I Want to Find Out How to Freebase Cocaine or Yet Another Unobtrusive Test of Reference Performance |
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| Abstract: | Ethical problems in librarianship, especially in reference work, are a popular topic for research. Robert Hauptman's famous "bomb" experiment presented us with the question of whether wholesale information dissemination is ethical. I chose drug abuse to be the topic of my query in an unobtrusive test similar to Hauptman's. I intended to find out whether reference librarians would help me determine how one goes about freebasing cocaine. Responses, as expected, were varied. No one absolutely refused to hel me. Perhaps most of the librarians consulted were content not to 'I; now what I was going to do with the information. The results of this study parallel those reported by Hauptman. My conclusion, though, is in support of information dissemmation, recognizing the fact that anyone should have the right to read about either explosives or cocaine. |
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