Awareness and Perception of Ethical Issues in Library Service Delivery by Librarians in the Polytechnic of Ibadan, Nigeria: A Phenomenographic Study
Service delivery which is at the core of the establishment of libraries all over the world should be guided by ethical principles so that patrons' information needs can be effectively addressed without bias, fear and corruption. Thus, in as much as librarians have the professional responsibilities of providing effective and efficient library services, they must be guided by the ethics of the profession. This study therefore examined the awareness and perception of ethical issues in library service delivery by librarians in The Polytechnic of Ibadan, Nigeria. The study was phenomenographic in nature and 5 professional librarians were interviewed. The qualitative data from the interview were analysed in line with conventional qualitative data analysis procedures. Results showed that there was a high level of awareness of the ethical issues by the librarians. Their responses also revealed a favourable response indicating that ethical issues should be taken seriously. The prominent inhibiting factor that could affect the librarians from upholding code of ethics was conflict of interest. It was recommended that the Librarian Registration Council of Nigeria with the collaboration of the Nigerian Library Association should conduct periodic capacity building training for librarians on how to handle ethical dilemmas.