Promoting Citizenship: How Librarians Helped Get Out the Vote in the 1952 Presidential Election

Abstract

In 1952 the American Library Association joined an array of nonprofit organizations, corporations, and the media in the National Non-Partisan Register and Vote Campaign to increase citizen participation in the electoral process. With ALA providing technical support and encouragement, librarians all over the country promoted reading, organized discussion groups, mounted exhibits, and sponsored programs to draw informed voters to the polls. ALA's participation in the Register and Vote Campaign highlighted the role of the public library in providing quality information on candidates and issues. Librarians demonstrated that libraries could serve as local information centers, working with nonprofit organizations, the commercial sector, and the broadcast media to reach out to the whole community to create an informed citizenry.

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