Ethical Issues in Management of Big Data in Libraries and other Information Centres

Abstract

The increase advancement in information technology has increase the popularity of big data, this paper address some ethical issues that arise from the management of the big data in library and information centres with a view to ensuring that big data are managed professionally. The paper explains the concept of big data to mean any data whose volume is large and is sourced from various origins for multiple uses. big data has many benefit to the society are and have brought a significant improvement in the processing of information for research and policy uses, however, it is worthy of mention that the digitalization of data has its own risks and harbors certain challenges which can affect the quality of data itself, some challenges face by researcher and policy makers when utilized big data in library and information centres; User Privacy and Information Security Issues. Equal and Free Access to Information. Abused of Network Technology. Ethical Governance, Awareness concerns what individuals know and understand about big data analytics practices and decision making concerns the processes and outcomes of decisions that Library and information centres make using big data analytics. Some of the roles of librarians and information professionals as data ethicists; Data advisor/consultant – dealing with queries about data access, privacy/protection, sharing, and use at reference desks or point of need, Data literacy educators – extending information literacy instruction to data use in diverse contexts: learning, the workplace, and everyday life, Cross-cultural mediators – anticipating cultural differences and alerting stakeholders to issues arising from plural and conflicting values. Some components of ethical competence for library and information practitioners are Ethical sensitivity, Ethical knowledge, Ethical reflection, Ethical decision-making and Ethical behavior. Competencies for data ethicists; some of the competences for data ethics identified are; Awareness of big data trends and developments, Knowledge of key ethical principles, codes and policies, Moral sensitivity, judgment, motivation, and character. The education expected of data ethicists; Guided reading, listening, and viewing, Blog posts, Books, Journal articles, Magazine features, News stories, Video, Case studies/reports/materials, Original or published sets of paradigmatic cases for analysis and discussion, with questions and/or commentaries to encourage critical reflection. Framework for Ethical Decision Making which among others includes; Recognize an Ethical Issue, Get the Facts, Evaluate Alternative Actions, Make a Decision and Test It, Act and Reflect on the Outcome. In conclusion, big data ethics is an important issue in the research field of library and information management, in the era of big data, the establishment of scientific and effective network ethics for the network, ethics construction plays a very important role.