Internationally renowned sexologist Dr Jules Black will speak this week at an event to mark the donation of his personal collection of books and journals gathered over his almost 50-year career to Curtin University Library.
The Jules Black Sexology Collection is accessible to scholars and other interested people at Curtin Library, and a website has been created to provide information about the collection and its significance.
Dr Black, a Brisbane-based obstetrician and gynaecologist, said the collection is an exposition of career-defining books he has collected.
“I thank Curtin for accepting my books into, what I know, is a good home. I thank Curtin for the honour it has bestowed upon me in the naming of the collection,” Dr Black said.
“I have known personally so many of the famous sexologists whose books I have given to the library. I hope that students and the public will get much satisfaction and value out of these books.”
Included in the collection are Ideal Marriage by Dutch doctor Theodoor Hendrick van de Velde; An ABZ of Love by Inge and Sten Hegeler from Scandinavia and The Sensuous Woman by Joan Garrity, all seminal acetic books in the field of sexology.
University Librarian, Imogen Garner, said Curtin was pleased to accept the significant donation of about 250 items, which would be an excellent tool for researchers and students.
“Library staff have worked with the collection over the last six months using their expertise to ensure the books, journals, conference proceedings and personal papers donated by Dr Black can be easily found and accessed by Curtin researchers and students and the general public. The Jules Black Sexology Collection website allows for world-wide discovery and promotion of this significant collection,” Ms Garner said.
Dr Black entered medical school in Sydney at the age of 16 and became a doctor at 23.
“I had always been curious about sex since childhood. The lack of information in the medical courses of the time fanned the flames,” he said.
“On the very first day of duty at St Vincent’s Hospital in Darlinghurst, I was rostered on that evening in the emergency ward. I expected to make some brilliant diagnosis of an esoteric disease that evening – far from it.
“A woman in her 30s came in with a cold or flu, but what happened during the consultation was one of those ‘Eureka’ moments, which helped shape the direction in which my career would take me.
“She must have sensed she could talk to me for suddenly she said, ‘Doctor, I’ve never had an orgasm.’ This ‘Eureka’ moment steered me in the direction of making sexology my subspecialty later on.”
From this Eureka moment, Dr Black embarked on his crusade to educate both his profession and the public at large in sexual matters.
Dr Black has been active in training health professionals in the field of human sexuality at all levels and in all disciplines. He is the author of BodyTalk: An A-Z Guide to Women’s Health, an Angus & Roberston bestseller, has written book chapters and published numerous papers in refereed journals.
The Jules Black Sexology Collection can be accessed at http://john.curtin.edu.au/julesblack
Contacts:
Denise Cahill, Public Relations, Curtin University
Tel: 08 9266 1931, Mobile: 0401 103 683, Email: d.cahill@curtin.edu.au
Web: http://curtin.edu.au
