Introduction: Gender Issues in Information Needs and Services

Abstract

Are gender issues in information needs and services really a “trend” worthy of examination in the first decade of the twenty-first century? Isn’t this a passe topic? Aren’t we well into the “post-feminist” era? As the editors of this issue, we answer these questions with a resounding “no!” Although North American society has made enormous strides in the past half-century, we have yet to reach true equality between men and women. Libraries and information workers continue to operate in a social environment where information needs and services are affected by gender and gender politics. Starting in the late 1960s, librarianship as a profession embraced secondwave feminism and its principles and responded creatively on many fronts. “Equal pay for equal worth” became a rallying cry for all the female-intensive professions, including librarianship. The mentoring, promotion, and retention of women in top leadership positions became a priority for many libraries and for the major professional associations as well. Additionally, women (and sympathetic men) in librarianship and other information professions used their skills to improve service to readers who sought information on gender issues. Firm in the belief that information is power, librarians embraced their responsibility to empower women to be full citizens and whole persons. Whether a patron wanted a consciousness-raising novel by Doris Lessing, or a how-to book on succeeding in the male-dominated business world, or a non-sexist fairytale for her child, or medically accurate information on birth control options, public librarians and community information workers responded. Academic libraries created budget lines for acquiring new works of feminist scholarship, designated subject liaisons to emerging women’s studies programs, and occasionally established separate libraries or reading rooms. Dedicated historical archives were also founded; Mason and Zanish-Belcher’s article