Take it Apart

It's a famous proverbial situation in the field of library science--is it ethical to make available information on how to build or use nuclear weapons? My husband pointed out that even if a library buys books on how to build a nuclear weapon, it's extremely unlikely that anyone could afford the parts.

I have never gotten a question about this at the reference desk, but the other day I was walking by it when I heard a patron in the middle of asking about how to disassemble nuclear weapons. I didn't get a chance to hear the answer, but he would have made the mayor of Hiroshima proud.