Bossier Librarian Organizes Victory Book Campaign

Anytime there is war, organizations like the American Red Cross jump into action to support the troops. Shortly after America entered World War II, the Red Cross, the United States Organization for National Defense, and the American Library Association joined together to address the need for books for our rapidly growing military.

Immediately after the national book campaign announcement, the Bossier Parish Libraries council called a meeting with representatives from each town in the parish, where they made plans to back the campaign. A call to action appeared in The Planters Press, asking all Bossierites to donate to the cause. All books were welcomed, with used books being cleaned and repaired as needed.

According to the announcement, “These books will be sent to army camps in this area. Many of our boys who are in camp or who will be later, have had to discontinue their studies of various types, some of them would continue their work if the necessary text books were available, and of course books for recreation hours are always needed. The Victory Book Campaign slogan is ‘Give the Book You Are Now Reading.’”

Collection containers were placed in the schools throughout the parish. Each branch of the Bossier Parish Libraries accepted donations, and the bookmobile collected donations at each stop. And, in Bossier City, containers were also placed at City Hall, Barksdale Drug, the Planters Press, Bossier State Bank, the Bossier Tribune, and the Post Office.

Portrait of Mary Elisabeth Williams by A. Menosco.
Bossier Parish Library Collection: 2000.093.001.

Parish Librarian Elisabeth Williams appointed committee members to oversee various aspects of the campaign. Mrs. S.E. Norris led working with Bossier City Schools. Mrs. Nelson covered Haughton. Publicity in Bossier City was assigned to Mrs. Morris and Mrs. Dupuy. The containers for Bossier City were placed by Rev. A.P. Smith and Roy E. Horton. And A.R. Teague oversaw radio publicity.

The types of books needed also appeared in the announcement. The list included topics like applied psychology, current affairs, business, accounting, up-to-date technical books, mechanical drawing, photography, music, poetry, sports, geography, biography, history, novels, writing, math, mysteries, and westerns. All books donated were stamped, “Gift of the people of the United States through the Victory Book Campaign.”

The books were distributed across the nation to Army camps, Naval stations, Coast Guard stations, Merchant Marine libraries, and United States Organization centers. Five-million books were collected within the first five months of the campaign. The campaign ran from the beginning of 1942 through 1943, with approximately seventeen million books passing through the campaign clearinghouse in New York.

For the past eighty-one years, the Bossier Parish Library has proudly provided access to materials, programs, and technologies that enrich, educate, and inspire the residents of this great parish. To learn more about the Bossier Parish Library’s history, visit the BPL History Center at 2206 Beckett Street, Bossier City. Follow us @BPLHistoryCenter on FB, @bplhistorycenter on Tiktok, and check out our blog, http://bpl-hc.blogspot.com/.

By: Amy Robertson