The Quiet Nature of His Service: Governor Dick Thornburgh and Pennsylvania Libraries

Many Pennsylvania librarians who are my-years old rightfully think of Tom Ridge as one of the most impactful advocates that we've ever had. During his 6 years as Governor of the Commonwealth, Ridge tripled the state's aid to public libraries, supported further development of Access PA and the POWER Library, and developed a new program, "Link to Learn," which included libraries in a statewide effort to improve educational technology infrastructure and Internet access. For these and other reasons, Ridge was deemed "Politician of the Year" by Library Journal in 2001. 

However, as I was skimming 1980s issues of the Pennsylvania Library Association's Bulletin this week, I discovered another Pennsylvania governor who quietly supported libraries a lot more than many of his predecessors had:

Governor Richard Lewis "Dick" Thornburgh.

Dick Thornburgh, ca. 1988 (official Department of Justice portrait).
Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons, 
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Dick_Thornburgh.jpg. 

For various reasons, I wasn't expecting Thornburgh to be a library supporter. He was a Republican, and although he was a moderate, the national leader of his party at the time (U.S. President Ronald Reagan) advocated cuts to Library Services and Construction Act funding, which was the primary vehicle for funneling federal funds to public libraries. Also, when Thornburgh was elected in 1978, Pennsylvania's economy was grim. The demise of steel and other industries left the state with one of the highest unemployment rates in the country. Then, just 2 months into his first term, an accident at Three Mile Island nuclear power plant presented Thornburgh with an unprecedented environmental, health, and political crisis. After demonstrating extraordinary leadership with TMI, Thornburgh, who was known as "Mr. Fixit," focused on balanced budgets, debt reduction, tax-cutting, and reducing the size of state government, including the line-item for the State Library's library operations. When I did cursory searches of Pennsylvania newspapers, I found a lot of material on these topics, but very little about Thornburgh and libraries.  

Nevertheless, periodic blurbs in PaLA's Bulletin indicate that for 8 years, Thornburgh was a substantial *public* and *school* library proponent. In 1980, he appointed Elliot Shelkrot as State Librarian, filling a crucial position that had been vacant for two years. By all published accounts, this was a good choice, as Shelkrot was a Pennsylvania native who was Chief of Public Services at the Baltimore County (MD) Public Library -- a progressive system at the time. Thornburgh also supported legislation that modernized library funding mechanisms and operations. For example, in 1980, he supported Act 200, legislation that amended the Public Library Code by "lifting the cap" (eliminating statutory limits) on state funding -- thus making the law more responsive to inflation and enabling his administration (and future ones) to allocate more money to public libraries. For his contribution to this change, Pennsylvania Citizens for Better Libraries awarded him its "Citizen of the Year" prize in 1981. A strong relationship between Thornburgh and public libraries continued in subsequent years. Over time, Thornburgh signed Act 95 of 1982 (added library theft to the state criminal code); Act 96 of 1982 (defining county taxes for libraries); Act 105 of 1982 (enabled the State Library to support interlibrary cooperation and resource sharing); Act 90 of 1984 (eliminated the 3-mil limit on local funding for libraries and made library circulation records confidential); and Act 50 of 1985 (revised the equalization formula to distribute more funds to libraries in distressed communities).  

According to the Governor's Executive Budgets for 1981/1982-1990/1991, which provide the "actual" [final] figures for most of the years Thornburgh was in office, state aid to public libraries more than doubled during his terms:  

• 1978/1979: $9.879 million
• 1979/1980: [missing]
• 1980/1981: $10.835 million (9.68% increase over 2 years)
• 1981/1982: $14.097 million (30.11% increase)
• 1982/1983: $15.312 million (8.62% increase)
• 1983/1984: $17.361 million (13.38% increase)
• 1984/1985: $18.411 million (6.05% increase)
• 1985/1986: $19.953 million (8.38% increase)
• 1986/1987: [missing]
• 1987/1988: $20.475 million (2.62% increase over 2 years)
• 1988/1989: $21.5 million (5.01% increase)

Thornburgh also played an important role in the beginning of Access PA, which still exists as a statewide catalog of materials in public and school libraries. In 1981, he directed the State Library to identify goals that would "help all libraries provide more efficient services to their communities." In turn, Shelkrot brought together a Library Planning Council of nearly 100 representatives from business, education, libraries, and other domains. Their recommendations fed into a plan, promoted by Thornburgh, that included (among other things) borrowers' cards that could be used in any public library throughout the state; reimbursement for libraries that loaned materials outside their service areas; assistance in automating library catalogs; and a statewide database of public and school library materials (see Access Pennsylvania: An Agenda for Knowledge and Information through Libraries). In subsequent years, Thornburgh requested millions of dollars in additional state money for Access PA, and while the legislature did not provide full appropriations each year, partial funding helped some of the plan to be realized or piloted. While not part of the Access PA initiative, it's worth noting that Thornburgh also supported budget increases for Pennsylvania's Library for the Blind and the Physically Handicapped (now LAMP) and he advocated for adult literacy programs -- 2 things that also benefit public library users.

I still have a lot to learn about Thornburgh, especially since I haven't used his personal papers and government records that could reveal more about his motivations and how his administration interacted with Elliot Shelkrot, the State Library, and the Pennsylvania Library Association. I would love to know why he had such an interest in developing public and school libraries, especially given the economic challenges he encountered when he came to office. A quick skim of his 2003 autobiography, Where the Evidence Leads, indicates that he loved to read from an early age (the newspaper, Hardy Boys mystery series, LIFE Magazine, and biographies/history were his favorites). Perhaps, as a person who called himself "painstakingly methodical," he also recognized himself and his values in the people and efforts he observed in libraries. In accepting his 1981 Citizen of the Year award from PCBL, he stated:

"We all know that important services are sometimes neglected, and that libraries, perhaps because of the quiet nature of their service, are particularly vulnerable in this regard. Because of this vulnerability, I believe it is incumbent upon all of us in a position to help to be particularly sensitive to this 'quiet service' and the cultural imperative that it survive even the hardest of economic times." (quoted from "Libraries Have a Friend: Governor Dick Thornburgh," PLA Bulletin, November 1981, 6).

Although I'm not yet in a position to speak to (or critically analyze) everything Dick Thornburgh did for Pennsylvania's libraries, I feel that offering some acknowledgement of his contributions is a matter of simple justice. He noticed and advocated for libraries' "quiet service," so we should recognize his. 

For more about Dick Thornburgh see:

• "Budget Boost for Libraries is Proposed," PLA Bulletin, March 1985, 1. 
• Burris, Keith C., "The Thornburgh Model." Post-Gazette (Pittsburgh, PA), January 7, 2021, A11. 
• Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Department of Education, Bureau of the State Library, Access Pennsylvania: An Agenda for Knowledge and Information through Libraries (Harrisburg, PA: The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, 1984). 
• Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Governor's Executive Budget (Harrisburg, PA: Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, 1981/1982-1990/1991). Pennsylvania Office of the Budget, https://www.pa.gov/agencies/budget/publications-and-reports/commonwealth-budget.
• Estrada, Louie, "Richard Thornburgh, Former Pennsylvania Governor and U.S. Attorney General, dies at 88." Post (Washington, D.C.), December 31, 2020. Washington Post, https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/dick-thornburgh-dead/2020/12/31/b876404c-4b9d-11eb-a9f4-0e668b9772ba_story.html.
• Fuller, Peter, "The Politics of LSCA during the Reagan and Bush Administrations: An Analysis," The Library Quarterly: Information, Community, Policy, 64, no. 3 (July 1994), 294-318. JSTOR, https://www.jstor.org/stable/4308946.
• "General Budget Bill Signed by Thornburgh," PLA Bulletin, July 1983, 1.
• "Libraries Have a Friend: Governor Dick Thornburgh," PLA Bulletin, November 1981, 1
• McFadden, Robert D. "Richard Thornburgh, 88, Governor Who Kept Cool at Reactor Meltdown, Dies." Times (New York, NY), January 1, 2021, B11. New York Times, https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/31/us/politics/richard-thornburgh-dead.html. 
• "Gov. Thornburgh Announces LSCA Title II Grants," PLA Bulletin, November 1983, 7.  
• Nyren, "Access Pennsylvania Spearheaded by Governor," Library Journal, January 1985, 18.
• "Penn. State Aid Increases; Library Access Not Funded," School Library Journal, December 1985, 12.
• "Shelkrot Appointed State Librarian," PLA Bulletin, February 1980, 1.
• State Library of Pennsylvania, "Information and Knowledge for All Pennsylvanians: Library Advances During the Thornburgh Administration" [typescript]. Available in State Library of Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania Documents, PE 136.2 I43a.
• Thompson, Charles, "Former Pa. Gov. Dick Thornburgh Remembered as a Leader Who Was Right for His Time," Patriot-News (Harrisburg, PA), December 31, 2020. PennLive, https://www.pennlive.com/news/2020/12/former-gov-dick-thornburgh-remembered-around-harrisburg-and-throughout-pennsylvania-as-a-governor-who-was-right-for-his-time.html. 
• "Thornburgh: Servant-Leader." Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, January 9, 2021, WB-2.
• Thornburgh, Dick, Where the Evidence Leads: An Autobiography, Revised and Updated (Pittsburgh, PA: University of Pittsburgh Press, 2003).
• Wallace, Andy, and Angela Couloumbis, "From Governor to Head of Justice: Turbulent Time as AG Followed Effective Years in Pa.; Richard Thornburgh: 1932-2020," Inquirer (Philadelphia, PA): January 1, 2021, A1. Philadelphia Inquirer, https://www.inquirer.com/news/dick-thornburgh-dies-pennsylvania-governor-attorney-general-20201231.html.

"Learning is for Everyone": Altoona's Library Service for People with Disabilities

This month, when I was doing a site visit at the Altoona Area Public Library (AAPL), I began my research with 10 boxes of material that had been pulled together into a Library Records Collection. Near the end of my first day, I was weary from reading a decade's worth of trustees meeting minutes. But I wanted to continue working if I could stand it, so I opened a box of scrapbooks. On top was a brown, string-bound volume with an intriguing title: "Our L.I.F.E. History." After flipping through the first few pages, I realized I'd found a treasure-trove of pamphlets and news stories pertaining to an innovative outreach program for people with disabilities. I was so engrossed that I remained in the library until closing time!

Scrapbook of Altoona Area Public Library's
L.I.F.E. program Photo by the author.

Among various social movements that took place in Pennsylvania during the 1960s-1970s, it could be argued that one of the greatest revolutions took place in the area of disability rights. First, the U.S. government began to require that facilities and programs receiving federal funds be accessible (see the 1968 Architectural Barriers Act and the 1973 Rehabilitation Act). About the same time, changes began in the educational realm, starting at the state level where the primary responsibility for schooling resides. Ever since 1874, Pennsylvania'S Constitution had required our state legislature to maintain a "thorough and efficient system of public schools" for all children aged 6 and over. However, this didn't necessarily include kids with disabilities. Those who were deemed "uneducable and untrainable" could be shunted toward state hospitals and other institutions that were focused more on controlling them than helping them. In 1971, several families took their school districts and other agencies to court (see PARC v. Commonwealth). Ultimately, they obtained a consent decree which required the state's education system to evaluate children with disabilities and place them in publicly-funded educational settings. Another important case, Halderman v. Pennhurst, challenged cruel conditions at a Pennsylvania state hospital. The plaintiffs successfully argued that confining residents there had violated their constitutional rights. These and other landmark decisions helped set the stage for additional federal actions. In 1975, for example, the U.S. Congress passed the Education for All Handicapped Children (EAHCA) Act (later called IDEA) that required all states to provide free, appropriate education in the "least restrictive environment" for every student. IDEA was one of various national laws that opened up schools, public facilities, job opportunities, and more for people with disabilities.

Unsurprisingly, public libraries that received federal funds or were closely allied with school systems sought to improve their services for blind, deaf, and other people with disabilities. However, AAPL was early among them. At the time, Altoona had a significant population because Blair County was home to Hollidaysburg State Hospital and residents were being integrated into surrounding communities. An estimated 3,000 people in the area had intellectual disabilities (see Forer and Zajac, pg. 6); additional youths and adults had other special needs. 

At present, I am not sure who originated the idea for AAPL's L.I.F.E. Center, but the earliest mention I have found so far is in the December 1974 meeting minutes of the library's board of trustees. They note that Matthew Kane, a recently-hired Head of Reference, informed the trustees that he planned to pursue a Library Services and Construction Act (federal) grant to fund a specialist to focus on serving patrons with disabilities. At first, some board members felt this was "unnecessary" because "other organizations are trained for handling services to the retarded." Kane pushed back, however, apparently arguing that there were informational gaps that the library could and should fill. A few months later, AAPL won a 1-year grant that covered a full-time coordinator, a part-time clerical assistant, and collection enhancements for the coming year.

At the time, people with intellectual disabilities were often called "mentally retarded," and words like "handicapped" and "impaired" were used to describe people with other disabilities. These terms, which we now understand as demeaning, appear often in AAPL's historical documents. However, L.I.F.E.'s operating philosophy revolved around "mainstreaming," an effort to *include* people with disabilities. At first, L.I.F.E. was an acronym for "Libraries Initiative Freeing Experiences"; over time, the mantra became "Learning is for Everyone." In addition to the typical literacy and recreational opportunities that libraries offered, L.I.F.E. intended help its clientele become better integrated across all aspects of everyday life in Altoona and Blair County. As described verbatim in a booklet written in the late 1970s by L.I.F.E's coordinators, their goals included: 

1. "Serve mentally retarded [sic] persons of all ages and abilities by providing a collection of multi-media materials which they can borrow and that are best that are suited to their special needs; providing appropriate programs in which they can participate and find enjoyment;  and providing situations in which they can interact comfortably with other regular patrons.
2. Serve parents, teachers, and advocates of retarded [sic] citizens by providing a multi-media collection on all aspects of mental retardation; providing a parent resource collection of instructional materials materials which which will help them them teach specific skills and concepts at home to their retarded children; providing an information-referral service; and providing programs in cooperation with the local chapter of the Pennsylvania Association Retarded Citizens to help parents of retarded children with their many special needs.
3. Serve the general public by providing access to information on all aspects of mental retardation [sic] including career opportunities in this field; and providing a forum in which normal children and adults interact with the retarded, and through which their attitudes and misconceptions will hopefully be changed."

From September 1975 through the Spring of 1976, Anne-Marie Lehner (later Forer) was L.I.F.E.'s coordinator. A special education teacher who was pursuing a library science degree at Drexel, she first focused on preparing a space and acquiring appropriate materials. In particular, she purchased what were then called "high-low" (high-interest, low vocabulary) books developed for adults with emerging or limited reading skills. She also obtained parent training materials, as well as films, puzzles, toys, games, and posters that could be enjoyed by young children with intellectual and developmental disabilities. When selecting them, she focused on simplicity of format, clear and uncomplicated directions, durability, and other qualities needed for shared public use. In addition to checking recommendation lists that were available at the time, Forer and her successor Mary Zajac visited other libraries and talked extensively with local organizations and parents about their needs.  

Altoona's L.I.F.E. Center officially opened on November 18, 1975. Initially staffed on weekday afternoons, incoming donations and volunteers later enabled it to extend its hours to include Monday nights and Saturday afternoons as well. An article in the Blair Press provides the most detailed documentation of what the center looked like during its first year. As shown in the image below, the center was located on the library's ground floor, adjacent to the Children's Department. Measuring about 13 by 30 feet, it was the size of a "large living room" and was carpeted like one. In addition to book shelves, cubbyholes at one corner housed kits and toys. There were also a large playhouse and multimedia stations. As reported by Matthew Kane at monthly AAPL's board meetings, L.I.F.E.'s users steadily increased: during the first month, it offered 2 dozen public programs which attracted more than 200 participants, more than 50 of whom registered for library cards. Special education classes from McKinley School, and groups from the Altoona's Children's Center, Easter Seals, and Social Rehabilitation Center, visited as well.

A full-page article about L.I.F.E. in the Blair Press, June 2, 1976. From the Our L.I.F.E. History Scrapbook, Altoona Area Public Library, Library Records Collection.

When Lehner (Forer) resigned to focus on her studies in Philadelphia, the project was taken up by Mary Zajac, another special education teacher who worked with teens at McKinley. Joining the effort near the end of a 1-year grant, it seems that Zajac was more focused on delivering public programs and securing additional funds so that L.I.F.E.'s work could continue. A series of "Parent Training Workshops" focused on different-aged people during each session, starting with preschool children. Each week for six weeks, language development, behavior management, self-help skills, and other topics were presented along with resources to help caregivers learn more. Free sign language courses, taught by volunteer Reverend Jack Emswiler, pastor of the Christ Second Lutheran Church, were offered as well. On the fun side, a series on Harry the Dirty Dog not only included read-alouds, but also a multisensory opportunity to meet Harry himself. There were also "Learn a Hobby" craft activities where attendees could try rock painting, stitching, and woodworking. The creativity of staff and volunteers was impressive. For example, one promotion they developed was the "Lifesavers Club" -- by obtaining a borrower's card and borrowing 10 items from the center, a L.I.F.E. user could receive a roll of Lifesavers candies or a Lifesavers lollipop. 

L.I.F.E. public programs in August 1976, as listed in AAPL's newsletter. 
From the Our L.I.F.E. History Scrapbook,
Altoona Area Public Library, Library Records Collection.

Public appreciation for L.I.F.E. resulted in some important donations and publicity. One of L.I.F.E.'s most important collaborators was the Pennsylvania Association for Retarded Citizens (PARC, now the ARC of Pennsylvania) which provided a $100-per-week stipend (about $600 in 2026 dollars) for a clerical worker who helped with basic public services and collection upkeep. The Altoona School of Commerce's Student Council also contributed, providing a $500 gift (about $2,800 in 2026 dollars). Due to the pathbreaking nature of L.I.F.E.'s work, Zajac was invited to speak at library conferences and other events. Perhaps for that reason, she teamed up with Anne-Marie Forer to author Library Services to the Mentally Retarded [sic]. Published by AAPL and the State Library of Pennsylvania in the late 1970s, the booklet included a description of L.I.F.E. and offered practical tips on collections and programs for people with intellectual disabilities. Aware that Altoona's program represented a "maximum effort" that most public libraries couldn't afford, Forer and Zajac recommended reaching out to local service organizations to learn about the size and needs of one's local population, then picking one age group or demographic to start with. Including children with disabilities in the library's regular story times, and reaching out to special education teachers as well as elementary teachers, were the most basic ways of including everyone. Self-education about current terminology, legislation, and resources was also important, they advised. These and other recommendations were so valuable that Forer and Zajac's booklet was forwarded to the U.S. Department of Education and distributed to hundreds of libraries nationwide through the ERIC microfiche service (see ED 165728). 

Mary Zajac (third from the left) was the 2nd Director of L.I.F.E. Here, she receives a donation from Tyke Rhodes (far right) and other members of the Altoona School of Commerce's Student Council. From the Our L.I.F.E. History Scrapbook, Altoona Area Public Library, Library Records Collection.

Unfortunately, despite L.I.F.E.'s successes and connections, AAPL encountered difficulty sustaining the center after the LSCA grant terminated. In 1976, the Altoona Area School District cut the library's budget, causing a cascade of problems that nearly resulted in AAPL losing its state aid. As the library sorted out its financial woes, Zajac applied for another grant which was initially approved by the State Library (the administrator of Pennsylvania's LSCA programs) and would have supported the center through June 1978. However, SLP pulled back the funds because of AAPL's ongoing budget deficits. Overtures to Intermediate Unit 08 (responsible for special education in Blair, Bedford, Cambria, and Somerset Counties), PARC, and other regional organizations were unsuccessful. Thus grant-funded staff were released in June 1977. In 1979, a new grant enabled AAPL to hire a temporary Director of Special Services, Elaine Hilsinger, to oversee L.I.F.E. and other efforts the library was making to reach blind, deaf, and homebound customers. However, when funding ceased in June 1980, she was laid off  as well. In between grants, Matthew Kane and other AAPL staff kept the center running using college students from various workforce development programs. He also recruited volunteers, especially through Altoona's Retired Senior Volunteering Service. However, L.I.F.E. never resumed the busy schedule of class visits and public programs that had been achieved during its first year. Judging from board minutes, it appears that as time passed, Kane's attention was redirected toward implementing and upgrading information technologies in other areas of the library. In Fall 1988, all L.I.F.E.'s books and audiovisual items were moved to other parts of the library and it became simply a "special area" within the children's department. 

In reflecting on L.I.F.E.'s promising start and its unfortunate demise -- a story that I've seen paralleled many times within other libraries trying to reach historically marginalized populations -- I see a wider concern that I want to explore and think about further. While these stories are fascinating and inspiring, I have to admit that from where I currently sit, the notion that temporary federal and state funds can "stimulate" ongoing local and private investment in public libraries simply doesn't pan out in a lot of cases. At all 6 of the libraries I've researched for my current project, most grant-funded service initiatives for non-white, aged, disabled, and other underserved customers disappeared after a few years. Importantly, as was the case in Altoona, this was not because of a lack of trying on the libraries' parts. And yet, a lot of library funding mechanisms, as created by national and state government officials, are steeped in this probably-fallacious idea. Further, because of the wonderful things that libraries can accomplish *when funded to do so*, professional and public expectations have increased, when, truthfully, the resources necessary to realize those hopes only materialize for those institutions that have the ability and energy to dollar-chase year after year. When other prerogatives arise -- such as the opportunity/need to automate library operations arose in Altoona (and everywhere else) during the 1980s/1990s -- fundraising for specialized services can fall to the wayside. Perhaps some librarians and their customers are consoled by the thought that something for a little while is better than nothing at all, ever. But this consolation may be a distinction without a difference if people with disabilities, or other historically-ignored groups in our communities, are left to go without far more often than they are served. If funders really want everyone to be welcome in libraries, they've got to put more permanent moneys where their mouths are. 

For more about AAPL's L.I.F.E. program, see:

• Altoona Area Public Library, Administrative Office Files, folder "L.I.F.E."
• Altoona Area Public Library, Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes, September 24, 1975, January 28, 1976, March 24, 1976, May 26, 1976, December 22, 1976, January 26, 1977, March 2, 1977, March 30, 1977, April 27, 1977, May 25, 1977, June 29, 1977, July 27, 1977, November 16, 1977, October 31, 1979, June 25, 1980, and October 26, 1988. Print copies available within  AAPL Special Collections, Collection #004, Library Records.
• Forer, Anne-Marie, and Mary Zajac. Library Services to the Mentally Retarded [booklet] (Altoona, PA: Altoona Area Public Library, n.d). 
• "LIFE Program Gets $35,804 for Year's Operation," Mirror (Altoona, PA), December 3, 1976, 3. NewspaperArchive, https://newspaperarchive-com.ezaccess.libraries.psu.edu/us/pennsylvania/altoona/altoona-mirror/1976/12-23/Page-3.
• "Media Center Has Services for the Handicapped," Mirror (Altoona, PA), April 8, 1977, 21. NewspaperArchive, https://newspaperarchive-com.ezaccess.libraries.psu.edu/us/pennsylvania/altoona/altoona-mirror/1977/04-08/Page-21.
• O'Brien, Sue. "Altoona LIFE Center Offers Course in Sign Language, Tribune-Democrat (Johnstown, PA), June 12, 1977. Print copy in Altoona Area Public Library Special Collections, Collection #004, Library Records, Box 4. 
• "Publications Boost Library," Mirror (Altoona, PA), May 1, 1979, 23. NewspaperArchive, https://newspaperarchive-com.ezaccess.libraries.psu.edu/us/pennsylvania/altoona/altoona-mirror/1979/05-01/Page-13.
• Stephens, Kay, "Library Showcases New Services for Area Handicapped," Mirror (Altoona, PA), October 3, 1979, 39. Newspapers.com, https://www.newspapers.com/image/20047485/. 
• Zajac, Mary, "Learning is for Everyone," RQ 18, no 3 (Spring 1979), 248-250. JSTOR, https://www.jstor.org/stable/25826180. 

"A Vote of Confidence": Altoona's 1982 Library Telethon

When I was growing up, one of my family's end-of-summer rituals was to watch the MDA telethon, a fundraiser hosted every Labor Day weekend by comedian Jerry Lewis. Because of Lewis's deep and wide connections within the entertainment industry, each MDA telethon featured live performances by several generations of talent. So, over the course of 2 days, my grandparents could toe-tap to Frank Sinatra, my Mom and Dad could boogie to the Bee Gees, and I could enjoy En Vogue. Lewis's hilarious "schticks" and his explosive joy when the tote board revealed how much money he'd raised also made the MDA telethons memorable TV moments.

Jerry Lewis's fundraisers are only the best-known of many charitable telethons that took place across the United States from the 1950s through the 1990s. Recently, I uncovered an award-winning library example when I was researching the history of the Altoona Area Public Library. Designated as a "provisional" District Library Center in the early 1960s, AAPL faced daunting challenges in meeting the state's requirements. In addition to achieving basic standards for state aid to municipal libraries, as a DLC, it received extra funds to provide enhanced services to public libraries and library patrons within Blair, Huntingdon, and Bedford Counties (and it complied with the many strings attached to that money. Largely because of the state's demands, it built and moved into a new building in the late 1960s. AAPL also did the legwork necessary to obtain substantial appropriations from the Altoona Area School District and Blair County Commissioners. The library proved adept at pursuing grants, tapping workforce development programs, and utilizing volunteers. Its Friends of the Library group generated thousands of dollars annually, especially through used book sales. The library also organized or benefitted from a wide variety of one-off fundraisers, including a car wash, a softball tournament, donation cans at IGA and Sheetz, and a cut from every sale of a Big Mac on a designated "Library Day" at McDonalds.

Nevertheless, during the 1970s and 1980s, a perfect storm of declining populations in Altoona and Blair County, added to soaring expenses, produced financial crises. Not only did fewer residents mean less local tax revenue, but state and county funding formulas that were based on population meant less money distributed to AAPL. In particular, rising labor costs and the astronomical expense of emerging technologies outpaced government appropriations. Even after cutting staff and collections budgets to the bone, AAPL typically started its financial years with "deficit" budgets tens of thousands of dollars in the red. In the months that followed, trustees, employees, and advocates hustled to obtain sufficient income for the library  or else it could face layoffs and closures come summertime. 

In April 1982, AAPL was nearing the end of its fiscal year and it was still more than $22,000 the hole. In the past, trustees and staff typically met this type of shortfall through cutting the library's opening hours and through salary savings from vacant positions, but further cuts would mean the it may not meet standards and could lose its state aid. Fortunately, a local DJ named Steve Austin (the on-air name used by Greg Banks) approached the head of AAPL's Media Center, Maxine Rhodes, with the idea of raising funds through a telethon. While such an undertaking couldn't be arranged in time to address the library's year-end difficulties, everyone recognized that it could help them avoid a future one. In late July, AAPL Director Patricia Connell met with Austin and Dolly Ickes, Manager of Warner Cable; efforts proceeded from there. Austin rounded up music entertainers, Garry Delph served as producer, and Dee Riley, who produced the Miss Pennsylvania Show, developed a fast-moving program schedule. Also behind the scenes were Dick Hall of Morgan Signs, who coordinated advance publicity and got every radio and TV station in the area to steer viewers to Channel 13, which would televise the event. Hall also designed and constructed the studio set. Marge Helsel, publisher of the Altoona Mirror, wrote a supportive editorial and the paper's reporters covered fresh developments. Ken Brubaker, who had recently retired from Warner, assisted with technical aspects. Everyone gave freely of their talents and resources -- the only costs were about $100 for a newspaper ad and $6 for a post office box. Although the group set an ambitious goal of $33,000 (about $112,000 in 2026 dollars), no one could predict how successful they would be. The telethon was said to be Altoona's first-ever.

On November 20th, 1982, from 1:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m., host John "Big John" Riley of WTAJ-TV introduced performers and speakers. The telethon's programming consisted of PSAs about the library, interspersed with interviews with Altoona personalities and various types of entertainment. A second-by-second script, still available in AAPL's administrative office files, shows that 1-minute spots showcased the library's reference services, toddler story hour, periodicals collection, media center, art exhibits, meeting spaces, and "odd services." There were also promos for the Friends' book sale and the library's newspaper recycling drive (another ongoing fundraiser). There were performances by the Altoona High School Band, Keith Junior High School Band, the Altoona Symphony, the Deborah Anthony Dancers, the Keystone Chorale (now Blair Concert Chorale), the Spoon River Band, the Suzuki Violin Group, and the Sweet Adelines (now the Altoona Chorus). Other performers taking the stage included Skip Sigel (a dancer) and Todd Sparks (a vocalist). News reports mention gymnasts, magicians, a puppet show -- even Ronald McDonald showed up! Teams of volunteers from the AMBUCS, Chamber of Commerce, Jaycees, Junior Women's Club, Kiwanis, Lions, Quota Club, Rotary, and other service groups, all coordinated by Rick Beiswenger, staffed the phone lines. Concurrent with the telethon at the Penn Alto Hotel, there was a collection booth at the Logan Valley Mall and community members soliciting donations from door-to-door. 

The set of AAPL's November 20, 1982 telethon.
Photo published in the Altoona Mirror, November 22, 1982. 

By any standard, AAPL's telethon was a great success. More than 900 people made donations ranging from 50 cents to $1,000. In all, their generosity amounted to $28,500, eliminating the library's budget deficit for that year. What's more, Altoona gained state and national recognition. In 1983, the American Library Association and reference book publisher Gale Research teamed up to establish a new Financial Development Award to recognize innovative library fundraising efforts. Winning the award resulted an additional $2,500 for AAPL and kudos in a book that ALA published to spread the word about the successful library fundraisers.

AAPL's 1982 telethon is a wonderful example of a community coming together at a crucial moment of need. As the trustees noted in their December 8, 1982 meeting, it was a "vote of confidence" in director Patricia Connell and the library. 

For more information see:

• Altoona Area Public Library, Administrative Office Files, folder "Telethon."
• Altoona Area Public Library Board of Trustees, Meeting Minutes [typescript], April 28, 1982, July 28, 1982, September 22, 1982, October 27, 1982, and December 8, 1982. Print copies available within  AAPL Special Collections, Collection #004, Library Records.
• "Altoona Public Library Wins First Gale Research Financial Development Award," Pennsylvania Library Association Bulletin, August 1983, 5. 
• Helsel, Marge, "Telethon to Benefit Library," Mirror (Altoona, PA), November 17, 1982, 6. NewspaperArchive, https://newspaperarchive-com.ezaccess.libraries.psu.edu/altoona-mirror-nov-17-1982-p-6/.
• "Library Telethon Nets Goal," Mirror (Altoona, PA), November 22, 1982, 93. NewspaperArchive, https://newspaperarchive-com.ezaccess.libraries.psu.edu/altoona-mirror-nov-22-1982-p-93/.
• "Library Telethon to Air Today," Mirror (Altoona, PA), November 20, 1982, 14. NewspaperArchive, https://access.newspaperarchive.com/altoona-mirror/1982-11-20/page-14/.
• "Lineup Scheduled for Telethon," Mirror (Altoona, PA), November 17, 1982, 49. NewspaperArchive, https://newspaperarchive-com.ezaccess.libraries.psu.edu/altoona-mirror-nov-17-1982-p-49/. 
• Powers, Erin, and Patricia Shirley, A Book Walk: The History of the Altoona Area Public Library (Altoona, PA: The Library, 2006). Altoona Area Public Library, https://altoonalibrary.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Library-history-book.pdf. 
• Stephens, Kay, "Library Considering Telethon Fundraiser," Mirror (Altoona, PA), July 29, 1982, 13. NewspaperArchive, https://access.newspaperarchive.com/altoona-mirror/1982-07-29/page-13/.
• "Warner Cable Sponsors Telethon for Library," Mirror (Altoona, PA), September 9, 1982, 9. Newspapers.com, https://www.newspapers.com/image/20102995/. 
• "Winner: Altoona Area Public Library," in Success Stories: How 15 Libraries Raised Funds and Public Awareness (Chicago, IL: American Library Association, 1983), 13-14. 

"A Court Encounter": Librarian Janis M. Lee, A Mass Murder, and Defending the Privacy of Library Records

On a Wednesday afternoon in 1985, just before Halloween, a young woman named Sylvia Seegrist strode into a Southeastern Pennsylvania mall. Using a semi-automatic rifle, she fired repeatedly at random people before she was subdued by John Laufer III, a shopper who found himself in her crosshairs. According to an November 3, 1985 article in the Philadelphia Inquirer, he initially believed that the incident was some kind of prank, but thankfully, he didn't take chances. He took the gun away from her, sat her down inside a shoe store, and kept her at bay until a mall security guard handcuffed her. Anyone who was still at the Springfield Mall in the moments that followed owes Laufer a debt of gratitude, because while Seegrist had already killed 3 people, wounded 7 others, and traumatized countless dozens, she could have harmed even more. 

Although authors and documentarians tend to focus on other aspects of the story, this week I learned that this case has a place within Pennsylvania library history, as an early, high-profile test of Pennsylvania Act 90 (1984). As it turned out, Seegrist was a frequent user of Swarthmore Public Library in the months leading up to the shooting. In fact, she had visited SPL less than 2 hours before she headed to the mall and unreturned books were still outstanding on her account as police were investigating her crimes. Recently signed into law by then-Governor Dick Thornburgh, Act 90 was a revision to the state code, asserting that circulation records containing personally identifiable information are confidential, and cannot be shared unless ordered by a court for a criminal proceeding. So, as Seegrist was brought to justice, the library and law enforcement had significant new terrain to navigate. 

The library connection is the focus of a series of articles published in the Pennsylvania Library Association's Bulletin, where I found out about it this week. At PaLA's 1987 Annual Conference, SPL Director Janis M. Lee and Swarthmore Borough Attorney G. Guy Smith delivered a panel discussion that the Bulletin editor described as "the best program any of us had witnessed anywhere." Lee's and Smith's commentary was so timely, important, and compelling that it was printed serially across three issues (February, March, and April 1988). It was also picked up by the June 1988 edition of American Libraries. 

Reflecting on my many years in libraries, I am inspired by the mix of personal empathy and professional resolve Lee seemed to show in situations that would be profoundly stressful, even for the most seasoned and cool-headed among us. Swarthmore is a small community -- about 6,000 residents -- thus within the borough Lee had connections to one of the victims and knew others who were close to the tragedy. Beside the fact that Seegrist was a patron in her library, Lee had been a patient of one of the people (a doctor) who was killed. She knew others who were shopping at Springfield Mall and had fled for their lives when the shooting took place. Her husband, a police officer, provided crowd-control at the scene during the aftermath. 

As I read Lee's account, the pressure that she felt was still palpable more than 30 years after the fact. For months, she fielded questions from criminal investigators, the District Attorney's office, and Seegrist's defense team. Because Act 90 was so new, they weren't aware of it, and, caught by surprise, their reactions ranged from disbelief to hostility. They treated Lee with "disdain and even animosity," as though she was an "obstacle" and the privacy law was an "inconvenience." Journalists who should have understood a thing or two about confidentiality turned out to be "relentless" in their pursuit of information about reading materials that might have reflected the shooter's thoughts or influenced her actions. In fact, one reporter from the Inquirer was so aggressive, buttonholing staff in search of answers that Lee wouldn't provide, that Lee sent a written complaint to the paper. She understood that Seegrist's behavior and the items she borrowed weren't just matters of curiosity -- weighed as evidence, such details could help the court determine Seegrist's guilt or innocence. Careful about unfairly giving either side the advantage it was looking for, Lee continued to educate them about library regulations.

In early November 1985, Lee wrote a memo to her staff, reminding them to read procedural information that she had posted inside a cabinet door at the circulation desk. What's more, she demonstrated significant ethical leadership as she explained the importance of implementing Act 90. Among other things, she wrote:

Above all, the law protects the patron's right to read whatever he or she chooses and to have those choices kept totally confidential ... This can be as serious as the case of Miss Seegrist or the most innocent of situations such as who has the latest James Michener bestseller ... Act 1984-90 protects all patrons of the library, and it is our responsibility as agents of the library to do everything in our power to uphold the law and support the civil rights of those we serve. That includes a child reading about birth control, a parent researching child abuse or divorce, or a mentally disturbed person reading about crime and violence! In spite of a Philadelphia Inquirer reporter's opinion to the contrary, all are guaranteed protection whether they quote-deserve it-unquote or not. (Janis M. Lee, "A Court Encounter," PLA Bulletin, January/February 1988)

When a court order finally came in February 1986, it clarified some matters, but this wasn't the end of Lee's ordeal. Her description of testifying in court is vivid and thought-provoking. Speaking overall about her encounters with lawyers, she warned that they "hammer at you until you are confused. They try as hard as they can to get you to say things you don't want to say. They ask you questions rapidly, one after another, hoping you won't have time to think and will blurt out just what they're looking for." After months of dealing with them, Lee had believed that she was well-prepared for Seegrist's trial, but then, while she was waiting to take the stand, she encountered 2 child witnesses who bore scars from being shot. Heartwrenchingly, the kids asked to see her wounds and showed her theirs. It was also hard for Lee to look Seegrist in the eye, despite the difficult library patron she had been and the heinous deeds she'd committed. Lee felt as if she was "betraying [Seegrist's] right to privacy in spite of all [she] had been through to protect it." Although Act 90 provided clear direction on how to handle questions about the library materials, other questions, such as Seegrist's general demeanor or the reference questions she'd asked, weren't covered by Pennsylvania's law. At the end of her day in court, Lee couldn't unsee the little girls' "big, sad eyes" or the bullet wounds on their bodies. And yet, she also felt like a "traitor" for sharing information about Seegrist, however truthful or legally-admissible it was. 

At this stage of my research, I can't say how much space I will give this story when I eventually start to write about Pennsylvania libraries during the 1950s-2000s. If I do include it in a journal article or a book, I'd want to do more digging first to ensure I've included perspectives other than Lee's, verify and update what I've learned, and find out how much the Seegrist case influenced library practice in the 1990s and beyond. But even if this episode ends up on the cutting floor, it's something that I will carry with me into my professional practice. Up until now, the topic of confidentiality in libraries has been  something (too) straightforward and impersonal in my mind -- something I learned about in graduate school, a test question I knew the "correct" answer for, but something that I had never really grappled with or felt my way through. Having read Lee's "A Court Encounter" series in PaLA Bulletin, I am much more aware, if not prepared, for the social and psychological strain that a confidentiality case can cause. That's just as important as knowing the rule of law and professional codes of ethics. Trying to serve everyone equitably within our communities, librarians stand in between offenders and victims, feeling for both sides even in circumstances where we cannot officially take the side of either. 

Speaking about the Seegrist case two years after the shooting, Lee expressed gratitude for Act 90, her professional involvement in PaLA that had made her aware of it, a board of trustees that supported her efforts to uphold the law, and a city solicitor who provided useful advice when she needed it. But I am thankful for her, for sharing her story in the Bulletin. She provided me with a real-life model of how to respond if this type of violence happens in my town and the police and press come knocking at my door. Janis M. Lee passed away in 2023, but wherever she is, I hope she can sense my appreciation for what she did.

 

A 40-Year Commitment to Seniors: Cumberland County's STAR Program

As a full-time librarian and housewife, I rarely find the energy to volunteer within my community. But over the years, when I come across a once-and-done opportunity, I especially enjoy helping senior citizens. One of my favorite organizations is Love for Our Elders, which combats social isolation by enabling people to write encouraging letters to senior citizens who sign up to receive them. Through LfOE, I've connected with people from all over the U.S. and all walks of life. The joy that short, upbeat notes can bring to others is a testament to the power of the written word.

This week while I was conducting research at the Cumberland County Library System, I learned about STAR, an outreach program that is another great example of how reading can help older people thrive. Instead of letters through the mail, STAR provides library materials, via "mini-libraries" of large print books installed in nursing homes, assisted living facilities, elder apartment complexes, and other sites. STAR also hand-delivers items to seniors who are homebound. 

In 1987, when CCLS established STAR, such efforts weren't new. Large public libraries in Boston, Cleveland, and New York had been serving senior citizens for decades. However, President Lyndon B. Johnson's War on Poverty (mid-late 1960s) and the 1961 and 1971 White House Conferences on Aging helped to revive librarians' interest in elderly customers. When the National Commission on Library and Information Service (the forerunner to today's IMLS) was established in 1970, services to aging Americans was one of its areas of focus. Through NCLIS's advocacy, the Older Americans Act was broadened to enable libraries to contract with local agencies to provide resources to seniors. 

Pennsylvania's population of senior citizens grew rapidly in the 1960s-1980s, so they were a concern at the state level, too. The Pennsylvania Library Association (PaLA) organized a Committee on Library Service to the Aging no later than 1960, and various public libraries in the Commonwealth used federal funds, private grants, and other resources to develop innovative programs. According to a 1974 study by Peter Manakos, at least 5 county library systems and district library centers in Pennsylvania were loaning collections, delivering books by mail, showing movies at housing complexes, and/or providing public programs on gerontological health,  Social Security, and other relevant topics. PaLA's Bulletin, as well as national publications like American Libraries, Library Journal, and Wilson Library Bulletin, frequently published articles about library efforts to reaching aging residents.

While Cumberland County's population has generally been younger, on average, than the rest of the state's, the number of senior citizens living there has grown. As of 1980, CCLS staff had determined that almost 11% of their service population was over age 65. There were even higher concentrations in Camp Hill (20%) and Shippensburg (15%). Because CCLS was a federated system, its 7 libraries varied significantly in collections, staff expertise, and outreach efforts for older patrons. For example, 2 CCLS libraries had no large print materials at all. After consulting with libraries in Chester and Lancaster Counties -- two other southcentral Pennsylvania counties with similar demographics -- CCLS librarians decided they needed a more coordinated approach to ensure that Cumberland's senior citizens were equitably served. The system's per-capita financial resources, however, were on the lower end within a state that was notorious for stingy public library support. 

Fortunately, money was available through the Library Services and Construction Act (LSCA), a federal program administered by the State Library of Pennsylvania. In 1987, CCLS won a $42,000 LSCA grant to establish "STAR," or "Services to Adult Readers." It hired a full-time coordinator, Judy R. Smoyer, to beef-up the library system's large print collections, devise a delivery service, develop outreach programs and marketing materials attractive to aged residents, and collaborate with other organizations in the region that were focused on elders' needs. During the first few months of the grant, Smoyer focused on book acquisitions and developing policies that were considerate toward seniors. Interestingly, in addition to popular fiction and nonfiction, CCLS acquired BiFokal multimedia kits, which contained prints, music, and other items that encouraged reminiscing and memory-sharing. 

In the library system's pre-Internet days, Smoyer often met with homebound patrons personally, learned about their interests, selected items she thought each person would enjoy, then utilized volunteers as couriers to and from people's homes. Given the logistics of serving aging and ill clients, CCLS offered STAR participants an extended (6-week) loan period and did not charge for overdue, lost, or damaged materials. After solidifying STAR's working procedures, Smoyer mounted a substantial publicity effort that involved distributing thousands of brochures to every CCLS library, as well as to Meals on Wheels programs, visiting nurse associations, and even eye doctors. She also placed notices in newspapers, municipal newsletters, and church flyers. By the end of the LSCA grant term, CCLS could boast a collection of 688 large print books and 311 books on cassette, distributed to 28 nursing homes, adult day cares, and other facilities. Smoyer had also recruited about 10 volunteers, serving more than 30 homebound customers, delivering 400-500 titles monthly. 

The front cover and inside of an early tri-fold promotional packet for STAR.
 In addition to a card that advertized CCLS's large print collection, the packet included a list of community agencies, and postcards that seniors could use to sign up for home book delivery.
 Image courtesy of Cumberland County Library System,
Administrative Office Vertical Files, folder "STAR Service"

In 1988, after the LSCA grant was completed, STAR could have sunseted, but CCLS's leadership didn't allow that to happen. While the library system couldn't afford to retain a full-time STAR coordinator, the project was assigned to Mary Linn Faries, CCLS's Coordinator of Adult Services, who managed it part-time alongside other responsibilities. After Faries resigned in October 1990, CCLS hired Nan Cavanaugh, who had been Executive Director of the Pennsylvania Literacy Council and had been active in the Trustees Division of PaLA. Though the library's records don't explicitly indicate it, one can surmise that Cavanaugh's community literacy activities and her experience with elderly trustees suited her well for STAR. Though documentation is spotty, it appears that Faries and Cavanaugh continued many of the policies and workaday procedures that Smoyer had established. 

Mary Linn Faries with unnamed STAR customers, 1988.
Photo courtesy of Cumberland County Library System

In my observation, many LSCA-funded outreach projects died on the vine as funding dwindled or new community needs emerged. However, CCLS continued to build from STAR's foundation. By 1995, the system offered 3,297 large print items and 1,365 books on cassette. Also, it was reaching 38 facilities and nearly 100 homebound residents -- about double the size of the initial 1987 program. Although connections with other agencies had been important from the beginning, it seems that collaboration especially flourished in late 1980s and early 1990s, when CCLS worked with Holy Spirit Hospital to provide a "Senior's Forum," a series of public programs targeting the over-60 crowd. The forums included a wide variety of topics -- not just Medicare, medication safety, nutrition, and spousal caregiving, but also programs on denture and dental implants, Elderhostel, fashion, financial planning, foot care, genealogical research, microwave cooking, and personal safety. 

Periodic newspaper coverage and the variety of recognitions that STAR has received over the past 4 decades help to document its impact on individual lives. For instance, a June 24, 1987 article in the Carlisle Sentinel included snippets from an interview with Ida Kline, an avid reader who relied on a walker that made it difficult for her to choose her own books from library shelves. In talking with the reporter, she noted the connection between library resources and ongoing civil engagement: "It's important for older people to read a lot to extend what the Good Lord gave them. We need to understand how the world is changing and how kids are changing, and not be narrow in our views." Internal documents, likely compiled by Nan Cavanaugh, show that Cavanaugh interacted with some other memorable (though unnamed) clients, as well. As of the mid-1990s, STAR was serving an 87-year-old farmer from Shippensburg who enjoyed listening to books on tape -- especially anything to do with Winston Churchill. The program also reached a 72-year-old woman in Carlisle who was undergoing chemotherapy and read adventure novels late into the night when she had trouble sleeping. 

Some of STAR's volunteers were long-lasting, too. One notable one was Helen James, who was hailed as "The Library Lady" at Claremont Nursing and Rehabilitation Center. She had been volunteering at Carlisle Hospital, then took on an added role with CCLS in April 1989. She served in STAR for more than 10 years until she and her husband relocated to the Pittsburgh area. Cavanaugh estimated that James interacted with thousands of seniors during her decade of service, and the CCLS board issued James a special proclamation to thank her for her efforts. It is due to the dedication of CCLS staff like Cavanaugh and volunteers such as James, that the library system's STAR web site proudly lists awards, including from the Pennsylvania Leadership Council of the AARP (1996), the Central Pennsylvania Optometric Society (2002), the Pennsylvania Library Association (2006), and the National Association of Counties (2008). 

These days, when there is so much depressing news, it's refreshing and inspiring to learn about a long-lived, successful effort where neighbors have helped neighbors -- especially when it does something good for a population that too often gets neglected. CCLS's STAR program puts sparkles in many people's eyes, including mine!

For information about the history and surrounding context of STAR:

• "Cavanaugh is Named," West Shore Shopper, January 31, 1991. Clipping available in CCLS Scrapbook, 1988-1993.
• Cumberland County Library System, Administrative Office Vertical Files, folder "STAR Service" [includes LSCA grant application, LSCA quarterly reports, publicity, news coverage, and other documentation].
• Evans, Charmaine M., "The Library and the Senior Citizen," PLA Bulletin 26, no. 6 (November 1971): 315-325. 
• Fowler, Wade, "Cumberland Library to Offer Readers Special Services, [Harrisburg] Patriot-News, November 15, 1988. Newspapers.com, https://www.newspapers.com/image/1077588243/. 
• Hecht, James H. "Library Services to the Handicapped and Elderly," PLA Bulletin 32, no. 3 (May 1977): 55, 66. 
• Jacobsen, Cyndi, "Home Delivery Lending Program," [Carlisle] Sentinel, June 24, 1987. Newspapers.com, https://www.newspapers.com/image/345684813. 
• Javelin, Muriel C., "How Library Service to the Aging Has Developed," Library Trends 21, no 3 (January 1973): 367-389.
• Javelin, Muriel C., "Services to the Senior Citizen," American Libraries 1, no. 2 (February 1970): 133-137.
• Manakos, Peter G., "Promoting Library Services for the Elderly," PLA Bulletin 29, no. 4 (July 1974): 155-157. 
• Miller, Matt, "Cumberland County Cites 'Library Lady,'" [Harrisburg] Patriot-News, December 21, 1999. Newspapers.com, https://www.newspapers.com/image/1078962973/. 
• Matt Miller, "Library Volunteers Hit the Road for Senior Citizens, [Harrisburg] Patriot-News, June 2, 1987. Clipping available in CCLS Scrapbook, 1988-1993.
• Moore, Bessie Boehm and Christina Carr Young, "Library/Information Services and the Nation's Elderly," Journal of the American Society for Information Science 36, no. 6 (November 1985): 364–368. 
• Phinney, Eleanor, "Trends in Library Services to the Aging," ALA Bulletin 53, no. 6 (June 1959): 534-535, 539. 
• "STAR Recognized for Its Service," [Carlisle] Sentinel, May 30, 2002. Newspapers.com, https://www.newspapers.com/image/344108752/. 

"Flowers" for Cameron County: Ray Vercellino Stands Up for the Freedom to Read

As a librarian who purchases children's books, I am deeply concerned about recent surges in book-banning as documented by the American Library Association, PEN America, and other organizations. One incident that made headlines all over the country, in part because of the large number of titles it involved, took place just down the road from me in York County. Although censorship isn't new, one thing that feels new, is how some groups and individuals are taking what I'd call the "nuclear approach," seeking purges of sweeping amounts of material (as occurred in York) and demanding that librarians be criminally prosecuted for making them available the public. Some librarians have faced online harrassment and even death threats for speaking out about it.

With these issues in mind, my attention tends to zoom-in whenever I uncover historical examples of  censorship. This week, while I was digging within old records at the Barbara Moscato Brown Memorial Library, I found a fascinating example from Emporium, a tiny borough in Pennsylvania's smallest county. The year was 1977, and the book was Daniel Keyes's Flowers for Algernon. Flowers is award-winning science fiction novel that was developed into a movie (Charly) in which Cliff Robertson gave an Oscar-winning performance. It was also adapted into a Broadway musical, Charlie and Algernon, that was nominated for a Tony award and was a popular choice for drama clubs in the 1980s. When I was in school, Flowers was also one of the most frequently banned books in the country, largely because of portions that describe the main character's sexual thoughts and experiences. However, this is part of a larger, valuable exploration of the lives of people with disabilities and how intelligence relates (or doesn't relate) to happiness. The broader themes within Flowers are why Cameron County High School and other secondary institutions sometimes assigned it. 

From research I've done elsewhere, I already knew there was a significant backdrop to Emporium's/Cameron County's story. I won't rehash how social and publishing norms changed during the period, but court cases and legislative action in Pennsylvania are important because they figure within the controversy that unfolded. Miller v. California (1973) was (still is) the most relevant Supreme Court case related to book bans based on obscenity, and the "Miller Test" which was derived from it emphasized the definition of obscenity in state law. In response, some Pennsylvania legislators pushed for changes to our Crimes Code. As of the mid-late 1970s, the PA House and Senate had passed SB 727, which was vetoed in March 1974 by Governor Milton Schapp. The state Supreme Court, in Commonwealth v. McDonald (1975) ruled that the unrevised code was unconstitutionally vague -- a problem that was addressed by SB 199, which passed the legislature in 1977 and that Schapp signed into law. SB 199 defined obscenity as any materials which, "to the average person applying contemporary community standards, has as its dominant theme, taken as a whole, an appeal to prurient interest." Though the law goes on to define what types of sexual depictions are prohibited, the bits about "average person" and "community standards" give everyday Pennsylvanians some voice in determining what is acceptable. That wording remains in present law.  

During the mid-1970s, when Pennsylvania didn't seem to have a workable obscenity law, some citizens advocated for new rules at the county and local level. The incident in Emporium was spurred by a group called the Elk-Cameron Citizens for Decency through Law (ECCDL) that formed in Spring 1976 because of ongoing concerns about pornography. Inspired by the national Citizens for Decency through Law, they established their own chapter and obtained assistance from the Elk County District Attorney's office, producing a proposed anti-obscenity ordinance modeled on ones that had been developed in Luzerne County and in Monroeville (Allegheny County). They also worked to gain seats on the boards of public institutions and suppress objectionable materials that way. ECCDL even succeeded in driving out Ted Smeal, a long-serving public librarian in St. Mary's who resisted creating a separate section for "adult" books and who spoke unabashedly about his concerns to the press (see David Venditta, "Librarian Casualty of Censorship War," Bradford Era, June 6, 1977, and "Smeal Resigns Library Post," Bradford Era, June 9, 1977). 

Raymond E. "Ray" Vercellino,
Librarian at the Cameron County
Public Library. Image from the
December 14, 1989 issue of the
Cameron County Echo . 

In Cameron County, CCPL librarian Raymond E. "Ray" Vercellino was definitely aware of what had happened in St. Mary's. Within the library's administrative files, there is a folder on "Censorship," labeled in Vercellino's handwriting, that contains newsclippings (cited above) about Smeal's troubles. Given what had happened to his colleague just a few miles down the road, Vercellino could have chosen to keep silent. In fact, when I read the clippings in the folder, that's what I had expected he'd do. Certainly, the American Library Association's strong stance in favor of intellectual freedom had existed for decades -- see its Library Bill of Rights, adopted in 1953, and its Freedom to Read Statement, adopted in 1953. However, during the 1970s many rural Pennsylvania library employees were not professionally engaged at the national level. Some were struggling even to meet the education requirements that the State Library of Pennsylvania had recently implemented as a condition for state aid. Moreover, Vercellino was relatively new to librarianship. He had a bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering and had worked at Sylvania Electronics from 1948 to 1970. The monthly and "year-end" reports that he wrote tended to be statistical and straight-to-the-point, focused on quantitative information that technical-types tend to understand. For CCPL to receive its share of state funds, he took correspondence courses in librarianship through the University of Utah and he attended in-state trainings when opportunities became available. But I couldn't guess how much of the library profession's ethical beliefs he had absorbed by the time censorship raised its ugly head in Emporium.

However, when I looked at CCPL Board of Trustees meeting minutes from the 1970s, I found that  Vercellino had an interest in free speech, or, at least, he was opposed to censors usurping decisions that were his or the trustees' prerogative. In 1973, he informed the board that J.D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye had been removed from the Smethport (McKean County) high school's reading list after a parent had objected to it. Even though the book remained on-shelf at Smethport's public library, Vercellino felt the incident was worth knowing about because it was "the first censorship problem in the Seneca area" (CCPL Board Minutes, April 26, 1973). Two years later, there was another (unspecified) "censorship problem" in St. Mary's -- likely the opening salvo that ultimately led to Ted Smeal's downfall. In response, Vercellino prepared an addendum to CCPL's Materials Selection Policy that created a procedure for public complaints and he urged the board to adopt it. When I read it, I was surprised at how relevant and useful it was, even in the present day. Like current policies of this kind, it asked complainants to include quotations and page numbers, indicate the general theme of the book, seek out reviews, and make other efforts to inform themselves about the overall content in addition to describing their dislikes. 

Cameron County Public Library's 1975 policy and procedure for handling book challenges.
From the Administrative Office Vertical Files, folder "Censorship."

As it turned out, Vercellino had acted just in time. Less than 2 years later, conflict erupted in Emporium when a high school English teacher, Richard Onorato, chose Flowers as a reading for his 11th grade English class. Immediately upon complaints from a local minister (likely John Coppick, the pastor of Rich Valley Wesleyan Church) and 3 parents, the Cameron County School Board removed all 70 copies from Onorato's class, pending further action. An ad hoc committee of three teachers was asked to evaluate Flowers and they affirmed its literary value. Cameron County's School Superintendent Robert Morrison and High School Principal Gordon Meredith also recommended that the book be retained as a course reading. It appears that the 5-member school board was divided over the issue. As a "compromise" measure, they voted 3-2 to withdraw the book from the curriculum, but keep a copy in the school library as optional reading ("School Board Meeting Draws Different Views," Cameron County Echo, March 16, 1977). At some point, the town's radio station, WLEM, hosted a one-hour broadcast about Flowers which included a call-in by author Daniel Keyes. Unfortunately, the station doesn't have a recording or transcript of the program, but a newspaper account notes that Keyes said he "would be very saddened if the experience of Charly were denied to the people of Emporium." The reporter also said that other callers were "about evenly divided over the ban" (David Venditta, "Dispute Lingers on in Tiny Emporium," Bradford Era, June 6, 1977).

In collaboration with various priests and ministers in the region, the ECCDL declared March 20th, 1977 as "Decency Sunday" to "give people an opportunity to seriously reflect on the problem of obscenity in the community" and "enlighten the community about what can be done" (ECCDL, editorial, Cameron County Echo, March 16, 1977). Ministers circulated petitions among their congregations and placed copies in local business, obtaining "hundreds" of signatures within the week. While the petition only called for an obscenity ordinance that would "preserve our Traditional Judeo-Christian Heritage," Flowers was clearly a focus of the group's concerns. Citing pages 140-146 as "corrupting to minors," one clergyman argued that the school board is "our elected body" and that "we hope they will be responsive to the needs and standards of the communities that pay their salaries" (John D. Alden, editorial, Cameron County Echo, March 23, 1977). 

An Associated Press story picked up by the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Pittsburgh Post-Dispatch, and other papers around the state make it seem like religious leaders and the school board had little opposition. But judging from editorials in the Cameron County Echo, Ray Vercellino chimed-in on at least 3 (possibly 4) occasions. And he was not mealy-mouthed about it. For the March 16th issue of the Echo, he and J. Lynn Gross co-signed an opinion piece submitted by Richard A. Sarrick (another CCPL library employee) that sarcastically suggested that all the community's objectionable books be gathered up and publicly burned. They then pointed out similarities between the school board's actions and "recent world history" (probably a reference to authoritarian regimes in Germany or the U.S.S.R.). They ended with a strong statement that the decision to censor belonged to "individual parents, not to a group of vigilantes who wish to impose their standards on others and their children." On pg. 14 of the same issue, an article entitled "Freedom to Read" articulated CCPL's official position that censorship efforts "rest[ed] on the denial of the very fundamental premise of democracy: that the ordinary citizen, by exercising his critical judgment, will accept the good and reject the bad." The library believed that "Americans [did] not "need the help of censors" and "[were] not prepared to sacrifice their heritage of a free press in order to be 'protected' against what others think my be bad for them." In short, CCPL "most emphatically support[ed] free enterprise in ideas and expression." This piece was very likely written by Vercellino, because it reprints, verbatim, a letter that he had composed to Bruno Carnivale, the Vice-President of Emporium's Borough Council. 

The following week, has Vercellino heard misinformed comments in everyday conversations, or he read them in other editorials, he dispensed with them one by one in the pages of the Echo. For example, after someone posited that teachers and librarians censor when they decide not to purchase or retain certain works, he flatly rejected that idea as "pure nonsense." A key difference between educators and censors, he reasoned, was that educators look for positive reasons to buy or keep a book, and they trust the public's intelligence in judging materials on their merits. Censors, on the other hand, cherrypick "objectionable" features, and only believe in their own "superiority." (Vercellino, editorial, Cameron County Echo, March 30, 1977). Then, on April 7th, after a resident charged that schools and libraries were only allowed to purchase items that appeared on left-leaning, state-authorized lists, Vercellino spoke up again. Noting that this was "absurd," he asserted that "neither the Cameron County Commissioners nor the Pennsylvania State legislators have ever attempted to dictate to us on materials selection" (editorial, Cameron County Echo, April 6, 1977). Insofar as he was speaking about public libraries, I believe he was correct, though the state certainly had a significant history of producing bibliographies of recommended titles that could have been perceived as conveying some kind of proscription. 

To Emporium's credit, most of the opinions published in the Echo in March and April 1977 criticized the school board's actions. The three teachers who had been asked to evaluate Flowers's suitability for classroom reading -- Mary Kuhn, Douglas Bleggi, and Charlotte Woodley -- cited portions of the Cameron County School Code which gave teachers the authority to select instructional materials and well as giving them a responsibility to defend students' freedom to read. They also noted Richard Onorato's professionalism and integrity, his 16 years of service in the district, and the fact that books were removed from his classroom before he'd had the opportunity to defend himself. Other residents chimed in too. For example, Conny Noah, whose 5 children had been educated in Emporium public schools, assured administrators that her kids' strong "morals and mental fortitude" would not be corrupted by one book, and while she believed that those who objected to Flowers were well-meaning, the board should not have acted in such a "drastic" and "off-handed" way (editorial, Cameron County Echo, March 16, 1977). Laura Reid also wrote with concern that most students, teachers, and parents weren't consulted, and that the decision to ban Flowers robbed teenagers from learning about the "big, bad world" they were about to enter (editorial, Cameron County Echo, April 6, 1977). Dolores M. Rinehuls worried that individuals' "rights were being eroded" and that banning Flowers was just "the first step toward total censorship." She adamantly urged her neighbors to "Stop!!!" and "Think!!!" before they signed the ECCDL's petition to create an obscenity ordinance (editorial, Cameron County Echo, April 6, 1977). Significantly, the high school's Student Council undertook a survey of 11th and 12th graders -- an admirably thorough effort to establish exactly what average people applying contemporary standards thought. They found that the board had "bowed to a vocal minority" and had "failed to take into consideration the majority views of [those] directly involved." According to Student Council President Kelly Baker, 73 of the school's 118 students had read Flowers, and among them, only 3 felt it was objectionable ("Survey Results Presented to School Board," Cameron County Echo, April 20, 1977). 

Although I made reasonable efforts to track down all the facts about this fascinating story, some gaps remain. It appears that the Bradford Era provided the most thorough coverage of book banning controversies in the region, but I don't currently have access to that paper beyond the clippings I found in Vercellino's files (the Era been digitized by NewspaperArchive, but the site has been down for months). I also haven't had an opportunity to search newspapers in Smethport or St. Mary's because they are not available online. I didn't even have time to hand-search issues of the (undigitized) Cameron County Echo beyond March and April 1977. Most importantly of all, I didn't tap any of the people who lived through 1977 events. While most are deceased, I suspect that Vercellino may still be living. If he is, I'd love to talk to him!

One burning question is how Vercellino's attitudes toward censorship and free speech developed, and what moved him to speak out publicly despite the terrible consequences such action could have had. I'd also like to know if the Warren Public Library, which served as the District Library Center for the region and provided professional consultation and educational programs to district librarians, helped to cultivate the strong Freedom to Read ethic that Ted Smeal and Ray Vercellino espoused. I'm also curious how long the Elk-Cameron Citizens for Decency through Law lasted, and whether Flowers was ever reinstated in Cameron County High School's curriculum. 

Although my knowledge is incomplete, I can say that this story ended on a positive note, at least for Ray Vercellino and the Cameron County Public Library / Barbara Moscato Brown Memorial Library. He remained in his position until 1989, and to this day the library has a copy of Flowers for Algernon. It is in a back storage room along with other literary classics and historical items -- not popular enough to take space away from more recent fiction in public areas, but not yet ready for the book sale or dust bin. In fact, BMBML's copy may be the very same one that was available in the 1970s. It is a low-cost 1970s reprint of a 1967 Bantam edition, and it shows signs of heavy use. It is rebound in green buckram and the date-due card, still tucked within an inside pocket, is covered front and back with stamps that show it was borrowed dozens of times. 

In the 50 years that have passed, many more books about people with disabilities have been published, and there surely are other titles that better speak to today's students. But, at least for Emporium, this beat-up copy of Flowers for Algernon is an important local history artifact. Some of its markings date from 1978 and later, affirming Vercellino's belief that at least some people in town continued to want to read and judge the book for themselves, despite what their pastors and neighbors said about it. 

Barbara Moscato Brown Memorial Library's copy of Flowers for Algernon.
Strong support of the book by librarian Ray Vercellino
and others at the library helped keep it on-shelf. Photo by the author.