Reading Places: Literacy, Democracy, and the Public Library in Cold War America

Chapter 4: Reading--for Whom, and What?

112 4 Reading—for Whom, and What? E If a public library, supported by tax, is to receive and merit public support, it must have books that give pleasure. If it is to hold the esteem of the community, and so win continued support, the books must be wholesome and must give sane views of life, inspiration and reliable information. —Lutie E. Stearns, Essentials in Library Administration Books and other reading matter selected for purchase from the public funds should be chosen because of value and interest to the people of the community, and in no case should the selection be influenced by the race or nationality or the political or religious views of the writers. —The Library’s Bill of Rights, 1939 From early in its history, the WFLC had maintained a close relationship both with the Wisconsin Library Association (WLA) and with the Wisconsin Library School at the University of Wisconsin in Madison. WFLC founders Lutie Stearns and Frank Avery Hutchins were heavily involved in the establishment of the WLA, and the WFLC Secretary also had the title of Director of the Library School. The close ties generally enjoyed between the professional library community and the WFLC must have helped the Door-Kewaunee Regional Demonstration project get off to a good start. Yet most Commission board members were not  Charles A. Bunge, “The History of the Wisconsin Library School–School of Library and Information Studies 895–997,” (polyglot.lss.wisc.edu/slis/about/historyproject/form.htm). Commission secretaries were invariably male, while the executive heads of the Library School in its early years—known first as Preceptor (or Preceptress), then as Principal, were always female. Reading—for Whom, and What?฀ 113 themselves librarians. These high-profile and predominantly male board members defined and justified the Demonstration in broad philosophical terms, appealing to the lofty principles of fostering democracy and adult citizen participation. Such an approach undoubtedly helped recommend the project to legislators and others of influence, but it also represented the deeply held convictions of Commission members like John Chancellor and John Barton. In the two counties, the (mostly female) librarians too felt a passion for their cause. They took a more pragmatic line, but one that still bore a strong resemblance to a cultural civilizationist approach that they had absorbed through their training for librarianship. To the librarians, their most important task was to foster “readers”—people who liked to read, and who read often. This mismatch of goals between state officials and local librarians was chiefly evident in the matter of providing library services to children. Children or Adults? Having identified adults as the spearhead for the renewal of democracy , officials felt that the project’s ability to win adult users was now a major yardstick of its success. The WFLC recognized that, in general and on average, children accounted for three-quarters of public library circulation, but nevertheless made the decision to split the budget fiftyfifty between young people and adults. From the beginning, though, officials were nervous about the proportion of adult library use. “The thing that has bothered us for some time is what you warned us about  Although the Wisconsin Free Library Commission had a salaried staff headed by the Commission Secretary, overall authority rested with a volunteer board. In 949, this included three ex officio members and four citizens appointed by the governor. The ex officio members were: John Callahan (State Superintendent), Edwin B. Fred (President, University of Wisconsin), and Clifford L. Lord (Director, State Historical Society). Citizen members were librarian Ella Veslak, of Shawano, Wisconsin, William J. Deegan Jr., City Manager of Superior, Wisconsin, John P. Barton, University of Wisconsin–Madison Professor of Rural Sociology, and John Chancellor. Walter S. Botsford, formerly head of the department of political science at the University of Wisconsin’s Extension Department, was WFLC Secretary. In addition, the Commission employed full-time “field-workers” (usually librarians), and consultants on an ad hoc basis. 114฀ Reading—for Whom, and What? and what we tried to prevent—that is, too much of the budget and the expenditure of time goes to the children,” Walter Botsford wrote to Gretchen Schenk. “They’re an eager and avid public and there can be no doubt that it is easier to serve that group than other groups among the population, and it is just for that reason that we are calling the program to a temporary halt and re...