Library Ethics

What happens when a patron wants to check out materials but has forgotten his card? When a well respected member accrues a large fine? How about when a staff member sees a young library user copying and pasting large chunks of text into a school report? Or when a resident asks for help to fax a credit application to a predatory lender? We know the laws and we know our policies, but aren’t there times when the rules should be bent? Instances when we should speak out? Occasions when we should do what we think is right rather than what is prescribed because sometimes it is more ethical to break the rule than to follow it?