From refuge to risk: public libraries and children in World War I.

ABSTRACT

During World War I public libraries in the United States functioned in multiple ways as civic spaces. This was particularly true of libraries in large, urban centers with diverse ethnic populations, many from countries involved in the conflict. For children, the library was a refuge that provided story hours, reading material, and space dedicated to their needs. Just before the end of the war, the influenza pandemic broke out and children were not allowed in the library building. In a few short months, the library went from being a refuge to being a health risk for children.

INTRODUCTION

In the early twentieth century public libraries in the United States functioned in multiple ways as civic spaces. In addition to furnishing reading and viewing material, libraries offered free meeting space for large and small groups, presented free public lectures, and provided reference and other kinds of assistance to patrons. During World War I, even before the United States formally entered the war, public libraries were a source of reading material for people wanting information about the conflict in Europe. This was particularly true of libraries in large, urban centers with diverse ethnic populations, many from countries involved in the war. Children, far from being unaware of current events, were just as concerned as their parents with the war and its effects on both Europe and the United States. Public libraries were a refuge that provided both information and a meeting space for children and adults alike, though the types of activities held in this public arena changed over the course of the war. (1) Before the war ended, however, a new threat emerged. The influenza pandemic of 1918 had a far more direct and devastating impact on public libraries when public spaces where people gathered in large numbers were declared a health risk. The St. Louis Public Library (SLPL) provides an example of one such urban library that served a diverse community and provided a variety of services to children and adults throughout the war, both before and after the United States entered the fight.

THE LIBRARY AS A CIVIC SPACE

On January 8, 1912, the St. Louis Public Library opened its new central library building. (2) The imposing edifice, designed by Cass Gilbert, was the culmination of a twelve-year-long project to construct new purpose-built library buildings throughout the city. The project was funded, in part, by Andrew Carnegie, who gave St. Louis $1,000,000 with the understanding that half that sum would go toward branch buildings and the other half to the central building. The Central Branch building was symbolic of the significance of the public library to the civic life of the city. The massive columns at the entrance to the library, the huge staircase leading up to the door, the names of important writers inscribed along the proscenium around the circumference of the building, the marble floors and columns inside the entryway, the elaborate lighting fixtures, and the high ceilings were all reminiscent of a cathedral. It was, as noted by architectural historian Abigail Van Slyke, part of a "City Beautiful cultural center built apart from the actual central commercial part of the city and reinforcing Victorian ideas of culture as its own special realm" (Van Slyke, 1995, p. 82). (3)

Prior to the construction of the Central Branch, six smaller, neighborhood library buildings had been built, scattered throughout the city. The first, Barr Branch, was opened in 1906, and the last, Divoll, opened in 1910. (4) The importance of these new branches was not only that they visually symbolized the commitment that St. Louis made to support a public library, but also that the buildings enabled St. Louis librarians to expand their work to reach a larger population by bringing the library closer to the neighborhoods where people resided instead of making people come to the library. In addition, each branch, including the large Central Branch, had a purpose-built children's room separated from the adult reading room. For the first time, the library had space dedicated solely to children. New space allowed the library to house collections specifically for children, and in turn this necessitated the presence in each branch of librarians dedicated to working with children. In 1906 the St. Louis Public Library hired, for the first time, librarians trained specifically to work with children.

By 1910, when Arthur Bostwick became head of the library, the six new buildings were open with only the Central Branch building remaining to be…