by Sarita Kiehm
You've seen those search engine commercials? Someone is asked about a particular topic, say "cook" for example, and the next thing you know the inquirer is bombarded with a myriad of information ranging from Captain James Cook to cooking shows to... well you get the idea. At your fingertips lie the collective knowledge of mankind. We live in a world where modern technology enables anyone anywhere to access information anytime of the day. The fact that I'm writing this in a public forum is a prime example. Just think that tomorrow at 2am a college student in Toronto might be reading this and glean some ideas for a report on "national information policy" too. There are no boundaries in today's information overloaded world. However, there is a flip side to this. A lack of privacy. It seems that even if you don't want to be known, someone has made you visible. Go ahead and "google" your name. Chances are you will find a list of websites that contain some mention of you. Of course a lot of the material about you could be outdated and useless. That's the thing about the Internet. In addition to the abundance of information, there is a lot of impractical stuff too.
What does all this have to do with us future librarians and information specialists? Well we are the experts of organized knowledge. We are also protectors of the 1st Amendment as well as trustees of privacy and confidentiality rights. So how do we reconcile an information policy with our code of ethics? We advocate the freedom of knowledge via a profusion of paraphernalia. Yet at the same time filters are installed in public computers as a means of protecting younger library users from observing inappropriate material. Some public libraries subscribe to Playboy, but the magazine is usually kept behind the circulation desk or somewhere where young prying eyes can't get to it. Public library staff are encouraged to use positive "warning" signs which is difficult. How do you say "No food allowed in the library" without using the word "no"?
So how does the profession reconcile with a "National Information Policy"? By walking a fine line between obeying the law while at the same time respecting individual rights. This is our conundrum. It's a challenge that is dealt with on a daily basis. I don't want to sound like an alarmist, but if you think about it, everything comes with a price. Even free stuff. We live in a world where information is available 24/7.Most of us take for granted that everyone knows how to use a computer and that we all have easy access to computers. However, the plain truth is that not everyone is tech-savvy. Some people are afraid of technology. Also, contrary to what most of us think, a lot of individuals have no access to computers or the Internet. This is for an abundance of reasons. The question posed is this: How can a democratic society be democratic if a percentage of it's citizens are either ill-informed or non-informed?
Most companies have an information policy not unlike that being discussed in this blog of a national information policy. Given that we are in a knowledge and information age, I think it's natural that we consider defining an information policy that includes decision-makers from public, private, government, and corporations--chief amongst the thinktank should be librarians. No such roundtable or coalition would be complete without librarians whose ethics and professional acumen will offer a balanced approach than each of the self-interests in isolation of each industry or sector. The Department of Justice's OIP concerns itself with Information policy and related cases. This is an ideal career selection for a librarian with legal specialization.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.justice.gov/