When one considers ethics or professional responsibility in the legal arena, you can include law librarians in the discussion. In addition to providing access to our collection materials, we strive to serve your practice, whether in a government or private setting, in the most efficient way possible.
Not unlike the legal profession, law librarians adopted ethical principles, which become the guidelines that provide a path toward excellent service. The Ethical Principles of AALL (American Association of Law Libraries) were adopted in 1999 and reinforce our commitment to serving the bar and all residents of King County:
Preamble
Legal information professionals have an obligation to satisfy the needs, to promote the interests and to respect the values of their clientele. Law firms, corporations, academic and governmental institutions and the general public have legal information needs that are best addressed by professionals committed to the belief that serving these information needs is a noble calling and that fostering the equal participation of diverse people in library services underscores one of our basic tenets, open access to information for all individuals.
Service
- We promote open and effective access to legal and related information. Further we recognize the need to establish methods of preserving, maintaining and retrieving legal information in many different forms.
- We uphold a duty to our clientele to develop service policies that respect confidentiality and privacy.
- We provide zealous service using the most appropriate resources and implementing programs consistent with our institution's mission and goals.
- We acknowledge the limits on service imposed by our institutions and by the duty to avoid the unauthorized practice of law.
Business Relationships
- We promote fair and ethical trade practices.
- We have a duty to avoid situations in which personal interests might be served or significant benefits gained at the expense of library users, colleagues, or our employing institutions.
- We strive to obtain the maximum value for our institution's fiscal resources, while at the same time making judicious, analytical and rational use of our institution's information resources.
Professional Responsibilities
- We relate to our colleagues with respect and in a spirit of cooperation.
- We distinguish between our personal convictions and professional duties and do not allow our personal beliefs to interfere with the service we provide.
- We recognize and respect the rights of the owner and the user of intellectual property.
- We strive for excellence in the profession by maintaining and enhancing our own knowledge and skills, by encouraging the professional development of co-workers, and by fostering the aspirations of potential members of the profession.
Skiptracing class. Due to popular demand, we are adding an additional class to be held from 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. on Thursday, July 20 at our Seattle Legal Research Training Center. Contact us at 206-296-0940 to sign up for this opportunity. You can look for future times and additional training opportunities by viewing the monthly training calendar on the library's Web page at www.kcll.org. n
Marcus Hochstetler is the King County Law Librarian. Please direct comments or questions to him at 206-296-0940 or marcus.hochstetler@metrokc.gov
