Forrest Spaulding, Library Sciences Pioneer

Forrest Spaulding – His Life
May 4, 1892 –
December 9, 1965
“The first attribute of a librarian is not to be a great
lover of books but a great lover of people”
([Spaulding Article], 1947).
Created by: Deidre Black, Jacque Driscoll, Trevor Hunter, Chance Maggard, and Rebekah Mansfield

A Brief Timeline of Spaulding’s Life
 Born in Nashua, New Hampshire in 1882.
 Graduated from the Library School of New York Public Library in 1913.
 Became the head of the Des Moines Public Library in 1917 at the age of 25.
 Became director of libraries for the Coast Guard, Merchant Marine, and
Lighthouse services of the federal government in 1919.
 Became head of libraries and museums in Peru 1920, where he also acted as a
correspondent for the Associated Press.
 Returned to the United States to work as an editor in a publishing firm in 1922.
 Returned to Des Moines as a city librarian in 1927.
 Authored Library Bill of Rights which was adopted by the American Library
Association in 1939.
 Retired from the Des Moines Public Library in 1952 and returned to his
hometown of Nashua, NH.
 Retired in 1958.
 Died in Nashua in 1965.

The Humanitarian
 During World War I, Spaulding organized libraries at Camp
Doge (Des Moines, Iowa) and in nearby states for the recruited
men.
 Served as chairman of the Polk County Roll Call of the Red
Cross during World War II.
 During the Great Depression, in response to the high
unemployment rate, he opened a Men’s Reading Room
containing technical and vocational reading matter that was
free to the public.
 While working for the Des Moines Public Library, his petition
secured federal funding for mobile library units, training for
library clerical staff, and programs focused on increasing
library usage by special classes, such as the handicapped.

The Humanitarian
 Established an art department at the Des Moines Public
Library.
 Often spoke out against bigotry and racism during the 30s
and 40s and received an award in 1948 from the National
Conference of Christians and Jews.
 Rabbi Martin Weitz of Temple B’Nai Jeshurun included
Spaulding in his Honor Roll in 1948, along with Eleanor
Roosevelt and Gandhi.

A Man of Many Interests
 “In newspaper stories from his time he was depicted as genial, gregarious, and
slightly eccentric. He was fond of punning, telling and hearing anecdotes, traveling
on little-known railway lines, and baseball—in 1946 he attended every home game
of the Des Moines Bruins” (Thomas, 1987).
 Spaulding was also known to sing in public. One Iowa Library Association
Newsletter reported that a Sunday night singing event included “pretty smooth solo
work by Forrest Spaulding” (as cited in Thomas, 1987).
One of Spaulding’s poems
“Washington Square” was published
in the September 16th issue of
Bruno’s Weekly in 1916.

Historical Context:
The Library Bill of Rights
WORLD WAR I
NAZI GERMANY
THE GRAPES OF WRATH
THE AMERICAN LIBRARY
ASSOCIATION

Censorship in American Libraries
 Intellectual freedom has not always been a
matter of interest within the field of
librarianship, and the American Library
Association’s stance regarding intellectual
freedom and censorship has shifted considerably
since the late 1930s. Before the 1930s, libraries
did not consider censorship to be a concern of
the profession and did not always intervene
when intellectual content was banned (Krug,
2007).

World War I
 Anti-German sentiments during World War I led to German
books being banned from American public libraries. The
Wisconsin Library Bulletin published an article in 1918
arguing that “There is no room for dispute or even discussion
as to the treatment of material which approaches the point of
disloyalty to the country in time of war…all questionable
materials must be eliminated” (Wiegand, 1999).
 Even Forrest Spaulding was guilty of censoring books when he
was the director of the Des Moines Public Library. In 1918,
“Forrest Spaulding…reported to the secretary of the Iowa
State Council of Defense that he quietly removed 60
suspicious titles from circulation to avoid drawing attention to
them” (Wiegand, 1999).

Spaulding & Inclusion
 Despite removing “suspicious titles” from his collection,
Spaulding was an intelligent man who valued all writers’
literary contributions. In the early 1930s he published
bibliographies of books by and about black Americans
(Pawley, 2010). At this point in American history, “African
Americans were excluded from most public libraries either by
explicit policy or by collections that were at best irrelevant and
at worst insulting” (Pawley, 2010, p. 144). Section I. of
Spaulding’s original Library Bill of Rights states that “in no
case shall selection be based on the race or nationality,
political, or religious views of the writers” (American Library
Association, 1996).

Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany earned fame early on
for huge public book burnings, and the
totalitarian regime also had control of
public libraries. “To German public
librarianship the war brought new lists
of books to be removed from libraries.
As in other areas of governance, it
intensified the specifically Nazi
direction of policy” (Stieg, 1992).
These public book burnings and the strict totalitarian censorship of materials in
Germany brought the subject of intellectual freedom a renewed sense of urgency,
and American librarians were forced to reconsider the traditional ambivalent
stance regarding censorship. Spaulding in particular was concerned by what was
happening overseas and the still rampant censorship happening in America, and
published his Library’s Bill of Rights on November 21, 1938.

ALA & The Grapes of Wrath
 The American Library Association did not officially
espouse a policy regarding intellectual freedom until the
publication of John Steinbeck’s 1939 novel The Grapes of
Wrath.
 The Grapes of Wrath “was banned from libraries in East
St. Louis, Illinois; Camden, New Jersey; Bakersfield,
California; and other localities” (Krug, 2007).
 Because of the widespread objection to The Grapes of
Wrath, the American Library Association finally adopted
the Library’s Bill of Rights. It was a document very
similar to the one that Spaulding published in 1938 and
has altered the philosophy of American librarianship.

Article Amendments &
Interpretations
1940S TO PRESENT

 1944 – Article I was amended to state the Intellectual
Freedom Committee’s position on banning or removing
materials from a library, stating “Further, books believed to
be factually correct should not be banned or removed from
the library simply because they are disapproved of by some
people” (ALA, 2010, p. 52).

 1948 – The scope of the document was expanded. Intolerance and
censorship of free speech that were issues before World War II
were no longer necessary to address, but the Cold War made it
evident that even in peace times, the Library Bill of Rights were
necessary to protect free library service” (ALA, 2010, p. 52).
 Article II’s 1944 amendment that “books believed to be factually correct” (as
cited in ALA, 2010, p. 52) was removed and instead, they wrote “books…of
sound factual authority” (as cited in ALA, 2010, p. 52). The term “banned”
also was replaced by “proscribed.”
 Article III was completely revised to make note that libraries should challenge
book censorship by people or groups based on moral or political opinion.
 Article IV stated that libraries should work with “allied groups…in science,
education, and book publishing in resisting all abridgment of the free access
to ideas and full freedom of expression” (as cited in ALA, 2010, p. 53).
 Article III of the original bill was moved to create the new article V, with
different wording, but no change in meaning to the concern of library meeting
rooms being used by all who were served by the library.

 1951 – The bill was expanded to include “all materials and
media of communication used or collected by libraries” (as
cited in ALA, 2010, p. 54) as a footnote.
 Result of the American Legion attempting to remove The Brotherhood
of Man, Boundary Lines, and Peoples of the U.S.S.R. from the Peoria
Public Library.
 The “Statement on Labeling” was also added in 1951, the first of many
interpretive statements. This essentially states that any labels put on
library materials by the copyright holder are not endorsements by the
library, and may not be removed.

 1961 – Article V was made Article VI after a study by
the Special Committee on Civil Liberties
“recommended that a new article be added to the
Library Bill of Rights” (ALA, 2010, p. 54). This
amendment stated that “the rights of an individual to the
use of a library should not be denied or abridged
because of his race, religion, national origins, or
political views” (as cited in ALA, 2010, p. 54).

 1967 – The phrase “of sound factual authority” was called into
question at a conference held by the Intellectual Freedom Committee.
That phrase was invoked by a Catholic Illinois librarian to ban a
Protestant publication. It was recommended that the phrase be removed
along with other changes to various articles.
 Articles I and V had the term “social” added due to the Civil
Rights movement.
 Article IV – “that are tradition and heritage of Americans”
was recommended for removal due to redundancy and its
nationalistic nature; the reference was also expanded beyond
the science, education, and book publishers to encompass
more.
 Article VI – “provided that the meetings be open to the
public” was added to address concerns about “private groups
with restricted attendance” (ALA, 2010, p. 55).
 Teens were also given full access to library materials, and
Article V was amended to include the word “age.”

 1971-1973 – The ALA responded to questions regarding
the implementation of the 1967 revision with six
Interpretations. These six Interpretations were as follows:
“Challenged Materials,” “Free Access to Libraries for
Minors,” “Evaluating Library Collections,” “Expurgation
of Library Materials,” “Restricted Access to Library
Materials,” and “ Sexism, Racism, and Other-Isms in
Library Materials” (ALA, 2010, p. 57).

 1980 –With the massive social upheaval of the late 1960s and
1970s, the role of the library was due for another revision. Further
change was sparked in 1977 when the Committee on the Status of
Women in Librarianship requested a revision rejecting gender
related pronouns from the Library Bill of Rights as well as sex
discrimination in library services (ALA, 2010, p.57 ).
 The essence of Article I was virtually untouched, but the language used to
reach the essence was simplified and clarified.
 Article II built upon the previous revision and added that “libraries have an
obligation to provide information and divers points of view on historical as
well as current issues” (as cited in ALA, 2010, p. 58).
 Article III was simplified and the word “public” was removed.
 Article V was “a general statement condemning discrimination according to
origin, background, or views” (as cited in ALA, 2010, p. 58).
 Article VI was changed to account for differences between various types of
libraries and reinforce that the previous articles applied to all libraries.

 1980s – During the decade, four new Interpretations were
adopted. They are “Meeting Rooms and Exhibit Spaces” in
1981, “Library-Initiated Programs as a Resource” in 1982,
“Circulation of Motion Pictures and Video Productions” in
1984 which was replaced in 1989 by “ Access for Children
and Young Adults to Nonprint Materials,” and “Access to
Resources and Services in the School Library Media
Program” in 1986. In the late 1980s, requests for amending
the Library Bill of Rights to incorporate freedom of access
regardless of language or economic status. This is in
addition to freedom of access with no restriction for gays,
bisexuals, and lesbians.

 1990s – All but one of the existing Interpretations were
amended to assure access to all concerned. In addition,
three more Interpretations were added. They are as
follows: “The Universal Right to Free Expression” in
1991, “Economic Barriers to Information Access” in
1993, and “Access to Library Resources and Services
Regardless of Gender or Sexual Orientation” in 1993.
Although in 2008 it was revised and renamed “Access
to Library Resources and Services Regardless of Sex,
Gender Identity, Gender Expression, or Sexual
Orientation” (as cited in ALA, 2010, p. 54).

 1990s – In 1996, another Interpretation, “Access to
Electronic Information, Services, and Networks”
was added. This would be revised in 2009 and called
“Access to Digital Services, and Networks.” This
was the ALA’s attempt to retain personal privacy
with the growing use of technology in all aspects of
the library.

 2000s – In 2002, “Privacy” a new Interpretation,
was adopted. Three new Interpretations were
adopted in 2009: “Minors and Internet Interactivity,”
“Services to Persons with Disabilities,” and
“Importance of Education to Intellectual Freedom.”

Banned and Challenged Books
“Clell Pruett burns a copy of The Grapes Of Wrath as
Bill Camp and another leader of the Associated
Farmers stand by. At the time this photograph was
taken, Pruett had not read the novel. Years later,
after he read the book at the behest of Rick
Wartzman, Pruett declared that he had no regrets
about burning it” (Neary, 2008).

Resources for Challenged Material
The American Library Association now provides many online
resources for librarians to help defend challenged library items, such
as the Challenges to Library Materials (n.d.) page. It is a testament to
how much change was catalyzed by Spaulding’s contributions to the
field.

Challenged Library Materials in the Present
“The office for intellectual freedom collects
information from two sources: newspapers and reports
submitted by individuals, some of whom use the
challenge reporting form. All challenges are compiled
into a database” (“Frequently Challenged Books,”
n.d.). “OIF has only been collecting data about banned
books since 1990, so we do not have any lists of
frequently challenged books or authors before that
date” (“Frequently Challenged Books,” n.d.).

2013’s Most Challenged Books
 Captain Underpants (series), by Dav Pilkey
 Offensive language, unsuitable for intended age group and violence
 The Bluest Eye, by Toni Morrison
 Offensive language, sexually explicit, unsuitable for intended age group and violence
 The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie
 Drugs/smoking/alcohol, offensive language, racism, sexually explicit and unsuitable for intended age group
 Fifty Shades of Grey, by E.L. James
 Nudity, offensive language, religious viewpoints, sexually explicit and unsuitable to age group
 The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins
 Religious viewpoint and unsuitable to age group
 A Bad Boy Can Be Good for A Girl, by Tanya Lee Stone
 Drugs/smoking/alcohol, nudity, offensive language and sexually explicit
 Looking for Alaska, by John Green
 Drugs/alcohol/smoking, sexually explicit and unsuitable to age group
 The Perks of Being a Wallflower, by Stephen Chbosky
 Drugs/alcohol/smoking, homosexuality, sexually explicit and unsuitable to age group
 Bless Me Ultima, by Rudolfo Anaya
 Occult/Satanism, offensive language, religious viewpoint and sexually explicit
 Bone (series), by Jeff Smith
 Political viewpoint, racism and violence

Forrest B. Spaulding
by T. O. Neswold
The painting belongs to the Des Moines Public Library.
Photo courtesy of K. K. Runge of Library Consulting, P.A.

Citations
● American Library Association. (2010). Intellectual freedom manual. Chicago,
IL: American Library Association.
● Forrest Spaulding [Photograph]. Retrieved June 25, 2014 from:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forrest_Spaulding
● Frequently challenged books. (n.d.). Retrieved June 24, 2014, from
http://www.ala.org/bbooks/frequentlychallengedbooks
● Krug, J. F. (2007). Intellectual freedom and ALA: historical overview.
Encyclopedia of Library and Information Science, Second Edition, 1379-
1389. doi:10.1081
● Neary, L. (2008, September 30). Grapes of Wrath and the politics of book
burning. Retrieved from
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=95190615
● Challenges to library materials. (n.d.). Retrieved June 25, 2014, from:
http://www.ala.org/bbooks/challengedmaterials

Citations Continued
● Pawley, C. (2010). Reading places: literacy, democracy, and the public library
in Cold War America (pp. 143-146). Amherst, MA: University of
Massachusetts Press.
● Spaulding, F. (1916). Washington Square. Retrieved June 25, 2014 from:
http://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/cgi-bin/
bluemtn?a=d&d=bmtnaaq19160916-01.2.10&e=-------en-20--1--txt-IN----
-
● [Spaulding Article]. (1947, December 8). Des Moines Register.
● Stieg, M. (1992). The Second World War and the public libraries of Nazi
Germany. Journal of Contemporary History, 27(1), 23-40. Retrieved from:
http://www.jstor.org/stable/260777
● Thomas, T.E. (1987). Forrest Spaulding : Des Moines' foremost librarian and
author of the Library Bill of Rights : a paper written for the 1987 bicentennial
exhibition in the Public Library of Des Moines. Unpublished manuscript.

Citations Continued
● [Untitled photograph of men burning book]. Retrieved June 25, 2013,
from: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=95190615
● Book burning by nazi soldiers and university students, Germany. (ca.
1933). The legacy of war: War as illness. Digital exhibit, U.S. National
Library of Medicine. Retrieved from
http://apps.nlm.nih.gov/againsttheodds/exhibit/legacy_of_war/war_as_
illness.cfm.
●Weigand, W. (1999). This month, 81 years ago. American Libraries,
30(8), 99. Retrieved from:
http://libproxy.library.unt.edu:2071/ehost/detail?vid=3&sid=b4eac482-
8649-43ba-8349-
a9adb4082871%40sessionmgr114&hid=105&bdata=JnNjb3BlPXNpd
GU%3d#db=a9h&AN=2291114

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