Daniel Burnham: Chicago Architect

I recently got back from a trip to Chicago where my focus was exploring Chicago’s historical buildings, especially those from architect Daniel Burnham. When I read the description for the timeline assignment, I knew this would be a perfect fit.

Daniel Burnham was a famous American architect and urban planner who lived between 1846 and 1912. Some of his most famous works include the Flatiron Building in New York City and Washington D.C.’s Union Station; however, he is best known for his works in Chicago. Burnham designed some of the world’s first and most impressive early skyscrapers in this growing city along the lake. He was an innovator by constructing with new materials which allowed buildings to reach new heights. He is also known for his position as Director of Works for the World’s Columbian Exposition of 1893, which was one of the biggest World Fair’s the world had ever seen. Through his designs and collaborations with those in his firms, Burnham & Root and the D. H. Burnham & Company, he helped invent the design rules that others would follow. One of Burnham’s final projects, The 1909 Plan of Chicago, was one of the first comprehensive plans ever created for a city. It detailed population growth and layout with a balance of residential, commercial, and public space. This laid the foundation for what would become known as urban design. This historical timeline highlights Burnham’s most famous Chicago commissions and projects by date of construction. All but one of these buildings still stand today.

I first became aware of Burnham’s buildings and projects when I lived in Chicago more than a decade ago. His work is so impactful it is impossible to miss. The Chicago Cultural Center used to hand out maps of the historical landmarks in the city which is how I first knew of each building. I used Wikipedia to help compile a more detailed list of his most important Chicago works for this timeline. I then used some of my own photography alongside photographs I found online that best showcased the impressive aspects of each building or project.

I found TimelineJS to be a great tool that allowed me to showcase Burnham’s designs. I was intimidated at first since it utilizes a spreadsheet which made it look more complicated than it was. I like how each field is optional, so if something was not inputted it would still work. I also like how it displays photo and text in a clean, concise way. The final timeline itself is easy to browse using arrows and the ability to zoom in and out of dates. The only bug I encountered was with background color changes. I was initially trying to change them, but it would not update right away. When I checked later, the changes had been made. It is difficult to have to wait when changing something just to see if you will like the change. Overall, this was a minor inconvenience.

References:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_Union_Station

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_Burnham

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fisher_Building_(Chicago)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heyworth_Building

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marshall_Field_and_Company_Building

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monadnock_Building

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montauk_Building

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reliance_Building

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rookery_Building

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symphony_Center

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Daniel-Burnham

Describing Archives in "Plain" Words

People often hear the word archivist but do not necessarily understand what this means. An archivist is a person who preserves materials that are deemed to have long-term value. These materials can be in any format such as documents, sets of data, photographs, sound recordings, film & video, graphics, maps, artwork, artifacts, objects, and anything in between. The materials preserved are not only physical but can be digital as well. Much of what is created today is known as born-digital, meaning it was created digitally using a computer or similar technology. Physical materials can also be made digital which is known as digitization. One common misconception is that archivists only preserve things that are old. While it is true that historical documents are a large part of archives, an archivist also preserves things that are created today that will likely be important to access in the future.

The materials that an archivist chooses to preserve are known as records. A record can be anything that someone creates; however, not everything that is created will be preserved. Only 2-5% of all records created are typically selected for preservation, and these are known as archival records. They are the significant records about a person, family, organization, or business that document and reveal their life and work. It is only after a record has served its original purpose that it becomes an archival record. An example of this would be a blueprint for a house. Not until the house is completed would the blueprint be eligible to become an archival record.

Archival records are housed in what are known as archives. There are two main types of archives, Institutional and Collecting. Institutional archives house records related to an organization such as government agencies, religious institutions, museums, and colleges & universities. Collecting archives collect records related to certain people, places, or things, such as historical societies who collect based on their location. Archives have varying policies in place to acquire records with some actively seeking new collections if they have the staffing while others rely solely on donations. People who donate records to archives are known as donors.

Archivists decide what is important to preserve through a process known as appraisal. Most people think of monetary value when they hear appraisal, but to an archivist, appraisal relates to enduring value. Through their educational training, careers, and life experiences, archivists make the best choices on what to preserve based on the likelihood that something could be used for research. The entire purpose of archives is use and archivists strive to select records that best represent the life-defining moments of people, organizations, and places. Records preserve the stories of humanity for present and future generations. They represent our collective memories.

After appraisal, an archivist goes through a stage called archival processing. Whether the records originated from a person or organization, it is important that the records are kept exactly as they were. This is known as original order and keeping this ensures that original meanings will always be intact. If there is no order, then order must be created for better organization and accessibility. Archivists arrange records from a collection into groups known as series based on use, type, purpose, format, or subject matter. An example of this would be if there was a collection with many different materials, all photographs could be grouped together in a series while a stack of old letters could be stored together in another series. If there was no original order, records may be arranged in series based on date, by alphabet, or geographical location. After grouping and ordering the materials in a collection, it is time to move the records to storage. This could be a physical location or a secure server for born-digital records.

After a collection of records has been processed, it is time for the archivist to create a finding aid, which describes the contents of a collection. The main parts of a finding aid include:

• Title

• Abstract: short summary

• Biographical Note: detailed summary of important facts within the records

• Scope & Content Note: the informational contents and physical characteristics & formats

• Container List: description of how the contents are arranged in series or folders

Other important information included in the finding aid are names, dates, geography, materials & formats, and anything else that will help describe the collection so it can be retrieved. One important thing to understand is that archivists do not look at individual items in a collection but look at the overall content of collections and their series. Some collections could contain several thousand documents and there would be no time, money, or labor to itemize and describe each item. They also do not interpret records but merely describe what a record is. Interpretation is left to the researcher.

Appraising, processing, grouping & ordering, and creating a finding aid are the main behind-the-scenes steps an archivist takes to bring archival records into the archives. The entire purpose of this is for users to be able to access and use the records. By creating a proper finding aid, the collections, and the records within, will be easier to find when somebody makes a search. Archives are similar to libraries, which are places that people can visit to study, research, and borrow materials such as books and media. Both types of institutions help those who are seeking information. The main difference is that libraries are free for everyone to use but not all archives are accessible and free. As discussed earlier, there are different types of archives. Many private corporations have archives for their own internal use which are not open to the public; however, many libraries, colleges & universities have archives which are open to the public for research. Many museums and historical societies have archives but often charge admission to be able to use these services. Archives have very specific policies in place because their collections are so varied and many of the materials are delicate. Collections can have complex copyright laws and certain materials may have restrictions or protections to safeguard their original creators.

When archivists are not appraising or processing collections, they provide reference services. People visit archives for two purposes: to find the answers to a specific question such as for business, government, and school, or to find answers to personal questions. Reference services allow archivists to assist customers in navigating their complex collections. Since archivists only process groups of records, they are often needed to help users learn what may reside in each collection. They help point them to pertinent information by asking questions of who, what, when, where, and why. Archivists strive to treat all users the same and limit restrictions when possible. The active relationship between an archivist and their users from the beginning to end is known as the interview process. By engaging and listening to the feedback of users, archivists can better assist while learning about their own collections at the same time.

Archives in the 21st Century are more accessible than in the past. Many now offer some of their collections online which allows access for a wider user base. The finding aids created can become searchable terms allowing users to connect with the information they seek. Metadata, or simply data about data, can be added to born-digital or digitized records to help describe the contents of a collection through keywords. Even with online access growing, physical archives will always be essential. Archives have so many records it would be nearly impossible to digitize and make all available online. They are known for having limited staff and resources.

In conclusion, an archivist is a person that preserves materials in a variety of formats that have long-term value. These chosen materials become archival records that are stored in a variety of institutions known as archives. Archivists appraise collections based on their research value, then process, arrange, group, order, and prepare the records for storage. By creating finding aids, archival collections can be retrieved whenever users want to access them. Many people use archives for a variety of purposes whether in-person or online. Archivists want to help all users solve their information needs by connecting them with the right records. The role of an archivist is so important because they preserve the information of the past and present to make it available for future generations. Without preservation, the most important stories, history, and art from people around the world could become lost forever. If something does not exist anymore and nobody can remember, did it ever really happen?

Ted Carlson Scope and Content Note & Container List

Scope and Content Note

Ted Carlson (Eric T. Carlson) was chemist and lab engineer for the United States Army. This collection contains four series, dating 1944-1949 (bulk 1944-1946), which consists primarily of handwritten and typed personal correspondence between Ted and his parents during his time in the army. The collection also contains records from his time in the army, correspondence between Ted and his friends, and papers from his educational careers at Wesleyan University and Iowa State College.

Series I: Ted’s correspondence with his Parents from 1944-1949 (bulk 1944-1946), contain mostly handwritten and typed letters arranged by date to Ted’s mother and father with a few addressed to Ted from his parents. (Sub-Series A) includes letters from Wesleyan University upon graduation through Ted’s time at Iowa State College in 1944. (A) also includes correspondence about World War II, the draft, a measles outbreak, and new his new friend Sam from Iowa State. (Sub-Series B) includes letters upon enlistment into the United States Army to a military work transfer at the Chrysler Corporation in Detroit from 1944-1945. (B) also includes writings about Ted’s time in the army, contact information for his work location, working overtime in Detroit, attending weekly lectures, and the progress of the atomic bomb. (Sub-Series C) includes letters while on active duty in 1945 at Fort Sheridan, Illinois, to Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri and later Oak Ridge, Tennessee. They also contain plans to apply for honorable discharge in 1946 and a campaign for the Atomic Energy Act 1946 / McMahon Bill. (C) also mentions Ted’s views on the war and his application to Cornell University. (Sub-Series D) contains a handful of letters to Ted from his father and mother from 1944-1947 asking about his well-being and thanking him for presents from various holidays.

Series II: Ted’s Army records from 1944-1946, arranged by date, begin with a request for an army physical at Middletown, Connecticut to processing at Fort Snelling in Saint Paul, Minnesota. The papers later address his call to active duty at Fort Sheridan, Illinois and include a transfer Oak Ridge, Tennessee to work for the Monsanto Chemical Company. Ted’s Inter-Plant employee pass, commissary pass, army day pass, and request for discharge to continue work with Monsanto in Dayton, Ohio are also included.

Series III: Correspondence between Ted and his friends from 1944-1945, arranged by date, contain letters and writings from his Iowa State College friend Sam (Sub-Series A) who transferred to Cornell University Medical College. (Sub-Series B) includes letters from other friends asking about Ted and his time in the Army and his work in Detroit.

Series IV: Ted’s 1944 school records, arranged by date, begin with an opportunity for a graduate research and teaching position at Iowa State College and an Honors College letter at Wesleyan University for graduating with High Distinction. The series also includes Ted’s Iowa State College timecard with physics classes listed and an Iowa State College Identification Card from the Chemistry Department. The series ends with one work record from the Dayton Association of Scientists Bulletin with a campaign to pass Atomic Energy Legislation in 1946.

Container List

Series I: Ted’s Correspondence with his Parents, 1944-1949

     Sub-Series A: Letters to Ted’s Parents as a student, 1944

     Sub-Series B: Letters to Ted’s Parents as a soldier from enlistment to transfer to the Chrysler Corporation, 1944-1945

     Sub-Series C: Letters to Ted’s Parents from active duty to discharge and applying to Cornell University, 1945-1946

     Sub-Series D: Letters to Ted from his Parents, 1944-1947

Series II: Ted’s Army Records, 1944-1946

Series III: Ted’s Correspondence with Friends, 1944-1945

     Sub-Series A: Letters to Ted from Sam, 1944-1945

     Sub-Series B: Letters to Ted from Other Friends, 1944-1945

Series IV: Ted’s School Records, 1944 & Work Record, 1946

Ted Carlson Abstract and Biographical Note

For INFO 256 Archives and Manuscripts, I was given 71 manuscripts from chemist Ted Carlson to scan, sort and create an abstract and biographical note for the collection. Here is my assignment:

Abstract

Eric T. Carlson (Ted) was a chemist who worked as a lab engineer for the United States Army between 1944 and 1946. The Ted Carlson papers consist of handwritten and typed personal correspondence between his parents and friends upon graduating from Wesleyan University, his research stint at Iowa State College, and his time enlisted in the army which includes military documentation from entry to discharge.

Biographical Note

In 1944, Ted Carlson obtained a degree with distinction in chemistry from Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut. Upon graduation, he moved to Ames, Iowa to research and teach at Iowa State College. Ted was drafted into the Army on August 1st, 1944 at Fort Snelling, Minnesota. He was soon sent to the Chrysler Corporation in Detroit for processing where was then enlisted as a laboratory engineer into the United States Army Reserve. Ted was later called to active duty in Fort Sheridan, Illinois on October 15th, 1945, and soon sent to Oak Ridge, Tennessee to work for the Monsanto Chemical Company leading to a permanent job offer as a research assistant chemist in Dayton, Ohio upon discharge in May of 1946. Ted spent time campaigning for the Atomic Energy Act 1946 / McMahon Bill and applied to Cornell University for the Fall of 1946.

Interview with an Archivist

     Sarah Quigley - Director of Special Collections & Archives at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas

pho003318. L. F. Manis Photograph Collection. PH-00100. Special Collections and Archives, University Libraries, University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Las Vegas, Nevada. http://n2t.net/ark:/62930/d1s58r.

Sarah Quigley earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree in History and a Master of Library & Information Science both at the University of Texas at Austin. Her initial plan was to enter the field of Museum Administration but fell in love with the technical aspects of archiving after learning from archivist David Gracy. It was then that she changed her pathway to become a Technical Services Archivist. She was not as interested in instruction or outreach at the time. Sarah’s first job opportunity came about while still in school. This involved organizing and processing papers for the Supreme Court in Texas. After graduating, she moved to North Carolina to become a Project Archivist at the Jesse Helms Center where she worked with a former Senator's congressional records. This is where she learned the process of working directly with donors and found it was difficult but important to oversee the legacy of influential individuals and the documents of their life. She later joined the Rose Library as a project archivist working with the records of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in Georgia. It is here she documented Southern history, African American culture, and British & Irish Literature. Sarah has also been the President of the Society of Georgia Archivists. In July of 2022, she started her current role as Director of Special Collections & Archives at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

     The Special Collections & Archives at UNLV is focused on documenting Southern Nevada and Las Vegas with an emphasis on its casino records, architecture, entertainment, costume designs and historical mining & railroad history. As an academic library, they are all about relating to the community and helping them preserve their history. It also holds global information on gaming data and statistics in its Center for Gaming Research. The University is proud of its Oral History Research Center which collects and documents the actual speech of those involved with the growth of Las Vegas, African Americans and their history in Southern Nevada, Asian & Pacific Islander migration, as well as Native and Indigenous accounts. They are also Internationally known for their Digital Collections Department as most of their photographic collections are fully available online. The collections and archives department does not purchase but relies on donations. They have a curatorial team with strong connections to the community who uses those connections to negotiate acquisitions.

hln000461. Tomiyasu Family Photograph Collection, 1908-1991. PH-00294. Special Collections and Archives, University Libraries, University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Las Vegas, Nevada. http://n2t.net/ark:/62930/d17h1hm1b

snv000257. C. A. Earle Rinker Photograph Collection of Goldfield, Nevada. Special Collections and Archives, University Libraries, University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Las Vegas, Nevada. http://n2t.net/ark:/62930/d1jq0t831

    The primary user group for the archives are students at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas who visit for their research projects. They do receive other researchers, but this has slowed in recent years. There are currently twelve staff members which is about 50% less than before the pandemic. They would love to hire more staff and are in the process of working with the University for job postings of new opportunities. With a limited staff, the focus has been to manage and prioritize the workload. Sarah stated that burnout was already one of the biggest impacts before the pandemic but has since gotten even worse with budget cuts, short staff, community pushback, and the political climate which has made a career in archives more difficult. As the new director, it is her priority to ensure burnout does not happen with her own staff.

     Being an administrator, a typical day for Sarah involves meetings with her staff as well as the people she reports to. She also coordinates projects, provides training, and works an occasional reference shift. Since being there for two months, she is currently working on a strategic plan for purposeful direction moving forward post-pandemic. Sarah considers herself a democratic leader and consults her employees when problems arise instead of dictating solutions. No matter where she works, Sarah creates a leadership team for collaboration and has monthly meetings with her professional network of peers to swap ideas and talk about problems and solutions. She always makes a point to consult with her boss for mentorship as they can provide advice and recommendations based on their own experience.

     When asked to explain what an archivist does, Sarah laughed and stated that is depended on who asked. It is like “reading people’s mail.” If somebody with zero understanding asked, she would say that it was a person who collected and preserved historical & valuable records and made them available for research. If a donor asked, she would provide explanations about private materials, access, processing methods, how documents are sorted, and timelines. If administrators or researchers asked, she would provide information about research benefits, users who will access the records, and how people will benefit from the records.

     Sarah commented that people often think an archivist is a quiet and solitary job; however, the opposite is true. Human interaction is at the core of a career as an archivist. Some essential skills necessary include strong communication, being curious about the users of archives and why people access them, the ability to see the big picture, software skills like being able to build and maintain databases, being a team player, working well with others, as well as the ability to advocate for the team, institution, and profession in general. Sarah wished that she had learned management skills in school. Over the years, she has had to teach herself how to manage people, hold them accountable, set priorities, and make tough decisions.

     Sarah mentioned several challenges that arise in a career as an archivist: it is difficult to obtain funding leading to budget and staff cuts; there is a strong reliance on temporary and contract work with many projects often lasting only one year or less which leads to the stress of constantly finding work or people leaving the career for more stable work; moving for the right opportunity may be necessary to advance your career; and some institutions acquire way more than they can handle which causes stress among staff. To solve some of these issues, Sarah emphasized that archivists should unite and create a plan for the next 20 years. The archival practice is constantly changing leading to instability and frustration. Archivists need to educate their communities on the importance of archives which can lead to better funding, have better conversations about sustainability (water concerns are one of the main threats to Las Vegas), and there needs to be a mass digitization mandate to serve constituents.

     Even with the future in flux, Sarah says that the best parts of being an archivist are the enjoyment of seeing users access collections, exploring the fascinating collections up close, the depth of the knowledge gained over the years, and the connections built with donors and other archivists. She is always amazed at how many different people want access to so many different things. Sarah’s career has allowed her to see the fullness of humanity which is why being an archivist is so rewarding.

map000004. Southern Nevada and Las Vegas, History in Maps. G4352.M3N21932.U55. Special Collections and Archives, University Libraries, University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Las Vegas, Nevada. https://special.library.unlv.edu/ark%3A/62930/d1vq2sr6w

Leadership Characteristics

When thinking about leadership in an information profession environment, I immediately recalled my time living in Chicago and my love for their libraries. The Chicago Public Library system is one of the largest in the world with its 81 locations, nearly one in every distinct neighborhood. There was always a convenient location to visit or study at wherever I was in the city with large collections to peruse.

Chris Brown is currently the Chief Librarian in charge of the Chicago Public Library System since 2021, and received his Master of Library and Information Science degree from San José State University in 2010. Leadership and knowledge are the two of the most important aspects to a successful organization today (Mohammadi & Boroumand, 2016). Chris uses both as a transformative leader which encourages employees to enact change through ‘Idealized Influence’, where team members follow the leader by emulating their actions; ‘Inspirational Motivation’, where the leader inspires their team; ‘Intellectual Stimulation’, where the team is inspired to think outside the box; and ‘Individualized Consideration’, where a leader uses the specific skills of each team member to enact positive change (Mohammadi & Boroumand, 2016). Chris has made the effort to lead by speaking with and visiting his librarians from all 81 branches in his first three months alone. It is through his transformative leadership style and open communications with his teams that enables Chris to effectively lead and promote the transfer of knowledge. With this leadership in place, the shift can focus to Chicago library users. To Chris, “equity means every Chicagoan in every neighborhood has the opportunity to learn and explore their potential” (Bouso, 2021). He is on his way towards his goals of redefining a library’s role in the community, prioritizing access to information, and creating safety spaces for the community and youth (Chicago Public Library).

References

Bouso, R. (2021, December 22). Meet the Chief Librarian: Chris Brown. Chicago Public Library Foundation. https://cplfoundation.org/meet-the-chief-librarian-chris-brown/

Chicago Public Library. Administrative Staff. https://www.chipublib.org/administrative-staff/

Mohammadi, A., & Boroumand, Z. (2016). Transformational leadership and knowledge sharing. International Journal of Information Science & Management, 14(2), 83–96. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/316588059_Transformational_leadership_and_knowledge_sharing

Working with Teams

     Before entering the program, I had not really thought about a career in Library & Information Science as a field that relied heavily on communication and collaboration. I have since learned the opposite is quite true in my short time in the program. Collaboration is the key to success for an MLIS career. Upon researching film archivists for my information community in INFO 200, it seems that most of the problems arose when there was a lack of communication among peers. As Dalen et al. (2021) pointed out, many information professionals keep their information and knowledge to themselves without communicating to others, and this information can become lost if not passed down and shared. Having regular meetings to collaborate and share information must be a priority and a great way to ensure information is properly shared among peers. This is especially important for those who have been in the field for years to share information with newcomers to help bridge the generation gap. A lack of communication can also lead to poor documentation. As Hertzum (2003) stated, many archives and institutions have their own standards and rules for documentation. Especially in regard to film archives, the lack of standards make retrieval complicated across the industry and difficult for users to find materials. This shows that communication is not only crucial from within an organization but a necessity for collaboration among organizations on a global scale.

     With virtual meetings being the center of collaboration today, and a budget friendly option, there is no longer any excuse for institutions not to meet and exchange ideas with each other. Bergiel et al (2006) use collaboration as one of the main factors of successful virtual teams alongside trust, leadership, and technology. With virtual teams; however, comes struggle which includes language barriers, time zone differences, and what Bergiel et al (2006) term human resource development which describes how virtual teams are different from in-person meetings. Human resource development provides training in the “technological, personal and inter-personal skills for virtual communication” (Bergiel et al., 2006). If people can become more skilled and trained for virtual meetings, it can continue to be one of the best ways to collaborate and share information.

References

Bergiel, B. J., Bergiel, E. B., & Balsmeier, P. W. (2008). Nature of virtual teams: A summary of their advantages and disadvantages. Management Research News, 31(2), 99-110. http://doi.org/10.1108/01409170810846821

Dalen, J., V., Šičarov, N., Aparicio, T., & Gracy, K. F. (2021). How-to: Sharing knowledge among generations of archivists. Journal of Film Preservation, (105), 13–22. https://www.proquest.com/docview/2618812287?pq-origsite=gscholar&fromopenview=true

Hertzum, M. (2003). Requests for information from a film archive: A case study of multimedia retrieval. Journal of Documentation, 59(2), 168–186. https://doi.org/10.1108/00220410310463473

Ethics in Library & Information Science

     Since I began the MLIS program this Spring, I often wondered how librarians can remain neutral in the current state of the world which favors the spread of misinformation. In this article, Shumaker claims that librarians cannot be neutral when it comes to information. Librarians are one of the most trusted professions and most people agree that they can rely on their services to provide accurate information. Shumaker debunks the myth that librarians should remain neutral and refrain from judging or analyzing a work. The complete opposite is true. Librarians need to ensure all works are thoroughly checked to make sure they contain factual and reliable information. People can only make good judgements with information if librarians are making good judgements while assisting. Works must be selected based on credibility and facts instead of opinions. This is the only way to fight misinformation and promote information literacy.

     Shumaker furthers his views by discussing Lester Asheim’s 1953 article “Not Censorship but Selection” which stated that librarians should not censor but appropriately select information. He then applies this to the information field today and its complexities because of social media. He claims that misinformation has always been a problem but today the goal is not just to misinform but to completely abolish truth and democracy. It is an information war and librarians must fight back with facts and be adaptable to the changing information landscape.

     This article was found using the Library & Information Science Source database from the San José State University Library. It is a current article from this past April, was featured in the Information Today journal, and contains four references. The article was written by Dave Shumaker, a professor and information manager. It was written for information professionals by an information professional, so is biased towards how librarians can interact with and not be neutral with information today based on the research and opinions of the community.

     I enjoyed this article which helped answer some of my own questions as I am still in the beginning stages of my information career. The goal is to be non-biased and focus on facts. It was perfect for an introduction on ethics by stating that one should strive to do the best, most honest work possible and be open to change and continual learning.

References:

Shumaker, D. (2022). Librarians can’t be neutral in the war on information. Information Today, 39(3), 20–22. http://newsbreaks.infotoday.com/NewsBreaks/Librarians-Cant-Be-Neutral-in-the-War-on-Information-152307.asp