Is it selfish to buy books we love for our collection, even if they never circulate? What should we do when the sheriff arrives to seize circulation records? How can gossiping at a front desk hurt our library’s funding? Can we hire the best architect in town even if she is our director’s sister? Is it okay to give senior citizens a break on library fines? Everyday ethics is about guiding the decisions and actions at your library according to four main principles that ensure that everyone is treated fairly, that governing the library does not happen in secret, that library users have access to all types of information, and that confidentiality is respected.

Outcomes:

• Establish policies that protect records.

• Create fair and open decision-making processes.

• Ensure library resources are available to everyone.

• Provide services without regard to status or influence.

• Make difficult decisions that balance differing opinions and facts.

Presented by Pat Wagner:
Pat Wagner has been a trainer, educator, and consultant for 45 years with clients in 49 states and Canada. She is a management consultant and instructional producer at Pattern Research, Inc. Pat has worked with enterprises in the public, private, and nonprofit sectors, from federal agencies and Ivy League universities to elected city councils and rural community colleges, from Fortune 500 companies to family-run retail stores, and from the Library of Congress to storefront public libraries. She is known for her practical and good-humored face-to-face and online programs. Her focus: libraries, higher ed, local government, nonprofits, and small businesses. Pat has been a performance poet, playwright, printer, small press publisher, and graphic designer, and loves books, cats, wildlife, gardens, music, and the arts.