Ethical Cataloguing: exploring a potential role for the academic librarian in the promotion of social justice

Authors

Berbig, Christopher

Issue Date

2021

Degree

MSc Information and Library Management

Publisher

Rights

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Abstract

The aim of this study is to evaluate the manner in which information is organised by academic libraries in Dublin. The researcher undertook this qualitative research by conducting in-depth, semi-structured interviews with academic librarians from private, third level colleges in Dublin. Invitations to participate in the research, interview questions, a Participant Information Sheet, and Interview questions were emailed to each of the librarians before the interview. Interviews with each librarian were conducted online and saved to the researcher’s personal computer. The interviews were manually transcribed. The researcher adopted an inductive approach and the researcher’s objectives were based on a review of the literature on the topic. The results indicated to the researcher the manner in which academic librarians in Dublin implement cataloguing ethics. The researcher concluded that there is an overall awareness amongst academic librarians of ethical principles and that academic libraries could benefit from developing an ethical framework.