This paper considers the ethical issues of the field of information science, particularly as they relate to the questions raised by the production, storage, dissemination, and use of specialized information through electronic devices, i.e., "reference databases" as well as "source databases." The topics considered include various aspects of ethics in research, in the teaching of information science, and in information work, including confidentiality of information, bias of information presented, and ethical problems encountered by information brokers and online vendors. In addition, the broader social implications of computer technology are considered within the proposed framework of "communicative ethics." (42 references and notes) (EW)