Professional Standards and Ethics Flashcards
7 cards from real LTA practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Professional Standards and Ethics flashcards as text
A patron asks a library technical assistant to search their own borrowing history from two years ago without presenting their library card. What is the correct response?
Answer: Refuse and explain that patron records are confidential and require proper verification
Patron borrowing records are protected under library confidentiality policies and applicable state laws, requiring proper verification before any disclosure.
Which ALA document most directly establishes that libraries should resist censorship and provide access to diverse viewpoints?
Answer: Library Bill of Rights
The Library Bill of Rights affirms that libraries should provide materials representing all points of view and resist censorship.
An LTA discovers a coworker has been sharing patron email addresses with a local business. The LTA should:
Answer: Report the breach to a supervisor or library director immediately
A confidentiality breach involving patron data must be reported through proper channels to a supervisor or director for appropriate action.
What does 'intellectual freedom' mean in a library context?
Answer: The freedom of library users to seek information without interference or surveillance
Intellectual freedom is the right of individuals to seek, receive, and express information freely without fear of censorship or surveillance.
A library technical assistant is asked by a regular patron to set aside newly returned bestsellers before they go back on the holds shelf. The LTA should:
Answer: Decline, as this would give unfair preferential treatment over other patrons
Providing preferential access to materials for personal relationships violates the ethical principle of equitable service to all patrons.
Under most U.S. state library confidentiality laws, library records can be disclosed without a patron's consent in which situation?
Answer: When a valid court order or subpoena is presented
A valid court order or subpoena is generally the only legal basis for disclosing protected patron records without consent.
An LTA notices that a display of books on a controversial political topic has been repeatedly vandalized. The ethically correct action is to:
Answer: Report the vandalism and restore the display, supporting intellectual freedom
Libraries must uphold access to diverse viewpoints; vandalism should be reported and the display restored, not removed due to controversy.