In early May 1953, a group of 25 representatives from the American Library Association, the American Book Publishers Council (later the Association of American Publishers), and other associated citizens, met in Rye, New York to discuss the fundamental freedom to read. This “Westchester Conference,” named after the Westchester Country Club meeting place, was a resounding success. Out of this conference grew one of the most important and well-known policies of the American Library Association: the Freedom to Read Statement.

The Freedom to Read Statement was created in a time when questions about censorship, morality, and free expression were at the forefront of people’s minds. Librarians, especially, were embroiled in a battle against would-be censors, who fought against Communists and the corruption of morals. Numerous cases were brought against public librarians in the early 1950s for failing to remove publications from the shelves deemed “inappropriate” by local and national interest groups.[1] The attacks didn’t end there, though—this was the era of McCarthyism. Many librarians lived in fear of losing their jobs or facing prosecution because of the contents of their libraries. Many chose to quietly remove contested publications from the shelves, such as Consumer Reports, The New Republic, and The Nation.[2] Other librarians, such as those involved in the creation of the Westchester Conference, were spurred to action. David Clift, executive secretary of the ALA, wrote to a librarian, “We can never give in on a little censorship on the prevailing idea that while a little censorship may be good a lot is bad. There should be no censorship of legally publishable materials at any time. There should be no censorship at any time, at any place, nor under any circumstances.”[3]

William Dix, chairman of the ALA Intellectual Freedom Committee, and Paul Bixler, secretary, together with input from David Clift were compelled to organize a formal response to the censorship movement. After The Boston Post called for the removal of Communist newspapers and publications from the Boston Public Library, there was a push for a purposeful discussion between library organizations, publishers, newspaper editors, lawyers, and other interested parties on the defense of intellectual freedom.[4] William Dix and Paul Bixler discussed in late 1952 the need for actions that would favorably influence public opinion and develop allies outside of the field of librarianship.[5] This idea developed into the Intellectual Freedom Committee planning for “a conference which might give some guidance to librarians in defending their basic principles and might indeed have some effect on public opinion.”[6]

Chaired by Luther Evans, Librarian of Congress, the conference took place at the Westchester Country Club in Rye, New York on May 2 and 3, 1953. The conference was funded by the Field Foundation. With guidance from a working paper prepared by Charles Bolte, executive secretary of the American Book Publishers Council, and members of the ALA Intellectual Freedom Committee, the conference gathered around four major objectives:

1. To define the rights and responsibilities of publishers and librarians in maintaining the freedom of Americans to read what they choose;
2. To assay recent developments tending to restrict this freedom;
3. To consider where lines should be drawn as between permissible and impermissible expression, and who is to draw the lines;
4. To ascertain the public interest in this area and, if the group agrees, consider ways of asserting it.[7]

The working paper listed recent pressures on the freedom to read, focusing around the areas of disloyalty and subversion, and obscenity and pornography. Ultimately, discussion on these topics led to the creation of the Freedom to Read Statement upon the conclusion of the conference. The Statement was approved and signed by a number of organizations, including the American Library Association in June 1953, and gained national attention and broad support. Some felt there was more work to do, including Paul Bixler, who noted that “something deeper is at stake than censorship alone,” and that “if we don’t do better at it (communism is only a focus) in the next twenty years than we have in the past twenty, 1984 will be here before 1973.”[8] The Intellectual Freedom Committee continued this work, facing nation-wide issues such as those spurred by McCarthyism, the Gathings Committee (House Select Committee on Current Pornographic Materials) and the Cox Committee (House Select Committee to Investigate Tax-Exempt Foundations and Comparable Organizations).

Around the same time as the publication of the Freedom to Read Statement, President Dwight D. Eisenhower gave a serendipitous address at the Dartmouth College Commencement. He said: “Don’t join the book burners. Don’t think you’re going to conceal faults by concealing evidence that they ever existed. Don’t be afraid to go in your library and read every book.”[9]

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[1] Working Paper from the ALA/ABPC Conference on the Freedom to Read, April 23, 1953, Organization Reports File, 1911-74, Record Series 18/1/26, Box 3, Folder: Committees-Intellectual Freedom, American Library Association Archives at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

[2] Working Paper.

[3] David H. Clift to M. M. Harris, May 22, 1953, Correspondence, 1947-60, Record Series 69/1/5, Box 1, Folder: Clift, David, 1952-54, American Library Association Archives at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

[4] Minutes of Joint Meeting of the ALA Committee on Relations with Publishers and ABPC Committee on Reading Development, November 3, 1952, Correspondence, 1947-60, Record Series 69/1/5, Box 1, Folder: Clift, David, 1952-54, American Library Association Archives at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

[5] William S. Dix to Paul Bixler, December 3, 1952, Correspondence, 1947-60, Record Series 69/1/5, Box 4, Folder: Dix, William, 1952-55, American Library Association Archives at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

Paul Bixler to William Dix, December 12, 1952, Correspondence, 1947-60, Record Series 69/1/5, Box 4, Folder: Dix, William, 1952-55, American Library Association Archives at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

[6] “Report of the ALA Committee on Intellectual Freedom, 1952-1953,” Correspondence, 1947-60, Record Series 69/1/5, Box 4, Folder: Dix, William, 1952-55, American Library Association Archives at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

[7] Working Paper.

[8] Paul Bixler to David Clift, May 13, 1953, Correspondence, 1947-60, Record Series 69/1/5, Box 1, Folder: Clift, David, 1952-54, American Library Association Archives at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

[9] Dwight David Eisenhower, “Don’t join the book burners…” Remarks of the President of the United States at the Dartmouth College Commencement, Hanover, NH, June 14, 1953, retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/2020783987/.