| The South African government has received much criticism in recent years due to its discriminatory policy, known as apartheid. In an attempt to pressure the government to change its policy, various sanction campaigns have been conducted, including economic sanctions, a sports boycott, the arms and oil embargoes and, more recently, the cultural and academic boycott. This research was designed to investigate the effect of an academic boycott on academics and libraries associated with South African universities.;Questionnaires and personal interviews were used to elicit data from 900 academics at 21 universities in the 3 broad disciplines of the Social Sciences, Humanities/Arts, and Science/Technology. A second questionnaire was sent to 28 libraries, including 22 university libraries in South Africa, the State library, and 5 research-oriented libraries. The object was to determine the effect of an academic boycott on scholarly activities and on library services. Knowledge of this effect helped to analyze the effectiveness of the academic boycott with regard to the strategies and tactics used, and the reaction of academics and librarians in South Africa.;The study was conducted in two parts. First, the questionnaire was mailed as a preliminary source of data gathering to solicit information about the effect of five boycott elements. The data from the mail questionnaires were analyzed quantitatively to determine any patterns of effect. Second, personal interviews were conducted with selected academics and librarians at seven universities to focus on their personal experiences of the boycott. The analysis of the quantitative data concentrates on the relationships among (a) type of boycott element, (b) university type affected, and (c) broad discipline affected. The qualitative data provides more in-depth analysis of the perceptions and opinions of the effect shared by the interviewees. |
