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April 05, 2008
POPLINE and the Politics of Reproductive Health Research
USAID, sponsor of POPLINE, "the world's largest database on reproductive health" has riled the library world this week. It appears that a savvy librarian discovered the database was recently changed so that searches on the term "abortion" were not recognized and brought back zero hits. Dr. Michael J. Klag, Dean of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, which administers POPLINE stated:[USAID] found two items in the database related to abortion that did not fit POPLINE criteria. The agency then made an inquiry to POPLINE administrators. Following this inquiry, the POPLINE administrators at the Center for Communication Programs made the decision to restrict abortion as a search term.There is no explanation of the criteria for items to be included in POPLINE. We can only guess, since USAID says on their web site they are an "independent federal government agency that receives guidance from the Secretary of State." It's sad but true that librarians and researchers have to be the watchdogs of information. This is an excellent example for student researchers on the hazards of information products, what is and, more importantly what is not included. To his credit, Dean Klag announced on Friday the controversial word has been reinstated in the database but significant damage has been done to the credibility of the Bloomberg School of Public Health because of this incident
Posted by swortman at April 5, 2008 08:56 PM