Наукові праці Національної бібліотеки України імені В.І. Вернадського (Jan 2023)
Features of Activity of Libraries of the United States of America during the World Wars. Propaganda and Censorship in the US Library System in Wartime
Abstract
The article analyzes the role of the US library system in the First and Second World Wars, in particular describes the main directions of the work of the US library system in wartime, defines the specific tasks, challenges and problems that the US libraries faced because of the country’s participation in the world wars, such as the need to fulfill the requirements of military censorship, to conduct propaganda, to adapt to changes in users’ reading interests caused by the participation of the American military in hostilities. It was determined that the experience of the US libraries work in wartime is of great value for the organization and ensuring the functioning of Ukrainian libraries during the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and the subsequent war. The First and Second World Wars had a huge impact on American society, includ ing the libraries system. The libraries of the United States accepted the challenge and worthily withstood all the tests caused by the war, although they caused an active discussion in the library community about the ethics of censorship, propaganda, and the neutrality of the library profession. We determined that during the years of the world wars, the main changes in the work of American libraries were the need to fulfill the requirements of military censorship, to conduct propaganda in the interests of the army, to serve the specific reading needs of the army and to provide for the greatly trans formed needs of the rear. It should also be noted that this experience is of great value for Ukraine in the face of the Russian invasion, as the library system has ample opportunities to resist aggression with informational methods that Ukraine should study and use in the interests of national security and defense. Prospects for further research consist in the analysis of the current areas of activity of Ukrainian libraries and their adaptation to the needs of the time during the period of the full-scale Russian invasion.
