The purpose of the Ethical Principles and Code is to provide a framework to help library and information professionals, who are members of CILIP, to manage the responsibilities and sensitivities which figure prominently in their work in line with the enduring values of the profession.

1. The new CILIP ethics framework
• Reworked and refreshed ethical principles launched on October
11th
• New framework the product of an extensive project that
examined and reformulated the existing principles
• Framework is now fit for purpose for the 21st century library
and information worker

2. CILIP’s mandate
• Royal Charter mandates CILIP to “represent and act as the
professional body for persons working in or interested in library
and information services”
• Mandate extends to maintenance of a Professional Knowledge
and Skills Base (PKSB) on behalf of the sector. Ethical Principles
and Code of Professional Practice at its heart

3. Responding to a rapidly changing
profession
• Library & information profession changing rapidly and
significantly in response to digital disruption and wider trends
• Information professionals increasingly part of an embedded
workforce working across the public, private and 3rd sector
• This recognition prompted the need to review our ethical
principles

4. Ethics Review
• Review launched in May 2017
• Overseen by CILIP’s Ethics Committee, chaired by Dawn Finch
• New Framework approved by CILIP Board in September 2018

5. Examining the key issues
The Ethics Review examined:
• How professional ethics are currently operating within the profession
• How aware the profession is of the ethical principles
• The extent to which the principles reflect the wider range of professional contexts
• Whether the principles play an active and positive role in the development of the
profession
• The interaction between professional ethics of individuals and institutional ethics

6. Methodology
• Big Conversation on social media
• Survey - 1556 responses
• 12 workshops all over the UK
• Ethics Summit at CILIP in May

7. Marshalling the evidence
• Landscape of issues paper produced - major workplace and professional
issues expressed in the surveys, workshops and social media
• Digest of comments published – comments on each of the existing ethical
principles
Survey findings confirmed existing ethical principles should form the basis of
a new Ethical Framework, but in an amended form.
Segmented data allowed the Committee to better understand exactly what
library and information workers were looking for in their ethical principles.

8. Key findings from the survey and
workshops
• 89% of survey respondents have values and ethical principles
they wish to see upheld within the information profession
• Values have been built up through a personal code or from the
CILIP’s Ethical Principles and Code of Professional Practice

9. Work-based issues
The following professional issues surfaced from the evidence:
• Privacy
• Censorship
• Funding
• Copyright
• Volunteers
• Barriers to accessing information
• Standards and skills
• Employment related issues
76.79% of respondents thought a professional ethical framework should help in
addressing these issues.

10. Ethics Summit
Top level Ethical Framework was presented to summit
participants. They recommended:
• Streamlined ethical principles
• Reordering of points so priorities could become clearer
• Greater clarification of key elements
• Further explanatory materials and supporting documents

11. Intended outcomes of the review
• Increased awareness of, and engagement with the ethical
principles by library and information professionals.
• Increased relevance and applicability across a wide range of
sectors
• Clarify the role of CILIP as steward of the principles on behalf of
the profession
• Consider the role of sanctions for violations of the principles.
A majority of these outcomes and deliverables have been
achieved!

12. New Ethical Framework: design
principles
• Fewer
• Shorter
• More direct language
• Easy to remember
• Build on existing principles – continuity
• Include important values even if not prominent in consultation
• Beware of fashion – enduring values
• Explicit commitment of individual information professionals
• Framework to support professional judgment when tackling difficult
issues

13. New Ethical Framework: what’s
changed?
• Fewer principles using more direct language
• Express commitment from individual information professionals
required
• New ethical principle on information literacy
• Shorter Code of Professional Conduct – code focuses more on
general behaviours rather than specifically information
profession values
• New section expressing CILIP commitments, illustrating that:
• Ethics and values are a whole profession matter
• Ethical conduct of individual professional contributing to greater whole
• Mutual responsibility to deliver

14. Commitment to Professional Ethics
by CILIP Members
As an ethical Information Professional I make a
commitment to uphold, promote and defend:
Human rights, equalities & diversity1
2 Public benefit
3 Preservation
4 Intellectual freedom
5 Impartiality
6 Confidentiality
7
Information skills
& information literacy

15. Commitment to Professional Ethics by
CILIP Members
As an ethical Information Professional I make a commitment
to uphold, promote and defend:
• Human rights, equalities and diversity, and the equitable treatment of users
and colleagues
• The public benefit and the advancement of the wider good of our profession
to society
• Preservation and continuity of access to knowledge
• Intellectual freedom, including freedom from censorship
• Impartiality and the avoidance of inappropriate bias
• The confidentiality of information provided by clients or users and the right of
all individuals to privacy
• The development of information skills and information literacy

16. Code of Professional Conduct
At all times I will work to uphold and advance:
• The reputation of the profession
• The currency and relevancy of my skills
• Engagement with, and learning from, colleagues, my
professional bodies, and those in other related professions
• Integrity in the management of information, human and
financial resources

17. CILIP’s Commitments
I expect my professional body to support me in this by upholding
promoting and defending:
• Human rights
• Equalities and diversity
• Information governance and practice that protects the privacy of
individuals
• The value of information professionals’ work to government, employers
and other key stakeholders
• The contribution of information professionals to the public benefit
• The provision of excellent information services, relevant to the needs of all
members of society
• The development of balanced and fair open access and copyright systems
Continued…

18. CILIP’s Commitments continued
And by advocating for:
• Changes to regulation and legislation to advance good information services
and ethical practice
• Intellectual freedom, including freedom from censorship
And by supporting:
• CILIP members in their continuing professional development
CILIP will act as steward of the Ethical Framework and support its
embedding in professional life

19. The Ethics Hub
You will find the new Ethical Framework and supporting
resources at:
www.cilip.org.uk/ethics