Abstract

Unresolved disagreements on issues of access, censorship, and privacy within the information profession can be dangerous when entrepreneurial interests outweigh the public good and as corporations anticipate financial gain from placing limitations on information retrieval and use. The information profession can benefit from a grounding of its core values in a robust moral framework that can coherently place demands on interested parties. We argue that grounding the core values of privacy and ubiquitous access to information in a needs-based theory of rights is most suitable within the unique context of the information profession.