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Depression forces libraries to slash budgets in spite of rising use. New Deal allots federal money to rebuild and replenish libraries
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ALA adopts “Library Bill of Rights” amid censorship battles over The Grapes of
Wrath; establishes Committee on Intellectual Freedom one year later. -
Congress passes Library Services Act to expand library services in rural areas.
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Library of Congress develops machine-readable cataloging.
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President Lyndon B. Johnson signs Library Services and Construction Act, which expands federal aid for public library construction and school library improvements.
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Ohio College Library Center (OCLC) founded in Dublin, Ohio, to computerize state academic libraries to share costs.
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Rise of private information brokers as alternatives to libraries; early Internet connections in academia.
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Use of personal computers explodes for long-distance communication, e-mail; rise of online databases for information on demand.
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Cutbacks in federal support force libraries to turn to private fundraising. Computer data bases revolutionize information industry. CD-ROMs appear in libraries.
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Library of Congress launches American Memory project to make audio and visual
materials accessible electronically and National Digital Library -
Libraries and schools connect to Internet; World Wide Web, library telnet services
