A WWII Lesson: Why Library Funding Matters More Than You Think

In 1929, the United States’ Secretary of State, Henry Stimson, shut down its last major signals intelligence office. Fast-forward to July 1941: President Franklin Roosevelt knew that the US might not be able to keep itself out of the war in Europe, and the country needed a new intelligence agency.

President Roosevelt appointed William Donovan, a Wall Street lawyer, to head this new intelligence agency, which started a new branch called Research and Analysis (R&A). As they researched and collected data to prepare for war, they quickly discovered that US libraries were “utterly deficient.” For example, there were only two complete map portfolios of Japan in the entire country. 

So, how did Donovan and the R&A respond to this crisis? They sent professors and librarians overseas as undercover agents to acquire maps and other documents to help prepare America for war. Among these new secret agents was Adele Kibre, who smuggled twenty thousand documents from Stockholm each week. Another was Joseph Curtiss, who sent more than four thousand pounds of books to the US from Istanbul.

Because of these unconventional spies, library materials flowed into the United States from Europe. These documents became critical resources during the war. And after the war, politicians who saw this vowed never again to let our libraries be deficient. 

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Some returning war intelligence agents went on to become the heads of major libraries, making innovative contributions that transformed the library world. Among these advances was the Online Computer Library Center, which developed the most widely used online library database, WorldCat.

After the war, politicians invested in libraries, viewing them as both a symbol of American patriotism and a means to enhance national security.

From this short history lesson, we can conclude that libraries are a small investment that helps us avoid repeating the mistakes of the last world war.

However, here we are in 2025, and libraries at the federal and local levels are currently under attack. Libraries are being defunded, censored, and dismissed. But they are more than quiet buildings. They are tools of democracy, education, and yes, even national security.

Your donations help support libraries across the country. 

Libraries are resilient, but they are only as strong as the people who speak up, show up, and vote to support them. Now is the time to fight, not just in DC but also in state houses, city halls, school board meetings, and ballot boxes nationwide.

Join us in taking action. Please help us protect library funding at every federal, state, and local level because what we do now will shape the future of access, equity, and education in America.

We are urging supporters and stakeholders to take three immediate actions:

1. Sign the petition to show that Americans support this critical funding for libraries and then share it on Bluesky, Facebook, Twitter, Threads, and LinkedIn!
2. Contact Congress to reinforce the importance of continued support for libraries and then share this campaign on Bluesky, Facebook, Twitter, Threads, and LinkedIn!
3. Finally, we can't do this work without people like you. Please take a moment and make a $25 donation so that we can continue to fight back.

Visit www.everylibrary.org to learn more about our work on behalf of libraries. 

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