Censorship and Book Selection in British Public Librarianship 1919–1939: Professional Perspectives

Abstract

The main theme of the paper is the selection of fiction in British public libraries in the period between the two World Wars of the mid-twentieth century. There is a discussion of the legal background, including the role of socially conservative politicians in influencing, or attempting to influence, what was published and what was made available through public libraries. Against this background there is a more detailed analysis and discussion, based on contemporary professional literature, of the attitudes of professional librarians towards the moral dimension of the selection of fiction. It is concluded that, in general, librarians took a pragmatic line, trying to provide a wide-ranging stock while necessarily taking account of both political and social pressures. It is suggested that by 1939 the moral climate was beginning to change, and that many professionals were coming round to the view that moral censorship was undesirable except in extreme cases.