1. LACONI TSS Unconference 2018 September 21, 2018
Ethics of Cataloging
LACONI TSS Unconference 2018
September 21, 2018

2. What do we mean by professional ethics?
Accepted standards of behavior and moral conduct
ALA’s Code of Ethics of the American Library Associations
ILFA’s Glasgow Declaration on Libraries, Information Services and intellectual Freedom

3. CODE OF ETHICS ALA CODE OF ETHICS ALCTS CODE OF ETHICS
Equitable service and access
Accurate, unbiased services
Secure, safe environment
Intellectual freedom
Intellectual property
Right to privacy
Personal vs Professional
Professionalism
ALCTS CODE OF ETHICS
Broad, unbiased access
Secure, safe environment
Preserve and conserve materials
Extend, enhance information sources for users
Intellectual freedom
Intellectual property
Right to privacy
Professionalism

4. CATALOGER CODE OF ETHICS
Equitable, fair, uncensored access to resources
Comprehensive and accurate records and access points
Honest, truthful representation of resources
Current authority files
Professionalism
Cataloger decisions can enhance or obscure access to works.

5. RESPRESENTATION OF RESOURCE
Regardless of subject, provenience, and authorship, the description of the resource must be:
Accurate
Honest
Truthful
Comprehensive
What about unbiased or neutral?
Are libraries neutral?

6. ACCESS POINTS Subject descriptions Responsibility statements
Format descriptions
Classifications
Metadata
Name authority moves toward identity management

7. AUTHORITY FILES Subject Name Title Name/Title Genre/Form VIAF
NACO and SACO and PCC
VIAF includes Corporate, Geographical, Personal names; Works; Expressions; Prefered headings; Exact headings; Bibliographic titles.

8. LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION
LIBRARY COLLECTION
Adult
Youth
Teen
Reference
SHELF LOCATION
Nonfiction
Fiction
Other

9. DECEPTIVE WORKS Memoirs Autobiography/Biography
After publication, information comes forward:
Do you add note to record to book?
Reclassify and re-catalog?
Remove?

10. HISTORICAL NEGATIONISM AND PSEUDOSCIENCE
Conspiracy theory
Religious Self-help
Difference between historical deniers/negationism and historical revisionists
Do you carry?
If patron request?
If patron/author donation?

11. ...but what about the children?
Dewey/Non-Dewey
Children’s Subject Headings (CSH)
Children’s and Young Adults’ cataloging program (CYAC)
Information presented in nontraditional ways for young readers. Nonfiction can have talking dinosaurs!
Standard second headings for childrens. Unlike adult, childrens material subjects preference broad heading not narrow heading.
What to do when children’s authors get in trouble?

12. …Questions? Laura Murff, MLS,MJ Director of Technical Services
Lisle Library District
777 Front Street
Lisle IL 60532