"An Active Instrument for Propaganda": The American Public Library During World War I (Beta Phi Mu Monograph Series)

Wiegand details the socioeconomic characteristics of turn-of-the-century library professionals and their determination to address industrialization, urbanization, and immigration as these issues came within their sphere of influence. It is against this background that American public librarians and their institutions responded to the call for united action during World War I. An Active Instrument for Propaganda inaugurates the Beta Phi Mu monograph series that, in the tradition of the International Library Science Honor Society's Chapbooks, will add significantly to the scholarly literature of the library profession. Because wide coverage has been given to the wartime activities of hundreds of public libraries across the nation, many local public library collections will be enriched by this important volume.