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Paulette M. Rothbauer: Paulette M. Rothbauer is a PhD Student ([email protected]) in the Graduate Program of Library and Information Science, Faculty of Information and Media Studies at the University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada.
Lynne E.F. McKechnie: Lynne E.F. McKechnie is an Assistant Professor ([email protected]), both in the Graduate Program of Library and Information Science, Faculty of Information and Media Studies at the University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada.
Introduction
The treatment of potentially controversial materials is of great interest to library and information science scholars and practitioners because of the commitment of the profession to the principles of intellectual freedom and access to information. Libraries, and in particular public libraries, aim to serve all users in their communities, irrespective of age or of membership in a minority group. An examination of collection management activities is one way to determine if and how librarians implement these principles in their professional work. Developing collections of gay and lesbian novels for teens may be regarded as potentially controversial because of the sensitive content of these materials and because of the young age of the intended user group. In this study content analysis was used to analyze reviews of a sample of gay and lesbian fiction for youth to explore the attitudes of reviewers and librarians to this material and to the teens, both straight and homosexual, for whom it was written.
Literature review
Research pertinent to this study includes that about the information-seeking behavior of gays and lesbians, library and information services for homosexuals, gay and lesbian literature for young adults, as well as studies concerning the reviewing media.
Creelman and Harris (1990), Whitt (1993) and Joyce and Schrader (1997) investigated the role that public library collections play in the information-seeking behavior of adult lesbians and gays. Their findings indicate that libraries are often the first source of information, especially during coming out stages, and, further, that the information provided is often perceived to be irrelevant, outdated or inappropriate. To date the information-seeking behavior of adolescent gays and lesbians has not been systematically investigated, although their needs for services and age-appropriate collections have been explored in the professional literature. Gough and Greenblatt (1991) have compiled a handbook of services to lesbians and gays including adolescents....