Interned for the Duration of the War: St. Louis Public Library Censorship during World War I

Abstract

ABSTRACT Like most public libraries in the United States during the First World War, the St. Louis (Missouri) Public Library (SLPL) removed literature from its collection that some considered “disloyal” or “pro-German propaganda.” Library historians have drawn a broad, national picture of this practice, but this study examines at a local level what was censored at SLPL, when censorship occurred relative to other public libraries, and what forces might have influenced SLPL's librarian to temporarily remove items from public access. To answer the later question, the author examines the social sphere of SLPL's librarian, Arthur E. Bostwick: the SLPL's Board of Directors, his neighborhood, and the social organizations to which he belonged. This study reveals the extent to which the SLPL librarian and board were interwoven within a broader wealthy and powerful decision-making class financially invested in Allied success and responsible for insuring St. Louisans' loyalty to the war effort. It also reveals just how little is known about which titles were removed, when they were removed, and when they again became accessible to the public.