📚 How the WPA Transformed Public Libraries & Literacy in the Great Depression

📌 This 1938 WPA report details the expansion of public libraries, bookmobiles, pack horse libraries, and book repair programs. Learn how WPA projects brought books and literacy to millions of Americans.

Collage of the Many WPA Library Projects and Services Including Bookmobile (Texas), Library Extension (Kentucky), Pack Horse Library (Kentucky), Traveling Library (Iowa), Rural Library Service (Ohio). Inventory: An Appraisal of Results of the Works Progress Administration, Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office, 1938. GGA Image ID # 1520b41715

📚 WPA Library Projects & Services - 1938

How the WPA Brought Books, Knowledge, and Literacy to Millions During the Great Depression

📖 The 1938 WPA report on library projects showcases a remarkable expansion of public access to books, literacy programs, and community libraries. Through the creation of bookmobiles, pack horse libraries, rural reading rooms, and book repair projects, the WPA helped millions of Americans—especially in rural areas—gain access to books and education.

For teachers, students, genealogists, and historians, this document provides:

✔️ Insights into the role of libraries before modern public funding.

✔️ Details on how WPA workers helped revive struggling library systems.

✔️ Evidence of how rural and underserved communities gained access to books.

✔️ A record of how WPA library workers and cataloging projects helped preserve books.

📌 This report demonstrates how the WPA played a critical role in expanding literacy, education, and public knowledge in America.

Existing city and rural library systems over the United States have been enlarged by the addition of 3,535 new branch libraries and 4,502 reading rooms which are staffed and kept open for public use by WPA library workers.

Subject Matter Index Page of WPA Projects for Libraries—1 Percent of Total Program. Inventory: An Appraisal of Results of the Works Progress Administration, Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office, 1938. GGA Image ID # 1520c8c0ab

Not only have WPA professional workers and clerks brought books into the homes of millions of people who have not had access to regular library services, but also they have created a demand for more and more reading for relaxation and for study.

WPA personnel also has made possible the establishment of 1,164 so-called Traveling Libraries, through which many means of conveyance are used to bring books into the remote rural sections of the country. Where roads are good, the book-truck known as the "bookmobile," manned by WPA workers, makes regular stops, usually at country schools.

In some localities the school bus, rigged up with shelves of books, is routed for book service when not scheduled to carry school children. In the mountainous regions, WPA library assistants on horseback carry saddlebags filled with books along almost impassable trails to isolated homes.

By motor, horseback, and even by boat, WPA library workers are supplying immeasurable aid in reducing the figure of 40,000,000 people without library service in the United States.

Economical and effective library service is being and has been developed on a county-wide and State-wide basis through the help of the WPA. Illinois, Ohio, Mississippi, Arkansas, and South Carolina are taking advantage of WPA personnel to demonstrate library service plans, the effectiveness of which could not have been tested without the substantial increase in library staffs afforded by WPA professional and clerical workers.

In rural Cook County alone, outside of Chicago, are 18 small new libraries opened and operated by WPA workers. It is generally conceded that the recent action of the Arkansas legislature in subsidizing State-wide library service was largely induced by the interest created by the 120 WPA library projects throughout the State.

Here, as in other localities, WPA library workers have "sold" their small library units to many communities which are assuming the library, and often the workers, as a local responsibility. Millions of books and other library materials which were stored, unrepaired and unrecorded, because of the depressed budgets of libraries and schools, have been made available by additional library workers supplied by WPA.

Under trained supervisors, WPA library clerks have cataloged over 20,000,000 books, which means that improved card records have made these many books more readily available to readers.

A notable "cataloging" project is operating in the Boston Public Library where a much-needed revision of book records on some 2,000,000 volumes is being speedily accomplished by several hundred WPA library workers. About 14,000 libraries, including public and school libraries and school textbook collections, have benefited from the many WPA book repair and reconditioning projects.

A total of 33,649,219 books, about one-half of which are schoolbooks, have been returned to active service by WPA book repair project workers. This work is done by WPA only if the institution is unable to finance it within its regular budget.

Professional librarians realize that properly supervised WPA library workers are adding appreciably to the effectiveness of library service over the country. Carl H. Milam, Secretary of the American Library Association, in a letter to the President summarizing reported permanent gains in book service accomplished by the Works Progress Administration, concludes: "This is not intended to be a complete report but it indicates, I think, that WPA book service is proving of more than temporary value and is arousing genuine popular response in rural sections of the country."

Paul A. T. Noon, State Librarian, Ohio State Library, Columbus, states: "We expect that the State-wide library project in Ohio coordinated with our State-aid program will advance library development, especially in the rural sections, at least 10 years ahead of its normal development.

The WPA can make a permanent contribution to the cultural life of the Nation by helping to make possible the extension of our library service." Ralph Munn, Director, Carnegie Library, Pittsburgh, reports: "Greatly expanded information services to the people of Pittsburgh have resulted from WPA projects in the Carnegie Library.

The indexing of local historical and biographical works, the listing of birth and death notices, and the compilation of many subject bibliographies all represent tasks which the Library could never have accomplished with its own staff."

Forrest B. Spaulding, Librarian, Des Moines Public Library, says that "the help of the WPA which came at a time when library appropria- tions were seriously reduced, made it possible for this library to carry on when, otherwise, much important work would have had to be curtailed."

Collage of Additonal WPA Library Projects and Services Include Proofreading Library Cards (Ohio), Bookbinding (New Jersey), Indexing (Massachusetts), Card Filing (Washington), Typing Braille (District of Columbia), Reading Braille (Georgia). Inventory: An Appraisal of Results of the Works Progress Administration, Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office, 1938. GGA Image ID # 1520c78619

"Libraries," in Inventory: An Appraisal of Results of the Works Progress Administration, Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office, 1938, pp. 45-48.

Why This Document is Important

📜 Relevance for Different Audiences

✔ For Historians & Librarians

🔹 Shows how libraries operated during the Great Depression.

🔹 Documents how federal relief programs influenced public education.

🔹 Explores how library services were extended to rural America.

✔ For Genealogists & Family Historians

🔹 Ancestors may have worked as WPA library assistants or book repairers.

🔹 Family members in rural communities may have received books from WPA bookmobiles.

🔹 The document highlights libraries and services that shaped community literacy.

✔ For Teachers & Students

🔹 Provides a case study on public education initiatives during the New Deal.

🔹 Illustrates how WPA projects connected isolated communities to books and knowledge.

🔹 Explores early efforts in library digitization through card cataloging and book indexing.

📌 This document is a goldmine of information on how libraries became more accessible in the 1930s.

🚗 Bookmobiles, Pack Horse Libraries, and Traveling Libraries

✔ Why This is Fascinating:

🔹 1,164 "Traveling Libraries" were created to reach rural areas.

🔹 Bookmobiles—trucks converted into mobile libraries—made regular stops in remote communities.

🔹 In mountainous regions, WPA workers delivered books on horseback ("Pack Horse Libraries").

🔹 Some book services even used boats to deliver books to isolated communities.

✔ Key Takeaway:

The WPA brought books to millions who had never had access to a library before.

📌 This section highlights how the WPA revolutionized library access for rural America.

🏛 Expansion of Public Libraries & Reading Rooms

✔ Why This is Fascinating:

🔹 3,535 new library branches and 4,502 reading rooms were created.

🔹 Many small communities received their first-ever libraries through WPA projects.

🔹 Rural counties developed county-wide library services for the first time.

🔹 Some states, like Arkansas, were inspired to create state-wide library systems after seeing WPA success.

✔ Key Takeaway:

The WPA permanently changed how libraries were structured and expanded nationwide.

📌 This section demonstrates the WPA's lasting impact on public libraries and community reading programs.

📖 Book Repair, Indexing, and Cataloging Projects

✔ Why This is Fascinating:

🔹 20,000,000 books were cataloged by WPA workers, making them more accessible.

🔹 33,649,219 books were repaired and returned to use—many of them schoolbooks.

🔹 Boston Public Library used WPA workers to revise and update records for 2,000,000 books.

🔹 Carnegie Library in Pittsburgh benefited from WPA workers indexing birth and death notices, historical documents, and subject bibliographies.

✔ Key Takeaway:

The WPA helped preserve and organize vast collections of books and historical records.

📌 This section connects the WPA to modern library preservation and record-keeping.

📚 Impact on Library Staff & the Cultural Life of America

✔ Why This is Fascinating:

🔹 Thousands of unemployed librarians and clerks found WPA jobs, keeping their skills sharp.

🔹 Communities with WPA libraries and book services saw an increase in literacy and reading habits.

🔹 The program helped "sell" the idea of libraries to local governments, leading to permanent funding.

✔ Key Takeaway:

The WPA not only provided books—it created a culture of reading and learning.

📌 This section emphasizes how WPA projects transformed American reading culture and literacy rates.

🖼 Noteworthy Images & Their Significance

🖼 📚 "Collage of WPA Library Projects and Services"

🔹 Shows bookmobiles, pack horse libraries, and traveling book services.

🔹 Illustrates how WPA workers overcame geographic barriers to bring books to remote communities.

🖼 📊 "WPA Subject Matter Index - Libraries"

🔹 Reveals that libraries made up 1% of WPA projects—yet had a massive impact on literacy.

🔹 Highlights federal investment in public education during the Great Depression.

🖼 📖 "Collage of Additional WPA Library Projects"

🔹 Displays book repair, braille transcription, and indexing projects.

🔹 Demonstrates how WPA workers helped preserve books and improve access for the blind.

📌 These images bring the WPA’s literary impact to life and show how books reached the most isolated Americans.

Bias & Perspective Considerations

✔ Pro-WPA Narrative:

🔹 The report celebrates WPA successes but does not mention challenges, such as:

🔹 How many WPA libraries closed after funding ended?

🔹 Did book distribution programs continue without WPA support?

🔹 Were minority and immigrant communities equally served?

✔ Limited Discussion of Long-Term Impact

🔹 The document does not explore whether states continued funding public libraries after WPA funding ended.

✔ Lack of Opposition or Criticism

🔹 Some private publishers and bookstores opposed free WPA book services, fearing lost sales.

🔹 This perspective is missing from the report.

📌 While this document praises WPA literacy efforts, further research is needed to assess long-term effects and inclusivity.

Final Thoughts: Why This Report Matters

"WPA Library Projects & Services - 1938" is an extraordinary record of how the federal government expanded public literacy, created new libraries, and brought books to the most underserved communities. Through traveling libraries, book repairs, and indexing projects, the WPA left a lasting legacy in American education and public knowledge.

📌 Many of the libraries, reading rooms, and bookmobile services established under the WPA still exist today.

💡 The WPA proves that investment in libraries and literacy strengthens communities for generations. 📚👏