An Inquiry into the Historical Foundations of " Information Ethics" in LIS Professional Practice

This paper aimed to study the social history of the concept of “Information Ethics”. We wanted to show the social construction of the concept of “Information Ethics” in the historical transitions of LIS profession in the United States and how this concept is developed as what we see as the current condition.
Documentary Research method was used as the research methodology. This research method is best suited for the exploration of socio-historical transitions of scientific concepts .
Findings: Socio-historical circumstances that dominated the professional practice of LIS and Public Librarianship in United States caused three outstanding events namely “fiction question problem”, “Library War Services” as being an active instrument for propaganda, and “Social Responsibility movement”. These three events represented itself in the three research programs in the “Information Ethics” field namely principle-based Information Ethics, technocentric and behavioral Information Ethics, and social and critical Information Ethics . Originality/Value: This research is valuable for its contribution to demonstrate the fact that the concept of “Information Ethics” roots in the professional practice of LIS in its evolution, not in newly emerged technological representations that just quickened, sensitized and criticized this concept .