Source

State Archives of Florida, Series S1506

Description

A letter from State Librarian Dorothy Dodd to Thomas Dreier regarding the public's outrage over a list of children's books the State Library recommended libraries remove from circulation.

Date

1959-02-18

Creator

Dodd, Dorothy, 1902-1994

Format

Letters (correspondence)

Coverage

Postwar Florida (1945-1968)

Topic

Education and Information

Subjects

Dreier, Thomas, 1884-1976
Florida State Library
Florida. State Library Board
Prohibited books
Public institutions -- Florida -- Leon County -- Tallahassee
Public libraries -- Florida
Public services (Libraries)
State libraries

Geographic Term

Saint Petersburg
Pinellas County

General Note

Dorothy Dodd served as the first state archivist of Florida from 1941 to 1951. She was then the state librarian of Florida from 1951 until her retirement in 1965. In a 1959 State Library newsletter, the Library recommended a list of children's books that should be removed from circulation at Florida's libraries because they were deemed "poorly written, untrue to life, sensational, foolishly sentimental and consequently unwholesome...." Books on the list included the Wizard of Oz series by Frank Baum and the Nancy Drew series by Carolyn Keene, among others. The list caused a national public outcry with many accusing Dodd of censorship. Dodd accepted responsibility for the list, but she continued to defend it.