Lethe and aletheia: a study on cases of sexual harassment towards public library staff in Spain

Abstract

The results of a study on cases of sexual harassment towards public library staff in Spain are presented, with three objectives: to determine through a survey the experiences of harassment according to its type and perpetrator, to assess whether there was institutional support, and to formulate proposals for the improvement and solution of this problem. The main results reveal the multiple situations of sexual harassment being committed mainly by users, but also by colleagues and superiors, that women suffered most from harassment, and that sufficient institutional support is not given for the prevention and/or correction of such cases. The bodies of public institutions responsible for the problem of harassment in the library field must present proposals to prevent and protect against harassment and thereby enable its prevention and eradication. Considering libraries also as places related to social, human, and cultural capital, it must be ensured that they are free from sexual harassment. Given that no previous works were identified on the subject analyzed, this can be considered the first study focusing on sexual harassment towards library personnel in Spain, thus providing a basis for future work on this topic.