How Should We Live: Ethics and Morals for Library and Information Work

How Should We Live is an extensive examination of the ethical action that can and should be taken in the library and information professions. The book presents a full historical investigation, beginning with the ancients and moving through time to contemporary ethical thinking. Critical eye and mind are applied to the philosophical and practical guidelines that have been suggested in the past and are suggested in the present time. Further, examples of the challenges that face the professions at the current juncture, with an aim to offer some ways of assessing those challenges and facing them through ethical action. Ultimately, a proposed ethical stance is suggested, with a rationale for the suggested behavioral positioning now and in to the future.

John M. Budd is a Professor Emeritus with the University of Missouri. He has been a very active member of the American Library Association, the Association for Library and Information Science Education (for which he served as President), and the Association of Information Science and Technology. He is the author of more than 150 publications, including the books Information and Consciousness and The Library as Forum in the Social Media Age. He has also presented at more than 125 conferences and meetings. Several of his publications and conference presentations have addressed ethics and ethical issues.