One of the recent announcements concerning the release of the latest Joseph Smith Papers volume mentioned the generosity of (unnamed) persons whose contributions allowed the Church to place copies of the Papers series in appropriate research libraries around the world.
There may have been earlier, small-scale attempts in missions to place Latter-day Saint literature in libraries where it could reach people who might never speak to a missionary, but I think the first organized attempt to do that took place in 1930, when a committee, headed by James E. Talmage, asked missionaries throughout the United States to approach local librarians and offer them a copy of the Book of Mormon for their institutions. Rather than hand the books directly to librarians, elders were instructed to offer them a postpaid post card for the librarian to send to Salt Lake City requesting a copy. This system was thought to ensure that librarians really did want a copy of the book – it was free, but they had to make the tiniest bit of effort to sign and mail the card. It didn’t work too well – too many missionaries avoided approaching the librarians, merely filling in the addresses of libraries themselves and sending the cards to Salt Lake without librarian signature. When the books were shipped out, too many of them were returned to Salt Lake as unwanted. That program was dropped after a year or so.
In the spring of 1933, Louis N. Freeman, the West Coast representative of the New York publisher Macmillan Company, was trying to sell books. He was having a hard time of it, because the Depression was in full swing. “Public library budgets are so small,” he noted, “that few libraries are in a position to purchase anything but the cheaper and more popular books of fiction.”
One of the books Freeman was charged with promoting was a new biography of Joseph Smith, Joseph Smith, an American Prophet, by John Henry Evans. Between the library budget cuts and the not-wildly-popular topic, nobody was buying. Who, he asked himself, would buy this book?
Well, Mormons, of course. Hmmm … what if the Church itself would buy a lot of copies? May be a thousand? three thousand? even five thousand?
Freeman visited Salt Lake at the end of March, 1933, and called at Church headquarters. He met with Joseph Fielding Smith as Church Historian, and with Melvin J. Ballard, an apostle, and probably with others who were available to talk to him, and made his pitch. “The average popular book of non-fiction in a public library,” he told them, “has a circulation of approximately one hundred. If the Mormon Church were to place one thousand copies of this book in the libraries, it would mean that more than one hundred thousand people would be given the opportunity of reading the life of Joseph Smith and understanding the principles for which he stood.” The Macmillan Company would offer “a most reasonable price” to the Church and give their cooperation in other ways.
Freeman continued to push his idea in the days following his meeting. He mailed copies of the biography to key Church leaders, and assured them – as if they didn’t know – that “Mr. Evans is a member in good standing of the church of Latter Day Saints, and in writing this book he has been very careful to check all sources of information, presenting the life of Joseph Smith accurately, fairly and intelligently.”
It was mid-July before Church leaders completed their discussions and decided that yes, this was a good idea. They wouldn’t go as far as buying the 5,000 copies that Freeman hoped to sell, but they would buy 650 copies, with 125 coming to Church headquarters and the rest going to libraries around the United States, to be designated by the Church.
I don’t know how much of a discount the Macmillan Company offered the Church. The book sold to the public for $4 in 1933, so even with a deep discount the Church could easily have invested at least $1,500, maybe much more, in this plan. Small as it seems today, this was a significant investment in 1933. Tithing revenues had dropped precipitously since the beginning of the Depression. Missionary numbers fell dramatically as families struggled to support themselves at home, never mind an elder in the field. $1,500 was much more than the Church typically contributed to branches in the missions who needed help building small chapels. This was a serious commitment, and must have involved a lot of discussion among Church leaders.
The Church arranged for the Macmillan Company to mail the books from the publisher’s facilities, and to print and include with each book a notice that the book was presented to the library with the compliments of the LDS Church’s First Presidency, and a postpaid post card asking the librarian to acknowledge the gift.
The list of libraries provided by the Church for the Macmillan Company to send books to is a very detailed one – it doesn’t merely say “public library in such-and-such a town,” but rather names each individual library: “Silas Bronson Library in Waterbury, Connecticut,” or Gail Borden Public Library” in Elgin, Illinois, for example.
Macmillan sent out the books, and the acknowledgment cards came pouring back to Salt Lake. The Carnegie-Stout Free Public Library in Dubuque, Iowa was pleased to accept the book. The Boston Athenaeum acknowledged receipt, with gratitude. So did the public libraries in Kalamzaoo, Michigan; Newburgh, New York; Cleveland, Ohio; and Boulder, Colorado.
In fact, only one library apparently rejected the gift. Miss Louise M. Fernald of the Great Falls (Montana) Public Library returned the book to the publisher, without comment. Thinking that perhaps they had omitted the postcard and that she had misunderstood this to be something she had to pay for, Macmillan’s clerks wrote to her with an explanation. No response. They wrote a second time. No response. So Great Falls went without this donation to their citizens.
The list of towns whose libraries received copies of the book is presented here – just the towns, not the names of the individual libraries. In most cases, the books were addressed to the public, free, or Carnegie libraries in these towns. State libraries and a few universities were also recipients.
Is your city on the list?
Alabama
Birmingham
Mobile
Montgomery
Arizona
Mesa
Phoenix (Maricopa County)
Phoenix (Public)
Arkansas
Little Rock
Pine Bluff
California
Alameda
Alhambra
Bakersfield
Berkeley
El Centro
Eureka
Fairfield
Fresno
Glendale
Hanford
Hollister
Long Beach
Los Angeles (Public)
Los Angeles (Free)
Madera
Martinez
Merced
Modesto
Oakland
Oroville
Palo Alto
Pasadena
Pomona
Quincy
Redlands
Redwood City
Richmond
Riverside
Sacramento (Free)
Sacramento (State Library
Salinas
San Bernardino
San Diego
San Francisco
San Jose
San Luis Obispo
Santa Ana
Santa Barbara
Santa Cruz
Santa Monida
Stockton
Susanville
Ventura
Visalia
Willows
Woodland
Yreka
Yuba City
Colorado
Boulder
Delta
Denver (State)
Denver (Public)
Fort Collins
La Junta
Longmont
Pueblo
Trinidad
Connecticut
Branford
Bristol
Hartford (Public)
Hartford (State Library)
Hartford (Watkinson)
New Britain
New Haven
Norwich
Southport
Stamford
Waterbury
Delaware
Dover
Wilmington
District of Columbia
Washington, D.C.
Florida
Daytona Beach
Jacksonville
Lakeland
Miami
Orlando
Sanford
Tampa
Georgia
Atlanta (Free)
Atlanta (State)
Columbus
Savannah
Washington
Idaho
Boise (Free Traveling)
Boise (Public)
Coeur d’Alene
Lewiston
Illinois
Aurora
Belleville
Bloomington
Cairo
Carbondale
Champaign
Chicago (John Crerar)
Chicago (Public)
Danville
Decatur
Dundee
Elgin
Elmhurst
Evanston
Freeport
Galesburg
Glencoe
Jacksonville
Joliet
Lake Forest
Monmouth
Oak Park
Pana
Peoria
Rockford
Rock Island
Springfield
Streator
Indiana
Anderson
Bloomington
Crawfordville
Evansville (Public)
Evansville (Willard)
Fort Wayne
Gary
Greencastle
Hammond
Huntington
Indianapolis
Kokoma
Marion
Michigan City
Muncie
New Albany
Richmond
South Bend
Terre Haute
Vincennes
Iowa
Burlington
Cedar Rapids
Council Bluffs
Davenport
Des Moines (Library Commission)
Des Moines (Public)
Dubuque
Ottuma
Sioux City
Waterloo
Kansas
Arkansas City
Dodge City
Lawrence
Leavenworth
Kansas City
Olathe
Topeka (Free)
Topeka (Kansas State)
Topeka (Traveling)
Wichita
Kentucky
Covington
Frankfort
Henderson
Lexington
Louisville
Paducah
Louisiana
Baton Rouge
New Orleans (Howard)
New Orleans (Public)
Shreveport
Maine
Augusta
Bangor
Belfast
Portland
Maryland
Annapolis
Baltimore (City)
Baltimore (Enoch Pratt)
Baltimore (Peabody)
Hagerstown
Massachusetts
Beverly
Boston (Athenaeum)
Boston (Public)
Boston (State)
Brockton
Brookline
Cambridge
Cnhicopee
Clinton
Concord
Fall River
Fitchburg
Framingham
Haverhill
Holyoke
Lawrence
Lowell
Lynn
Malden
Marlboro
Medford
Milton
New Bedford
Newburyport
Newton
North Adams
Northampton
Pittsfield
Quincy
Randolph
Salem
Somerville
Springfield
Taunton
Waltham
Watertown
Weymouth
Michigan
Adrian
Ann Arbor
Bay City (Public)
Bay City (Sage)
Calumet
Charlotte
Detroit
Flint
Grand Rapids
Highland Park
Iron Mountain
Jackson
Kalamazoo
Lansing
Mount Clemens
Muskegon
Port Huron
Royal Oak
Saginaw
Minnesota
Duluth
Eveleth
Hibbing
Minneapolis
St. Paul
Mississippi
Clarksdale
Jackson
Meridian
Missouri
Fulton
Independence
Jefferson City
Joplin
Kansas City
Moberly
Springfield
St Joseph
St. Louis (Mercantile Library Association)
St. Louis (Public)
Webster Groves
Montana
Butte
Deer Lodge
Great Falls
Helena
Malta
Missoula
Nebraska
Alliance
Chadron
Crawford
Scotts Bluff
Lincoln (Public)
Lincoln (State)
Omaha
Nevada
Carson City
Las Vegas
New Hampshire
Concord (Public)
Concord (State)
Dover
Manchester
Nashua
Portsmouth
New Jersey
Atlantic City
Bayonne
Bloomfield
Camden
Cape May
Elizabeth
Haddonfield
Hoboken
Jersey City
Kearny
Montclair
Morristown
Mount Holly
Newark
Passaic
Paterson
Plainfield
Trenton
Union City
New Mexico
Albuquerque
Deming
Socorro
New York
Albany (Public)
Albany (State)
Binghamton
Brooklyn
Buffalo (Grosvenor)
Buffalo (Public)
Elmira
Ithaca
Jamestown
Mount Vernon
Newburgh
New Rochelle
New York City
Niagara Falls
Orange
Palmyra
Poughkeepsie
Rochester (Public)
Rochester (Reynolds)
Rome
Schenectady
Syracuse
Utica
Watertown
White Plains
Yonkers
North Carolina
Asheville
Greensboro
Raleigh (Library Commission)
Raleigh (State)
Winston-Salem
North Dakota
Bismarck
Grand Forks
Williston
Ohio
Akron
Canton
Chillicothe
Cincinnati (Public)
Cincinnati (Young Men’s Mercantile)
Cleveland (Case)
Cleveland (Cuyahoga County)
Cleveland (Public)
Cleveland Heights
Columbus (Ohio State)
Columbus (Public)
Dayton
East Cleveland
Lakewood
Rome
Toledo
Youngstown
Oklahoma
Enid
Muskogee
Oklahoma City (Public)
Oklahoma City (Library Commission)
Oklahoma City (State)
Tulsa
Oregon
Eugene
Klamath Falls
Pendleton
Portland
Salem
The Dalles
Pennsylvania
Allentown
Braddock
Easton
Erie
Harrisburg
Montrose
Oil City
Philadelphia (Athenaeum)
Philadelphia (Free)
Philadelphia (Library Company)
Philadelphia (Mercantile)
Pittsburgh (Carnegie)
Pittsburgh (North Side)
Reading
Scranton
Wilkes-Barre
Rhode Island
Newport
Pawtucket
Providence (Athenaeum)
Providence (Public
Westerly
Woonsocket
South Carolina
Charleston
Marion
South Dakota
Belle Fourche
Canton
Pierre
Winner
Tennessee
Chattanooga
Jackson
Knoxville
Memphis (Public)
Memphis (Cossitt)
Nashville
Texas
Abilene
Amarillo
Austin
Brady
Corsicana
Dallas
Fort Worth
Galveston
Greenville
Houston (Harris County)
Houston (Public)
Palestine
San Antonio
Waco
Utah
American Fork
Beaver
Blanding
Brigham City
Cedar City (Branch Agricultural)
Cedar City (Iron County)
Delta
Ephraim (Public)
Ephraim (Snow College)
Eureka
Garland
Heber
Huntington
Kanab
Kaysville
Lehi
Loa
Logan (Public)
Logan (Agricultural College)
Manti
Moab
Monticello
Morgan
Moroni
Mount Pleasant
Murray
Myton
Nephi
Ogden (Free)
Ogden (Mound Fort)
Ogden (Weber College)
Panguitch
Park City
Parowan
Payson
Pleasant Grove
Price
Provo (Brigham Young University)
Provo (Public)
Richfield
Richmond
Roosevelt
Saint George (Dixie College)
Saint George (Public)
Salina
Salt Lake City (Public)
Salt Lake City (State)
Salt Lake City (University of Utah)
Smithfield
Spanish Fork
Springville
Tooele
Tremonton
Vernal
Vermont
Bellows Falls
Burlington
Lyndonville
Montpelier
South Royalton
Virginia
Lynchburg
Richmond (Public)
Richmond (State)
Washington
Aberdeen
Bellingham
Ellensburg
Hoquiam
Olympia
Pasco
Raymond
Seattle
Spokane
Wenatchee
West Virginia
Bluefield
Charleston
Huntington
Parkersburg
Wheeling
Wisconsin
Eau Claire
Fond du Lac
Green Bay
Janesville
Kenosha
La Crosse
Madison
Manitowoc
Milwaukee
Mondovi
Oshkosh
Racine
Sheboygan
Superior
Wausau
West Allis
Wyoming
Casper
Cheyenne
Douglas
Green River
Kemmerer
Laramie
Rock Springs
Sheridan
Thermopolis
Hey!! my town is on the list, which frankly is rather amazing because the population of the town was a scant 6000 or so. But it had a Carnegie Library.
The only library in Prospector (Colorado interlibrary loan) that still has a 1933 edition of this book is the library at the Pueblo campus of Colorado State University. It might the the original one appearing on this list?
Awesome. I wish they had pasted in bookplates or something so we could know for sure. But really, if any library would hang on to a book that long, it would be a university, no?
Ardis, this explains an odd quirk in my conversion. When my sister & I first learned about the church by touring Temple square on a family vacation, we checked out the only book on “Mormons” from our little public library in Stow, Ohio – not on the list. When we met with the elders, they took one look at the book, Mormonism unveiled, & told us there was not a word of truth in it. The Mission Office promptly provided the funds to donate 5 new books to the library:the Book of Mormon, Articles of Faith * Jesus the Christ by James E. Tallmadge, Gospel Principles & Gospel Doctrine. They offered a second set to my high school library as well, which was accepted. Those 5 books were my own private seminary course while I waited for baptism. Mormonism Unveiled was never returned to the library, at the elder’s suggestion & they paid the fine. The library did not replace it, since they now had a more than adequate “section” on Mormons.
Hurray! I knew there was a basic set of books for libraries, but don’t know the mechanics of how they’re donated. Your mission officers did a great thing.
Alison tracked down Miss Fernald. Who would guess that the only librarian to turn us down would be the only librarian to be memorialized here?
Birth: Minnesota
Death: Silver Bow County, Montana
Burial: Oakland Cemetery, Saint Paul, Minnesota
My hometown isn’t on the list, which isn’t surprising, considering that the entire county just barely cleared 10k people back then, but I was surprised by how few were sent to my home state of Maryland overall (though still more than Virginia and DC, which I would have thought would certainly have gotten more than one).
I’m curious how they determined how many went to different regions of the country—it clearly doesn’t seem to follow population proportions by state (even allowing for a bunch of extras to Utah libraries), and it also doesn’t seem to be proportional to Mormon population (Massachusetts is a pretty long list, nearly as many cities as California). Anyone see any patterns I’m missing?
Weren’t there more recent efforts to place the Encyclopedia of Mormonism? I seem to recall a story to that effect.
My town/county library was part of the Jackson Mississippi library system until the 1970s or 1980s (some of our local children’s books still bear the Jackson Public Library markings). So yes, I’m on the list.
Yeah, Ben, that sounds familiar. There could easily have been many more recent book placements that I don’t know anything about.
David, I tried to spot patterns, too — places where there were missionaries? branches? no missionaries or branches? but I couldn’t recognize anything.
HokieKate, since children’s books tend to get hard wear, if you’re still getting books that have been around that long, I wonder if this biography might still be lurking in the system somewhere, even after all these decades. Maybe not, but it would be fun to see.
Deming, New Mexico? But not Santa Fe? Yeesh!
I searched my county’s library, the Jackson library system, and the statewide site with no results for “American Prophet”. I haven’t seen many older adult books that aren’t part of “Mississippi” history collections. I suspect the children’s books stay in circulation until they disintegrate, and some hard-bound books from the 1960s/70s/80s are very durable.
I changed my search terms and found six results!
Starkville-Oktibbeha County Public Library System
-No copies currently available.
Columbus-Lowndes Public Library System
-No copies currently available.
Tombigbee Regional Library System
-No copies currently available.
First Regional Library (Hernando MS)
-1 copy currently available.
Mid-Mississippi Regional Library (Kosciusko MS)
-No copies currently available.
Lee Itawamba Library System
-1 copy currently available.
Further investigation has them all saying the book is supposed to be in the main stacks at Mississippi State University.
It’s easier imagining that the 1933 gifts are still lingering in some libraries than to imagine those libraries acquiring copies more recently — how fun!
While serving in the Oklahoma Tulsa Mission (’87-’89) we would check the libraries in the small rural towns we came across or served in, to make sure they at least had a copy of the Book of Mormon, and to also be what other LDS books or books on Mormonism they had. Those that didn’t have a copy of the Book of Mormon in their stacks we offered to the library. I’m pretty sure most accepted.
As I was reading this I thought to myself, “wouldn’t be great to see if the book sent to Nashville was still there? Or maybe they sent it to the Tennessee State Archives” If I find it I’ll send you a photo of the book plate.
Apparently, from the catalog, the Seattle Public Library still has their 1933 copy of Evan’s book, but a few of the others listed for Washington do not.
Interestingly, most of the towns listed for Washington that were up and coming cities due to the timber industry, like Hoquiam, Raymond, and Aberdeen, have all declined seriously in the last twenty years we’ve lived here. They have far been eclipsed by Redmond and Bellevue, real backwaters in 1933, but now rivaling Seattle for economic growth and population.
It’s been fun to read where these books still exist, and to imagine you-all checking your online catalogs. 🙂
Another interesting thought on looking at the list a bit more: Neither the (then-)Territories of Alaska or Puerto Rico received any copies, which doesn’t surprise me, but the (then-)Territory of Hawai’i didn’t, either, which does surprise me, given that there’d been a pretty solid Mormon presence there (including a temple since 1919!) for quite a while by 1933.
Since 2010 I have been donating books on the Church to the Tate Library at Harris Manchester College, University of Oxford. I also requested the Church donate a copy of the Encyclopedia of Mormons which they did. The collection has not been widely used but has formed the basis for the research of two students doing bachelor’s dissertationso. The library of the Rothermere American Institute in Oxford also has a good collection of works on mormonism which I try not to duplicate.
Thank you, Ian.