Code of ethics of Arabic federation of library associations: a step to register library professional ethics in Arab countries

Abstract

The advent of new technologies and their continuous development in various sectors have also had tremendous implications on libraries and the book industry. This evolution has led to the necessity of rethinking how duties and performance in the field of library and information should correspond to clear and required benchmarks. In Arab countries, however, such concept of deontology and ethics in the exercise of the profession, consists of regulatory texts of purely administrative nature. This paper presents an attempt to monitor the evolution of the concept of professional ethics as well as the emergence and development of codes of ethics in the world, with a glance at the reality in Arab countries.