INFORMATION ETHICS, A PHILOSOPHICAL APPROACH

Abstract

Robert Hauptman first raised awareness about the ethical issues of reference service in 1976. Hauptman, a library school student at the time, did a study on the culpability, or lack thereof, in reference service provided by librarians. In his study, Hauptman posed as a library patron seeking potentially dangerous information. The behavior examined was how librarians respond to the request for material on how to build a bomb that would be powerful enough to blow up a house. Hauptman tried to present himself as a person of questionable character. He used six public and seven academic libraries in this study. Hauptman first made sure that he was speaking to the reference librarian. He then requested information for the construction of a small explosive, requesting specifically the chemical properties of cordite. He then asked for information on the potency of such an explosive, whether or not it could blow up a suburban house (Hauptman, Wilson Library Bulletin, 1976, p. 626).

Citation

Rootes, M.J. (2003), "INFORMATION ETHICS, A PHILOSOPHICAL APPROACH", Advances in Library Administration and Organization (Advances in Library Administration and Organization, Vol. 20), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 37-66. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0732-0671(02)20003-6