merican librarians have been concerned with the ethical aspects of their profession since at least the middle of the nineteenth century. 1 For the most part, the earliest of these discussions emphasized the responsibilities of the librarian to employer and patrons and raised the issue of the librarian's deportment, frequently offering hortatory instruction as to appropriate dress and demeanor. Ethics and etiquette not being sharply distinguished, these treatises were the equivalent of instructions to physicians on their "bedside manners. " 2 The library was perceived as a repository of books and documents. The academic library in particular was understood to be the place where recorded knowledge was collected and where the "transcript" of the culture was preserved for transmission to future generations. 3 Within this framework of values, the academic librarian was concerned primarily with the technical requirements of collection building and maintenance, with