A Human Sexuality and Sex Education Information Service and Library

Abstract

The SIECUS Information Service and Mary S. Calderone Library is 1 of only 4 sexuality libraries in the US and is the only one open to the public. SIECUS (The Sex Information and Education Council of the US) was founded in 1964. This article describes the history and founding of the library; staffing; the collection; the users; the services; and computerization plans. Also detailed are the librarys contribution to SIECUS bimonthly periodical which includes 7 annotated bibliographies of print and audiovisual resources available for purchase; convening an Audio-Visual Review Panel and writing their opinions into the audio-visual reviews; and evaluation and writing up of Resources to Write For. The Mary S. Calderone Library consists of 3000 books 50 periodicals 200 sex education curricula 10 drawers of vertical files and 500 pamphlets. In-person users of the SIECUS Information Service and Mary S. Calderone Library are overwhelmingly students and professionals in the human sexuality field. Professional users are either service providers who work in education health or social service settings or writers editors television and radio people and filmmakers. Both information sources are used by telephone and also by mail. At this time the collection of the Mary S. Calderone Library is not computerized nor is there access to other computerized data bases. However the use of an IBM PC has become available through New York Universitys Health Education Department. People who come to the library have unrestricted access to the entire collection including noncirculating material.