Let's Talk About Sex

Abstract

Medical librarians and information specialists working in a variety of venues often encounter sensitive health questions from the public. Typically, such questions pertain to sexual and reproductive health issues, such as erectile dysfunction, menopause, contraception, and sexually transmitted infections (STIs), and are asked by men and women of all ages equally. Based on these experiences, the author became increasingly aware of the stigma often associated with sex and sexuality. Given the likelihood of being asked a reference question that is sexual in nature, he wanted to research what the attitudes of librarians were toward sexuality. Specifically, he examined if these attitudes impacted reference service by exploring the existing literature and conducting his own study. Building upon the success of training used for medical professionals, he proposes a workshop to improve the comfort level of librarians and close gaps in service.

Key Words:

• Librarians
• professional ethics
• information services
• access to health information
• sex education
• social responsibility
• in-service education