From Atomic Shelters to Arms Control: Libraries, Civil Defense, and American Militarism during the Cold War

This article analyzes American libraries' civil defense activities during the Cold War along with their decision to redirect their efforts away from civil defense and toward arms control initiatives during the later years of the conflict. During the 1950s, the nation's leading libraries co...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Information & culture 2014-06, Vol.49 (3), p.351-385
Main Author: Spencer, Brett
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Civil defense
Electronic security systems
History
Libraries
Nuclear arms control
Safety and security measures
Security systems
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:This article analyzes American libraries' civil defense activities during the Cold War along with their decision to redirect their efforts away from civil defense and toward arms control initiatives during the later years of the conflict. During the 1950s, the nation's leading libraries converted their buildings into fallout shelters and disseminated survival information to millions of Americans. However, libraries became increasingly disillusioned with civil defense during the late 1960s, and they largely abandoned civil defense in favor of peace advocacy in the 1980s. The article concludes with ideas for current libraries based on this chapter of information history. (Author abstract)
ISSN:2164-8034
2166-3033
DOI:10.7560/IC49304