Theoretical and Historical Foundations

Howdy, y’all!

My name is Morgan Hansen and I am nearing the end of my time here at UW-Madison – I plan to graduate this spring. I currently work 2 part-time library gigs: I am a children’s reference assistant at Waukegan Public Library in Waukegan, IL and as a librarian/information specialist/whatever else needs to get done at a non-profit called Illinois Service Resource Center which is based in Northbrook, IL. Prior to these gigs (where I’ve been for almost two years), I worked for 18 months as a cataloger at a jobber called Book Wholesalers Inc (BWI). This semester I will also be completing my practicum in the Outreach department at the DeKalb Public Library.

Onward and upward to this week’s readings…. I definitely struggled with the density of the Mill chapter but through patient and critical reading realized that the points he made are still true today. One statement that really made me stop and think was, “Truth gains more even by the errors of one who, with due study and preparation, thinks for himself, than by the true opinions of those who only hold them because they do not suffer themselves to think.” (Mill, paragraph 20) I personally will have a lot more respect for someone’s opinion (even if I do not agree with it) if it is evident that it is an idea that they have turned over in their head, researched, etc over an opinion that someone has simply jumped on the bandwagon of. How this relates to information ethics and policy I have no clue but hopefully that (and many other points in Mill’s piece) will become much more evident over the course of the semester.

As far as the Puttnam reading, I was intrigued by his discussion of the Entertainment Age vs. the Information Age. Could not our current society be considered both; does it have to be one or the other? After all, information can entertain, and entertainment can inform. Just last weekend I watched the documentary The Cove about dolphin capture and slaughter in Taiji, Japan. I went into it expecting to be entertained but boy was I informed! Thus, I disagree with his statement that, “More worryingly, in my view, is the fact that it is increasingly difficult to draw meaningful boundaries between news and entertainment” (Puttnam, pg. 2). I think we as librarians have the duty to give our patrons the resources they desire without judging their rationale for wanting the materials.

Finally, as someone who knows pretty much nothing about ethics theories (in general, much less information ethics theories), I definitely appreciated Fallis’ introduction. As Fallis alluded to, it is essential to have a solid understanding of these theories so that we can explain to others why our policies are written as they are – which goes back to the Mils quote I highlighted above. What I am less sure of though is whether we should subscribe to one ethical theory and always make decisions based on that theory or does the situation dictate which theory should be applied… Thoughts?