Bundy and Stielow designed Activism in American Librarianship, 1962-1973 to address two key questions: How did the various social movements of the time express themselves in librarianship? What happened to the various library institutions during this era? . . . Activism is a pivotal work. This is the first monograph-length analysis of an unprecedented period in our professional history. . . . The fifteen essays included in Activism were specially commissioned of eminent leaders such as E.J. Josey, Kay Ann Cassell, Fay Blake, Major Owens, Mary Lee Bundy, John Axam, and Robert P. Haro, who helped create and were witness to the events of this decade. . . . It should be required reading for all students of library history and scholars interested in interaction between professions and social change. RQ
This is a useful work of scholarship. In addition to presenting facts, it will speak different things to different people, depending on individual reactions to the social and political elements that were addressed by librarian activists in the Sixties. Whatever the individual reactions, this is a book that should not be ignored.
International Journal of Reviews in Library and Information Science
This collection of essays, written by library professionals who took an active role in the various rights movements, the war on poverty, and the campaign to end the Vietnam war, is the first serious exanination of the subject. The author offers a thoughtful review of the struggles of activists to achieve institutional change within their profession and the overall effect of these social movements on the outlook and professionalism of a new generation of librarians.
