Dissertation Information for Michael James PopeNAME:
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SCHOOL: ADVISORS: COMMITTEE MEMBERS: MPACT Status: Incomplete - Inspected Title: A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF THE OPINIONS OF SCHOOL, COLLEGE, AND PUBLIC LIBRARIANS, CONCERNING CERTAIN CATEGORIES OF SEXUALLY ORIENTED LITERATURE Abstract: This study of school, public and college librarians belonging to the American Library Association was undertaken with three primary objectives. The collection of the opinions of the sample librarians concerning the acquisition of the categories of sexually oriented materials was the primary objective of the study. Each category in the study represents a type of sexually oriented literature being published in the United States today, and a wide range of materials was included. Secondly, it was hoped the study might reveal whether different categories effected different responses and whether selected characteristics of the categories would affect the responses of the librarians. Finally, it was hoped the study might reveal if there are any relationships between the responses of the librarians and the personal, institutional and professional data collected from them. A random sample of 1200 librarians was drawn from the 1970 A.L.A Membership directory. Questionnaires containing the categories of sexually oriented materials were distributed by mail and 718 librarians responded with usable forms. The librarians rated the categories on the scale containing six steps ranging from complete rejection to favorable acceptance. Two different forms of the questionnaire, consisting of fifty-five different categories or category variations were used. Each form contained thirty-three categories, eleven categories being common to both forms. The responses of the librarians varied widely with the type of material. Adult sex manuals and pictorial presentations of sex acts lacking explanatory text were the most restricted materials. Art and anatomy books, slang dictionaries, and unillustrated books on venereal disease and birth control were the least restricted. Each category was restricted to some extent in all three types of libraries, and each met with approval from some librarians. School librarians were easily the most restrictive, followed by public librarians, then college librarians. Male librarians proved to be less restrictive than female librarians, and older librarians proved to be more restrictive than younger librarians. Librarians with more extensive general and library science education proved to be less restrictive than those with less education. Librarians with social science backgrounds proved to be less restrictive than those with background in humanities and the sciences. Head librarians and librarians in upper administrative positions responded more restrictively than librarians with little administrative responsibility. Other characteristics of the categories were tested, and other personal, institutional and professional data were collected. Other relationships were reported in the full study, and in some cases no relationship was found between the data collected and the tendency of librarians to restrict the materials on the questionnaire. |
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