Information-As-Virtue: A Philosophy of Practice
Andi Graceson // The University of Alabama, School of Library and Information Science // January 12, 2025
During the seven years I worked for the Concord Free Public Library – prior to beginning my MLIS degree with The University of Alabama – I was acutely interested in ethics. What was the most ethical choice when dilemmas of service versus access popped up, or the most ethical way to simultaneously provide privacy and care for patrons? I asked colleagues, but there was never enough time during a busy work week to discuss the full nuance of these topics. I was grateful, then, to take Information Ethics as one of my courses with the School of Library and Information Science (SLIS). We discussed different ethical frameworks for library policy and day-to-day library work, and while each framework has its uses for ethical dilemmas and crises, virtue ethics always stuck out to me as the most applicable day-to-day framework. Virtue ethics is generally small, and individualistic, and those guiding traits are excellent when working with patrons directly. Virtue ethics encourages flourishing, meaning the virtues one strives toward should nurture growth, personal development, and strong character (Humphreys, n.d.). While my focus as a librarian has shifted and narrowed during my time at SLIS, service and care remain my number one priority in all library work. What is a library without the human beings under its roof?
Virtue ethics will guide me every day in my work with patrons and colleagues, whether I am teaching 3D printing to patrons or encouraging digital literacy in colleagues, but my passion for virtue ethics goes beyond instructional flourishing. I believe information, as a theoretical concept and as a living entity in the real world, should be viewed through the lens of virtue ethics. During my first semester at SLIS, one of our first assignments was to argue whether a tree was information-as-process, information-as-knowledge, or information-as-thing. I argued that the tree could be all three of these versions of information, but it depends on the perspective. For humans, we often see a tree as an artifact, and therefore just an object that contains information – not unlike a book. But for the tree, and the systems that it is a part of, it is undoubtedly information-as-process. The information and “knowledge” contained in trees – from the tree’s perspective – is always shifting, growing, changing, because the tree exists in that system. Similarly, one could argue that for aliens visiting earth, all of humanity is just information-as-thing: we are an artifact, and as an artifact we contain information. However, to us humans, we must be information-as-process, as we grow, build, and change the world around us. From the human perspective, our information is always changing, and we must apply virtue ethics to our process at all times. With Floridi’s “well-formed, meaningful, and [honest information]” – rather than mis-, dis-, or mal-information – information itself can be a virtue that promotes flourishing, lending goodness to the human process (2011, p. 31). In fact, with meaningful information, the human information-as-process could be viewed as the species striving toward a societal flourishing. Therefore, honest information is a virtue, and it is a virtue demonstrated through library services.
As a practitioner, I know that I am part of a field that is “organized…to meet…value-laden goal[s]” (Bates, 1999, p. 1049). The American Library Association has its value-laden document – the profession’s Core Values. It is important to note that a value-laden profession is not the same as a profession with strong political opinions. Doctors have many professional values and must take an oath to do no harm, but medical providers are rarely considered a “political profession.” Therefore, while libraries are currently at the center of numerous political battles in the United States, it is important to understand that our professional values have less to do with politics and more to do with a code of ethics. For this reason, I have a strong grasp on information science theory and information ethics in order to better do my value-laden work – and my professional values lead me to the concept of information-as-a-virtue. As such, I will always practice honest information and instruction – from cataloging, to collection development, to technology, to literacies and creative instruction. With this framework, I can cultivate my own professional flourishing when assisting patrons, staff, and my community with access to information – which in turn will help them make their own choices to flourish by applying information-as-virtue.
Perhaps one day, the honest information espoused by LIS professionals will even nurture a radical societal flourishing for all humans.
References
Bates, M.J. (1999). The invisible substrate of information science. Journal of the American Society for Information Science, 50(12), 1043-1050. https://pages.gseis.ucla.edu/faculty/bates/substrate.html
Floridi, L. (2011). The philosophy of information. Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199232383.001.0001
Humphreys, J. (n.d.). Aristotle (384 B.C.E. – 322 B.C.E.). Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy.
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