Presenter: Nancy Freeman Date ©2016 Society of American Archivists Ethics in Action Presenter: Nancy Freeman Date ©2016 Society of American Archivists

Preliminaries

Confession: Good for the Soul True confessions

Ethical Quandaries Big, small, and in between

Do Unto Others We all (hopefully most of us) want to be good, ethical archivists

I Can’t Do it All Limits of this webinar

Examples Dragnet

Four Sections of Presentation Code History Context of the Code Code Specifics and Archival Processes Applying the Code to Real Life

PP POLL

History of Code of Ethics

National Archives 1955: National Archives develops first “archivists code”

SAA in the Game SAA’s first Code of Ethics in 1980, included commentary by SAA Ethics Committee

Code updated in 1992, commentary inserted directly into code

Sanctions? 1994, standing SAA committee CEPC: one charge involved investigating complaints re: ethics violations and recommending sanctions. Not feasible, SAA adopts educational approach

Recent History 2005 Code updated with out commentary CEPC begins revising code in 2008, Council approved first in 2010, then 2012. 2012 version is current code

Ethical Dilemma Exercise Write down a previous or current ethical dilemma you or your institution faced or faces. When did it start? Who is involved? Crux of the problem? 90 seconds

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Context of Code of Ethics

Core Values of Archivists Approved by SAA Council in 2011 Core values and code of ethics to be used together Core values provide context

Law and Ethics Can be the same, can be different

Archivist Anne

The Code is: Guidelines for behavior

The Code Works to: Respect archival profession: different types of institutions and repositories. Acknowledge duty to employer

More Questions than Answers?

Visualize Archival Ethics Elena Danielson: The Ethical Archivist Concentric circles Ethical decisions

More Concentric Circles Archival work

Sections of the Code and Archival Processes

Professional Relationships Aspirations to be good neighbor Fair relationships

Archivist Anne Situation Cherry picking or appropriate division of a collection? Good neighbors?

Judgment Appraisal and acquisition Huge in archival world: a foundation of archival work.

Acquisition Acquisition procedures dependent on type of repository

Appraisal Example from my Federal Government work.

Inherent Dilemmas Archivist Anne's’ recent experience: Take? Not take? Decision

More Judgment Processing (also part of access and use) Appraisal can take place in processing

Authenticity Deals with electronic records Records that require transferring

Security and Protection Tie in to authenticity Correlates with preservation in the Core Values

‘Everyone’s favorite activities Deals with theft, security, damage to documents, and disaster planning.

Access and Use This and Privacy: biggest code sections Also deals with accessibility of electronic records

Access and Use: Inherently Problematic FOIA case study

More Access and Use Involves copyright Issue of restrictions

Archivist Anne’s Restriction Dilemma Involves records of a social service agency Restrictions not well documented Creating conflict

Privacy Another large and conflict laden section Permeates other parts of code Tie in with Core Values under Access and Use

Sanctioned by Law: Federal HIPAA FERPA

Sanctioned by Law: State Privacy laws: may differ by state

Privacy in Action Case Study: Identifying Culturally Sensitive American Indian Material in a Non-tribal Institution

Trust A Proper Attitude

Trust Avoid conflict of interests

Back to Your Ethical Issue What parts of the code are or maybe involved? Did you hear anything helpful in the contextual and code sections? 60 seconds to write answer.

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Applying the Code to Real Life

Refresher: No single solution or standard for everything or everywhere Code isn’t about rules

Useful Tools Policies and procedures Clear In writing Approved/vetted

Back to Archivist Anne Social service agency records

Good acquisition practices are key Clear mission statement and collecting policy Appraisal guidelines Document collections-related decisions

Ensure diverse perspectives Collecting policy is key Engage local communities

Ask questions, many questions Answer may become clear through questions My experiences over the years

Document, document, and more document

Commitment to: Service orientation Access tools

Knowledge of: Copyright Privacy Confidentiality

Helpful Examples CEPC case studies: on SAA website, CEPC page and as a link on the Code page Read alone Used for group/class discussion

Use Knowledge to: Inform Advocate Educate

Other Resources Colleagues SAA listservs

Steps When Violations Occur Speak up Ethics Hotlines

In order to sleep at night Do the best I can with the info I have at hand at the time Document and/or speak up

Ultimately: Weigh facts and risks Context of specific situation

More Ultimately Take responsibility for actions Accept the reality of mistakes

Additional Steps SAA’s role Can’t intervene or sanction Can make general statements regarding in news, large issue(s): See Procedures for Suggesting SAA Advocacy Action

Useful Bibliographic Tools Ethical Archivist by Elena Danielson Ethics and the Archival Profession by Karen Benedict: Caveats American Archivist Articles

Your Ethical Issue List 2-3 action steps you can take to possibly resolve the issue. 90 seconds to answer.

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Ethics in Action-Wrap Up

POLL

Questions?