Indexing in institutional repositories: ethical commitment or value judgment?

Abstract

The critical discussion of ethical aspects of indexing in Institutional Repositories (IRs) is presented here from a practical standpoint, grounded in a feasible reality. This is directly linked to understanding what the work of the professional/human being/indexing librarian entails—that is, a systemic individual. In this context, to analyze indexing in the IRs of Federal Public Universities in Brazil’s Northeast and understand its ethical aspects, a descriptive, qualitative study was conducted with a sample of 16 universities. Methodological procedures included documentary research and data collection via an online questionnaire sent to the heads of each university’s library system and/or the person directly responsible for the IR. Data were tabulated and analyzed quantitatively; the results show that ethics in IR indexing is undefined, and carrying out the activity still requires clearly established parameters. The lack of administrative guidelines—such as an Indexing Policy—makes it impossible to guide indexing librarians’ decision-making toward coherence, ethics, and objectivity.