Author: dew6

Fighting Censors and Book Bans: Establishing the ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom

Posted on by Deborah Walters

This blog post is part of a series exploring the important events and people in ALA’s history for the celebration of the 150th anniversary of ALA in 2026.

Almost 60 years ago, the Intellectual Freedom Committee (IFC) of the American Library Association needed a partner in the fight for intellectual freedom. The 1960s brought concerns about censorship, freedom of the press, the freedom to read – and the impact on librarians who sought to uphold the values within the Library Bill of Rights and the Freedom to Read Statement. The ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF) was the solution, providing support and education on intellectual freedom to librarians and the public.[1] Little did they know how vital the OIF would become to the fight against book challenges and censorship and to the support of librarianship and the freedom to read everywhere. Continue reading “Fighting Censors and Book Bans: Establishing the ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom” →

Librarians, Segregated: The 1936 ALA Annual Conference

Posted on by Deborah Walters

This blog post is part of a series exploring the important events and people in ALA’s history for the celebration of the 150th anniversary of ALA in 2026.

The Advance Attendance Register for the Richmond Conference displayed a rendering of the White House of the Confederacy.

Wilson Bulletin editor, Stanley J. Kunitz, called it the “The Spectre at Richmond” – but the racial discrimination at the 1936 ALA Annual Conference was no ghostly apparition.[1] The conference was held in Richmond, Virginia, a city with Jim Crow era racial segregation laws. While the American Library Association itself had no segregation or discriminatory policies, up until 1936 they had not established any ruling against holding a conference in a segregated city where members would be subject to discrimination. Thus, “the Spectre” marched into the halls of the hotels and auditoriums, reminding all librarians present that there was still work to be done. Continue reading “Librarians, Segregated: The 1936 ALA Annual Conference” →

15 Years of Fear: The ALA and the Patriot Act

Posted on by Deborah Walters

This blog post is part of a series exploring the important events and people in ALA’s history for the celebration of the 150th anniversary of ALA in 2026.

Folders about the USA PATRIOT Act from the ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom Subject File at the ALA Archives.
USA PATRIOT Act files in the Office for Intellectual Freedom Subject File at the ALA Archives.

October 26, 2001, marked the beginning of a 15-year-long struggle for the privacy rights of library users as a result of the USA PATRIOT Act being signed into law by President Bush. The Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act, colloquially known as the Patriot Act, expanded surveillance and investigation capabilities of law enforcement to combat terrorism after the attack on September 11th.[1] Included in the bill was Section 215, which became known as the “library provision” as it allowed intelligence agencies to “obtain information about members of the public, including library records, based on a minimal submission to a secret court.”[2]

Continue reading “15 Years of Fear: The ALA and the Patriot Act” →

Library 21: ALA at the 1962 Seattle World’s Fair

Posted on by Deborah Walters

This blog post is part of a series exploring the important events and people in ALA’s history for the celebration of the 150th anniversary of ALA in 2026.

Photograph of the entrance to the Library 21 exhibit, showing the bridge into the first circle.
Overhead view of the entrance to Library 21 and the main exhibit space.

The ALA predicted the future 62 years ago in Seattle – the future of libraries, that is. They called their premonition “Library 21,” an exhibition at the 1962 World’s Fair. The “automated” library of the future would blend traditional library services with advancements in information technology. Partnered with companies including Remington Rand-UNIVAC, Xerox, RCA, IBM, and Encyclopaedia Britannica, Library 21 explored the importance of library services in daily life and how “electronics and information technology will have great impact on the methods we use for storing, retrieving, and communicating knowledge in the libraries of tomorrow.”[1]

The 9,000 square foot exhibit space was the first exhibit on the ground floor of the Washington State Coliseum, which drew large crowds during the Fair’s run from April 21 through October 21, 1962.[2] An estimated 1.8 million people visited Library 21 – almost 20% of the total attendance of the Fair.[3] Designed by Vance Jonson of Los Angeles and constructed by the firm Daniel, Mann, Johnson and Mendenhall, the exhibit structure itself was quite impressive. The futuristic exhibit consisted of two large circles connected to form a figure eight, with stairs from the second circle leading to the colorful Children’s World below. The circles were lit from above and surrounded by reflecting pools. Visitors approached via a bridge into the first circle, which included the UNIVAC computer, the Ready Reference Center, and the adult reading area. The second circle contained the Xerox Theater, Learning Resources Center, and other electronic exhibits. Continue reading “Library 21: ALA at the 1962 Seattle World’s Fair” →