SIECUS Mary S. Calderone Library

Library Hours and Services; Frequently Asked Questions; The Source - library newsletter; SIECUS Publications; For Librarians

The Mary S. Calderone library, housed at SIECUS, (The Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States), is one of the few libraries in the U.S. which collects materials specifically related to human sexuality and comprehensive sexuality education. The library, which serves professionals, students, educators, and the media, is one of few sexuality collections in the United States that is accessible to the general public for research.

Since its founding in 1964, SIECUS has received a large number of publications on all aspects of human sexuality and sexuality education. These materials were unavailable to the general public prior to 1978, when an affiliation between SIECUS and New York University's Department of Health Education of the School of Education, Health, Nursing and Arts Professions made it possible to formalize the collection into a library. On September 27, 1979, the SIECUS Resource Center was officially opened for use by anyone concerned with the many aspects of human sexuality. In 1984, the library was renamed in honor of SIECUS' first executive director, Mary S. Calderone, and is now known as the Mary S. Calderone Library.

The library maintains an in-house database consisting of over 20,000 citations of the books, curricula, journal articles, and reports found in the collection. Since its founding, the book collection has steadily increased to over 5,000 volumes. The major works published in the field and other books of lasting interest are included. The collection is catalogued under subject headings from Sexual Nomenclature, the thesaurus of The Institute for Sex Research in Bloomington, Indiana. In addition, the library maintains a collection of over 1,000 sexuality and HIV/AIDS education curricula targeted towards young people, young adults, adults, parents, and professionals for use in schools, faith- and community-based organizations, and other settings. Along with the book and curricula collection, the library subscribes to a number of core journals that focus on sexuality and related topics.

The Mary S. Calderone Library also has a collection—known as The Family Communication Clearinghouse—of resources that focus on parent-child communication about sexuality-related issues including materials for parents, caregivers, and young people. The 45 Examples from the Field mentioned in the publication Innovative Approaches to Increase Parent-Child Communication about Sexuality: Their Impact and Examples from the Field are also included.

The library is open for on-site visits by appointment, Monday - Friday --- 12:00-5:00 PM EST. The library is accessible over the telephone, by mail, and e-mail, Monday - Friday --- 9:00-5:00 PM EST. Database searches are available at $10.00/per topic. Call to schedule an appointment or to request a database search at: 212/819-9770, extension 328.

The Mary S. Calderone Library collection is non-circulating.

For information, ideas, and resources join the Librarian’s Information Network on Sexuality (LINS). To subscribe, send an e-mail to Librarians_Information_Network-subscribe@topica.com.