I have purchased porn in response to instructional requests (most of which have come from our Gender and Women's Studies department). I have even repaired a pornographic VHS tape for an instructor.
Much like racist cartoons, Nazi propaganda and most reality TV, inclusion of porn in the library collection should not be interpreted as a stamp of approval on the content. I recommend giving a courtesy head's up to your acquisitions/tech services staff and be sure you are ready to respond, citing intellectual freedom/instructional freedom, to any complainers. You might also consider letting whoever you report to know in advance, so they are also prepared in case you do receive a complaint. If you have viewing stations, I would recommend working with your staff to identify the best location to seat someone studying porn in order to reduce the likelihood of catching a passerby off guard. I had similar concerns to yours, but we have not had a single problem or complaint-- and the weird suggestions on our amazon account cleared out quickly :) Gisele Gisèle Tanasse Head, Media Resources Center 150 Moffitt Library #6000 University of California Berkeley, CA 94720-6000 PH: 510-642-8197 BCAL: nerdpo...@berkeley.edu NOTE: PART TIME SCHEDULE Monday-Thurs 8AM-2PM On Fri, Nov 14, 2014 at 11:18 AM, Maureen Tripp <maureen_tr...@emerson.edu> wrote: > A faculty member is planning a new class for the spring--Sex in the > Media. Guess who gets to order his new, pornographic DVDs? So . . . my > question for academic media librarians out there--do you include materials > like Behind the Green Door, Vintage Stage Films of the 40's and 50's and > Russ Meyers' Abundant Beginnings (collection) in your catalogs? > Apart from my general squeamishness, I wonder if having these titles in > the collection might be disturbing to other students who find them > demeaning to women, or perhaps even perceive them as warranting trigger > warnings. > So . . . does anyone include porn in their collection? If yes, under what > circumstances, and do you treat them any differently than any other > collection item? > thanks, > Maureen > > VIDEOLIB is intended to encourage the broad and lively discussion of > issues relating to the selection, evaluation, acquisition,bibliographic > control, preservation, and use of current and evolving video formats in > libraries and related institutions. It is hoped that the list will serve as > an effective working tool for video librarians, as well as a channel of > communication between libraries,educational institutions, and video > producers and distributors. >
VIDEOLIB is intended to encourage the broad and lively discussion of issues relating to the selection, evaluation, acquisition,bibliographic control, preservation, and use of current and evolving video formats in libraries and related institutions. It is hoped that the list will serve as an effective working tool for video librarians, as well as a channel of communication between libraries,educational institutions, and video producers and distributors.
