Funded by the CILIPS Research Fund, the REVEAL project (Reinforcing Ethics and Values for Effective Advocacy for Libraries) led by Dr David McMenemy at the University of Glasgow sought to consider effective advocacy for library and information services through the lens of the ethics and values of the profession and what the practising of these values on a day-to-day basis across the profession contributes to society.

In addition to a review of the key concepts related to advocacy, ethics, and values, the project outputs also include the ten-video series below and other materials such as infographics to support the themes explored. All materials are made available free for use under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

The key driver of the REVEAL project is the premise that the “why” of what libraries do every day and the ethical values that underpin that work is fundamental to an effective advocacy strategy for the profession. The project has been designed to help to disseminate those values as widely as possible; to stakeholders within the library profession and for those in government, local government, and wider civil society who support the missions of libraries and could be interested in utilising a values-based approach to their own advocacy for library services. The key aim of REVEAL is to enhance and encourage a collective advocacy across the profession and wider society through the provision of an accessible learning framework for library and information ethics and values, in the form of a set of continuing professional development tools.

On Wednesday 11th October 2023, Dr David McMenemy joined CILIPS for an online learning session centred on REVEAL: guiding attendees through the toolkit, literature review, resources, and the project’s intended purpose and use, before opening up the discussion for a Q&A session. Watch our full recording below or scroll down for all the project resources cited.

We had the opportunity to catch up with Dr McMenemy about the process of creating the toolkit. In the following interview he shares the ins and outs of the project, what he hopes the sector will take away from the topics he covers, and how vital research and advocacy is to undertake within the profession. Watch it here:

Introduction

The opening video of the project series introduces REVEAL and outlines how library and information professionals of all sectors can make use of the materials produced for the project.

Select a section:

1. What is Advocacy?
2. Ethical Theories and Key Ethical Thinkers in Libraries
3. The CILIP Ethical Framework
4. Privacy and Libraries
5. Freedom of Expression and Libraries
6. Ethics of Information Organisation
7. Intellectual Property and Libraries
8. Contemporary Ethical Concerns in Library Provision
9. Experiences of the Scottish Library Workforce
10. How to Do Values-Driven Advocacy

REVEAL Resources

1. REVEAL Project Literature Review
2. Rhetoric and Library Advocacy (pdf version)
3. Rhetoric and Library Advocacy (png version)
4. S.R. Ranganathan’s 5 Laws of Library Science (pdf version)
5. S.R. Ranganathan’s 5 Laws of Library Science (png version)
6. Michael Gorman’s 8 Enduring Values of Librarianship (pdf version)
7. Michael Gorman’s 8 Enduring Values of Librarianship (png version)
8. A Truly Great Library – Jo Godwin (pdf version)
9. A Truly Great Library – Jo Godwin (png version)
10. Open to all – except the censor… President John F. Kennedy (pdf version)
11. Open to all – except the censor… President John F. Kennedy (png version)