The social nature of information

THISARTICLE SHOWS HOW A PHILOSOPHICAL ANALYSIS of the moral value of information can help librarians rethink some aspects of their profes-sional values, especially their commitment to neutrality. A historical dis-cussion of the “fiction problem ” shows how changes in collection prac-tices partly account for the current emphasis on neutrality. This historical example shows the importance of using an analysis of the moral value of information as a guide to future changes in professional mission, espe-cially those that result from new technologies. We argue that information is indirectly but crucially important to a person becoming a morally au-tonomous individual and to a community’s ability to self-govern. The so-cial nature of information has direct consequences for the professional mission of librarians