Trustee Manual: Code of Ethics
Chapter 3 Code of Ethics | Next Chapter | Previous Chapter | Table of Contents | PDF
The public expects and laws require that your performance always be above question and for the public good. Boards should adopt a code of ethics to guide the conduct of its members and then review it whenever a new board member is appointed. A code of ethics reinforces a trustee's obligation to refrain from taking any official action that produces a substantial financial benefit to the trustee, the trustee's family, or an organization in which the trustee has a significant financial interest. Individual trustees may not negotiate or bid for or enter into a contract in which he/she has a direct or indirect financial interest.
Ethics for Utah Public Officers
Standards of conduct for officers and employees of the State of Utah and its political subdivisions in areas where there are actual or potential conflicts of interest between their public duties and their private interests are set forth in the Utah Code, Title 67 – Chapter 16 - Utah Public Officers' and Employees' Ethics Act. The Code further prohibits public officers from improperly disclosing or using private, controlled or protected information, accepting gifts, compensation or loans, or requiring payment in exchange for approvals.
Ethics Statement for Public Library Trustees
- Trustees must promote a high level of library service while observing ethical standards.
- Trustees must avoid situations in which personal interests might be served or financial benefits gained at the expense of library users, colleagues, or the institution.
- It is incumbent upon any trustee to disqualify him or her self immediately whenever the appearance of a conflict of interest exists.
- Trustees must distinguish clearly in their actions and statements between their personal philosophies and attitudes and those of the institution, acknowledging the formal position of the board even if they personally disagree.
- A trustee must respect the confidential nature of library business while being aware of and in compliance with applicable laws governing freedom of information.
- Trustees must be prepared to support to the fullest, the efforts of librarians in resisting censorship of library materials by special interest groups or individuals.
- Trustees who accept appointment to a library board are expected to perform all the functions of library trustees.
Adopted by the American Library Trustee Association
and the Public Library Association
The Freedom to Read
The freedom to read is essential to our democracy. It is continuously under attack. Private groups and public authorities in various parts of the country are working to remove or limit access to reading materials, to censor content in schools, to label "controversial" views, to distribute lists of "objectionable" books or authors, and to purge libraries. These actions apparently rise from a view that our national tradition of free expression is no longer valid; that censorship and suppression are needed to counter threats to safety or national security, as well as to avoid the subversion of politics and the corruption of morals. We, as individuals devoted to reading and as librarians and publishers responsible for disseminating ideas, wish to assert the public interest in the preservation of the freedom to read.
(American Library Association's Freedom to Read Statement)