Ethics
Archives and Social Justice
Pateman and Vincent (2010)
Focusing on our “tiny piece of linkage in the social machine” leaves “no time or energy to worry about whether the machine is designed for war or peace, for social need or individual profits, to help us or poison us.”
March 26, 2012 Week Twelve - Ethics
Archives and Social Justice
Zinn (1977)
42
•Investigate undocumented aspects of society•Truth Commissions•Advocate for accountability and documentation•Promote collections that document social justices and injustices•Research guides •Outreach activities
How can archivists support social
justice?March 25, 2013 Week Twelve
Archives and Social Justice
“Engaging in repatriation and outreach work, sound archives (and ethnomusicologists) might be understood as being ‘part of important social processes, and not simply appendages of academic programs, research institutions, or national repositories’”
March 26, 2012 Week Twelve - Ethics
Archives and Social Justice
Landeau and Fargion (2012)
quoting Seeger (1999)
Ethnographic archives
“…a decision not to repatriate carries as heavy an ethical load as a decision to do so. To do nothing is, after all, to do something—and with field recordings, it can be to fail to see that while they are indeed analytical specimens, some also are tangible precipitates of once-evanescent sounds still close to people's hearts.”
March 26, 2012 Week Twelve - Ethics
Archives and Social Justice
Landeau and Fargion (2012)
quoting Lancefield
(1998)
Ethnographic archives
45
• Your archives holds an important collection of ethnographic sound recordings with restrictions imposed by the donor
• The community featured in the collection wants to access the recordings
• The donor claims the restrictions were imposed to protect the privacy and intellectual rights of their informants
• The recordings are on unstable mediaMarch 25, 2013 Week Twelve
Ethics Scenario #9
Government: Open or closed?
March 26, 2012 Week Twelve - Open Government
Transparency and Open Government
• The public’s right to know is a perennial debate
• Technological advances are enabling governments to be more open and transparent than ever
• Some information is still privileged or confidential
March 26, 2012 Week Twelve - Open Government
Transparency and Open Government
March 26, 2012 Week Twelve - Open Government
Transparency and Open Government
March 26, 2012 Week Twelve - Open Government
Transparency and Open Government
March 26, 2012 Week Twelve - Open Government
Transparency and Open Government
• Canada’s Open Government Initiative
• Open Data – Access to government data
• Open Information – Proactive release of government information
• Open Dialogue – Expanding public engagement with social media
March 26, 2012 Week Twelve - Open Government
Transparency and Open Government
March 26, 2012 Week Twelve - Open Government
Transparency and Open Government
Privacy
March 26, 2012 Week Twelve - Open Government
Transparency and Open Government
Sources (in order of appearance)
March 25, 2013 Week Twelve
Adams, Scott (1995). Dilbert comic. http://dilbert.com/strips/comic/2011-01-06/. Ethic-ize advertisement.
http://thefearandloathingpage.blogspot.ca/2011/05/inside-television-ethics-and-network.html.
Handshake image. http://ethisphere.com/ivory-tower-public-trust-in-business-and-government%E2%80%94a-new-way-forward/.
Public trust image. http://www.publictrust.co.nz/. Archives standards image. http://informationscienceantelope.tumblr.com/page/2Calvin and Hobbs cartoon. http://pactiss.org/2008/08/19/calvin-hobbes-ethics/. Knowledge image. http://knowledge1.net/contactus.htm. Pateman and Vincent (2010).
http://www.ashgate.com/default.aspx?page=637&calcTitle=1&title_id=8755&edition_id=9020.
54