Core Values of Librarianship and Practice of Information Ethics by Librarians in Four Higher Institutions in Oyo State, Nigeria

This study was designed to investigate core values of librarianship and practice of Information Ethics by librarians in four higher institutions in Oyo State, Nigeria. Survey research design was employed to study the population size consisted of 47 librarians using total enumeration sampling technique. Questionnaire and interview for four (4) Senior Librarians at the selected institutions were the instruments used for data collection; three research questions and one null hypothesis were formulated for this study. Output format of SPSS based on simple frequency count, percentage distribution, mean, standard deviation, and Pearson’s Chi-Square was used for data analysis. The findings of this study revealed the following core value of librarianship to include: protection of personal data; privacy and confidentiality; equal treatment of users; and intellectual freedom. Also, factors responsible for low practice of Information Ethics (IE) by librarians were established to be; lack of exposure to a course specifically on Information Ethics in most Nigerian library schools; low level of enforcement of ethical conducts by library management; concern for self-survival at the expense of rule of law; and low awareness and promotion of professional code of ethics by professional associations. Effects of perception on practice of Information Ethics by librarians were also revealed. One of the recommendations made was that all library governing councils in Nigeria and Africa should the level of awareness of Information Ethics and criminalize violation of professional ethics among librarians in Nigeria because such acts affect core values of librarianship as a profession