Instructing College Students on the Ethics of Information Use at the Reference Desk: A Guide and Literature Review

Abstract

As educators and members of the academic community, reference librarians should take a proactive stance toward instructing students about the ethics of information use. The authors summarize the best practices found in the existing library literature, consider the context of ethical information use from a global perspective, and make an argument for the role of librarians. Our goal is to provide a guide for librarians attempting to successfully integrate ethical issues, such as intellectual property and academic integrity, into their reference instruction.

KEYWORDS:

• ethics
• reference librarians
• intellectual property