"A library is not a collection of books. Nor is it a building." Being a librarian, libraries are obviously very important to me and while I do know that there is was more to this world than books and the places where they are housed, I feel like that can even get lost for me. This book did a great job of reminding me why libraries are important and why libraries should be political and why we need to be.

As a 21st century Canadian, the stories told in this book were very untold and I learned a lot through this book about the fight to provide library services in communities where there weren't libraries at all, or where the African American communities were not allowed to use the libraries that were there. This was a dangerous job, but it provided essential services and hope.

I liked how this story brought you through the different states, showing how each one needed to be approached so differently and how communities fought against these Freedom Libraries and how the people embraced them. It showed the importance of communities spaces, but also how donated books aren't always the best.

This was a great book that taught me something new about history and refocused my library view.

Moving, enlightening, and truly fascinating "Freedom Libraries" is a fantastic history of Freedom Summer, the Civil Rights Movement, and the untold story of Freedom Libraries and the librarians who ran them.

In many towns throughout the South during the summer of 1964 and beyond, Freedom Libraries were established by the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), bringing libraries, literacy and books to black communities where black citizens either could not enter white-only public libraries, had very low literacy rates, had little access to any sort of books by and about African-Americans, or a combination thereof. These Freedom Libraries quickly became community centers for the young and the old, were trials by fire for those who were tasked with establishing the libraries, and often just as dangerous to be a part of as other aspects of the Civil Rights Movement. However, the persistence of these brave souls has paid off but at a cost: very few know about the Freedom Libraries. That will change with this book.

Thoroughly researched, Mike Selby's interviews, photos, and anecdotes bring to life both the Civil Rights Movement and the Freedom Libraries. This is a brilliant book if you are interested in American History, African-American History, Library History, or are a library student or librarian. Particularly if you are a library student or librarian, as Selby pulls no punches when it comes to taking away the rose-colored glasses of American public library history but also structures his final chapter around lessons that modern-day librarians can learn from the librarians of the Freedom Libraries. In fact, I would highly recommend this title to be included as part of curriculum in both undergraduate and graduate level Library Science classes in order for forthcoming library professionals to have a better grasp of library past in order to prepare a better library future.

Speaking first as just a fairly avid reader with a preference for history, I deeply appreciate the work that Mike Selby has put into creating a work that is able to give such thorough and much-needed attention to a very overlooked part of the Civil Rights Movement.

And when speaking as a professional librarian, I deeply, deeply wish that this book or a book remotely like it was available when I was earning my MLS degree. What little I learned about American libraries' relatively recent checkered past didn't amount to much more than a few pages in a textbook and some all-too-brief classroom discussion. I had absolutely no idea about the depths to which American libraries were also infected by the racial discrimination and segregation that has so deeply plagued the country's history. Neither did I have any knowledge whatsoever of the Freedom Libraries, nor the incredibly brave and devoted women and men who strove to try and establish them in the race of incredible hostility the likes of which I have no genuine experience of. Suffice to say, I feel like I was given anything but a rounded history of my profession. One can probably only begin to imagine the gratitude I feel towards Mike Selby and "Freedom Libraries" for not only filling in a critical knowledge gap, but also for providing an abundance of role models I wasn't able to look up to until now, and whose examples of bravery and devotion would have served me well had I known of them sooner.

At the very least, I hope that Mike Selby's new book becomes widely read in general. But it's an even stronger hope of mine that upon publication this book quickly starts getting assigned as required reading in library science programs all across the US.

Training to become a librarian and earning my master's degree is something that has been one of the cornerstones and defining aspects of my life. It means everything to me. I cannot imagine approaching a university offering the degree, starting there, causing a riot, having to be driven in a car that was heavily pelted with stones, and then asked to leave because it was too great a safety risk on the basis of the colour of my skin. That is exactly what happened to Autherine Lucy in Alabama in the 1950s.

While the history of librarianship has been well-documented from the white, euro-centric view and library schools extol the virtues of Melville Dewey to S.R. Ranganathan, Marcia Bates's red thread of information, and more, and on the subject of segregation, many titles and journal articles have proliferated over time, little attention has been given toward where these topics intersect. Here is where the book "Freedom Libraries" comes in. The practice of libraries, especially public libraries, to push for more diversification in terms of what they offer to patrons and being more inclusive of welcoming patrons without racial discrimination, is more of a modern one than people realize. The segregation that affected people of colour largely in the Southern United States prior to the Civil Rights era extended to libraries. Black people in the United States were barred from going into public library branches, much less get borrower cards or have access to materials. They were told that they would get segregated branches for themselves, but even when that happened, many problematic issues came out. This book addresses many of them, providing an illuminating account of the barriers black people faced for access to books and reading material, and all the obstacles they endured.

To say that this is an important book for any librarian, library school student, or general reader who wants to know more about the history of librarianship in the United States as it concerns discrimination and segregation would be an understatement. More books like this need to proliferate so that people reading now can understand the history of systems of oppression, how they were allowed to manifest and continue, as well as how people subverted them and fought to make changes for equal access. The sad fact is that although libraries have become much more welcoming spaces that have written into their Codes of Conduct and Mission Statements that they will not tolerate racial discrimination of any kind, whether toward a patron or directed at an employee who may be a person of colour, access to quality reading material continues to be a problem for many under-served and neglected communities in the Southern United States.

I personally think this book should be taught in graduate library school programs if it is not already included in that capacity.

“One of the things we do in libraries is we encourage children to share their story and to hear the stories of all kinds of people from all over the world.” Mike Selby details the segregation people faced in libraries during the sixties that didn’t allow this freedom for all.

This little known part of American history was withholding knowledge from African Americans. As we learn throughout this book, the vast majority of libraries were desegregated on paper only. Freedom Libraries were started for the African American population in the south by some of the most brave and courageous individuals. People gave up their lives so that others could read. Having little to no support, these libraries created the first encounter many African Americans had with a library. Freedom Libraries became much more then a place to house reading material. They became community centers where members of the community could come and share their culture and their real life stories.

As a librarian, it disgusts me to learn that the American Library Association did not stand up to support these libraries.

Selby presents the topics of segregation and civil rights in one of the most important books of the year. A must read.

Disclaimer: ARC via Netgalley

It is well known that denying knowledge is a way to keep a group down or enslaved. It is the reason why teaching a slave to read was crime. We have, in some senses, over looked the power of education not only in the Civil Right movement. Luckily this didn’t sit well with Mike Selby.

While most people know about the Freedom Riders, but the libraries that were set up in towns and the education that the places provided are less well known, though the people who ran them faced the same level of violence and harassment. Selby traces various libraries in various states as well as one that was run in Philadelphia.

Selby provides biographical details about the various people who ran and set up the libraries as well as interviewing people who used them. In some cases, the libraries were more popular than the university libraries that they resided next to. The book opens with Selby providing background into how various public libraries and the ALA itself viewed Jim Crow laws and access to books (knowledge). This background shows not only why the Freedom Libraries were needed but also how knowledge was held back from African-Americans. Though, there are some surprises in some states, and sometimes rather strange partnerships.

The sheer opening of a library was a struggle from getting the books to finding a suitable building. The libraries were also concealed about diversity well ahead of the curve – in particular looking for books about black history and by black authors. The books were donated, and in some cases, even collected by young children. Selby, like many a book lover, seems to be increasingly frustrated that there is no list of titles for any of the libraries, though this is hardly surprising. While Selby does mention popular titles in the various libraries, I found myself wishing that there was a comprehensive list of known titles at the back of the book.

Selby also details the resistance and violence that the librarians faced, including times when the places were bombed. The cover of the book drives home this point for it is of two men guarding a Freedom Library.

Selby’s writing style is that of a reporter. His prose quickly grabs the reader and the book actually flies by. The structure of the book works quite well and Selby takes the time to explain why different states called for different approaches.

If you are interested in libraries and/or the Civil Right Movement, you should read this book.