Professional EthicsPresented by:

Robyn Rhoton, Rikki Carter, and Steve Reest

Case Study 5.21Buchanan & Henderson, 2009, pg. 113

• Library Director sided with library Board instead of Library Staff

• Personnel, Budget, and policies

• Staff had concern of director’s contract

• Contract was housed at library and request had to go through Director’s office

• Contract was not easy to get access to, even though contract was a public record

• Director received higher salary than advertised

• Because she was not using the city’s health care benefits

• Receive a cash bonus if she stayed under budget for “Judicious Collection development policy.”

• Receive a cash payout if her contract was terminated

• The board did not see any issues with these contract terms

Ethics, Morality, and Law

• How does ethics play a role with the contract being held in the director office?

• How does morality play a role with the director taking cash bonuses for saving money on the collection and not giving it back to the library?

• How does law play a role with the boards decision to allow the director to receive a higher salary, because she did not choose to take the health benefits?

Step 1: Get the Facts Straight

• Library employees are concerned with Director Contract

• Library Director contract is open to public

• Contract housed at library and all requests to view must go through director

• Director not immediately willing to release contract

• Director was not found in violation of contract

• Contract contained 3 questionable items

• Higher than advertised salary in lieu of benefits

• Cash bonus if library could save money on collection

• Cash payout for terminated contract

Step 2: Identify the Moral Dilemma

• Employee Dilemma:• Director is obligated to maintain positive working relationships with employees

• Director has obligation to stay within budget and has to keep the Board happy because ultimately they control the budget

• Personal Value Dilemma:• Director has a right to fair compensation

• Director, even as public employee, has privacy rights

• Ultimately, if the collection is under budget everyone benefits

• Librarian Dilemma:• Librarian must try to resolve conflicts between tenured and nontenured employees in an ethical way

• Librarians should avoid conflicts of interest

Step 3: Evaluate the Moral Dilemma

• The argument of Business Relationships – conflict of interest

• The argument for Professional Responsibilities- maintaining good community and employees

• The argument for Service – allow contract access

Step 4: Test your solution

• Library Contracts should be housed off library site to allow access without intimidation

• Money saving measures should be well documented

• Bonus in lieu of benefits as oppose to higher based salary

• No bonus based on saving money on collections.

• This creates a conflict of interest for the Library Director.

• Have a open door policy for staff

Newspaper Articles

• In Support of Articles

• Receiving higher salary by saving money for not taking Health Care Benefits

• Receiving cash bonus for saving money to develop library Technology program

• “Letter to the editor” from a government employee discussing director’s right to privacy

• Against Articles

• Receiving cash bonus from saving money on collection development

• Having Director’s contract housed in library building

• “Letter to the editor” against higher salary in lieu of benefits, should be given as a bonus structure.

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Citation

• Buchannan, E., & Henderson, K. (2009). Case studies in library and information science ethics. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company, Inc.

• Davis, M. (1988). Professionalism Means Putting Your Profession First. Georgetown Journal of Legal Ethics, 2, 341-357.

• Latham, S. (2002). Medical Professionalism: A Parsonian View. The Mount Sinai Journal of Medicine, 69, (6), 363-369.

• Salpeter, M. (2013, May 15). 5 things employers don't want you to know about salary and benefits [Online forum comment]. Retrieved from http://money.usnews.com/money/blogs/outside-voices-careers/2013/05/15/5-things-employers-dont-want-you-to-know-about-salary-and-benefits

• American Library Association. Code of ethics of the American library association. (n.d.). Retrieved February 2014 from http://www.ala.org/advocacy/proethics/codeofethics/codeethics

• Hlotke, S. G. (1997, September 17). Library Director Given A 4% Raise and $2,000 Bonus. Chicago Tribune News. Retrieved February 2014 from http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1997-09-17/news/9709170274_1_library-renovation-project-bonus-state-grant

• Gelbart, M. (2010, July 21). Controller wants former library director Elliot Shelkrot to repay bonuses. Philly.com. Retrieved February 2014 from http://articles.philly.com/2010-07-21/news/24967757_1_library-director-library-trustees-library-trust-fund