50 Years in 2006

John E. Fogarty, Lister Hill, Julia Bennett Amistead, Elizabeth Myer
and the Library Services Act. No.1.1.2006.1.

In 2006 the Library Services Act turned 50. President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the bill on June 19, 1956. The history of the act provides insight into the political process.


John E. Fogarty, worked with Senator Lister Hill to establish the Library Services Act.


Julia Bennett Armistead, ALA Washington Office, another key player,
Washington Office Subject File, 1939-1996.

Elizabeth Gallup Myer died at 81 July 8, 1993. It was noted in American Libraries that she became the first woman to serve in Rhode Island’s governor’s cabinet during her 1964-1975 tenure as director of the Rhode Island Department of State Library Services.

Additional background on the Library Services Act.

Fry, James W. “LSCA and LSCA, 1956-1973: A Legislative History,” Library Trends 24 (July 1975): 7-26.

Healey, James S. John E. Fogarty: Political Leadership for Library Development< Metuchen, N.J.: Scarecrow Press, 1974.

Lipscomb, C. E. Lister Hill and his influence. Journal of the Medical Library Association v. 90 no. 1 (January 2002),p. 109-10.

McCook, Kathleen de la Pena, Introduction to Public Librarianship. New York, Neal-Schuman, pp. 65-70.

McCook, Kathleen de la Pena, Rocks in the Whirlpool.

Molz, Redmond Kathleen. Federal Policy and Library Support.
MIT Press, Cambridge, 1976.

Raber, Douglas. “Ideological Opposition to Federal Library Legislation: The Case of the Library Services Act of 1956.” Public Libraries (May/June 1995): 162-169.

Source: http://librarian.lishost.org/?cat=22