Draft Text of International Cataloguing Code of Ethics

The Cataloging Ethics Steering Committee, established by the cataloguing communities in Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States, recently released a draft Cataloguing Code of Ethics for comment. The document is open for comments until August 1, 2020:

The draft code states:

"We recognize that metadata creation is not a neutral act, and endorse critical cataloguing as an approach to our shared work."

"We also accept that every workplace is different, and responses to ethical situations are necessarily framed by that context."

"The subsequent 10 principles are intended to inform our professional practice and provide ethical guidance when situations arise. The principles are based upon fundamental values in cataloguing work: preservation and access; recognizing our fallibility; acknowledging bias; accessibility, transparency, and responsibility; collaboration, education, training, and advocacy; user needs and inclusivity."

"We will keep the following principles in mind as a cataloguing community. In the process, we acknowledge systemic barriers to inclusiveness and recognize that while individual ethical practices are essential, they are not sufficient."

"Following the principles are case studies that illustrate how colleagues have negotiated ethical issues and demonstrate their potential application."