"One of Allain's main contributions to the fight for intellectual freedom within libraries was the work he did with American Library Association's Office for Intellectual Freedom to co-found the Freedom to Read Foundation (FTRF) in 1969."
Alexander Allain 1920 –1994
Alexander Allain ( 1920-1994) was honored in 1975 by ALA with Honorary Membership for his work to found the Freedom to Read Foundation. Allain is recognized as one of "100 of the Most Important Leaders we had in the 20th Century" for being "a true visionary" in his battle to uphold the First Amendment.
Allain served as a liaison officer in the French Navy during World War II, stationed in Casablanca. After serving time in the navy, he received his law degree from Loyola University New Orleans in 1942.
In 1953, Allain was appointed to the St. Mary Parish Library Board of Control in Louisiana. It was during this time that the United States feared communism and scrutinized libraries for harboring any information that could potentially influence the public opinion. This was an influential time in Allain's life as he went on to make intellectual freedom cases his life's work.
Allain was very involved in the Louisiana Library Association (LLA) as well as the American Library Association. In 1964, he was the first chair of the Louisiana Library Association Intellectual Freedom Committee, and he continued to stay active in the state association throughout his life. He also served in numerous other capacities such as chair and vice-chair of the LLA Trustees Section
In 1970 Allain testified at Congressional Hearings on behalf of libraries for an extension of the Library Services and Construction Act.
The Louisiana Library Association annually recognizes librarians who promote intellectual freedom in Louisiana with the Alex Allain Intellectual Freedom Award.
Freedom to Read Foundation
One of Allain's main contributions to fight for intellectual freedom within libraries was the work he did with American Library Association's Office for Intellectual Freedom to co-found the Freedom to Read Foundation (FTRF) in 1969.
The Freedom to Read Foundation was set up in conjunction with the ALA's Office for Intellectual Freedom instead of as a separate entity because of the work ALA was already doing to protect the First Amendment and intellectual freedom. When the Foundation was being planned for and organized, Allain expressed concern in a letter to the Director of the Intellectual Freedom Office, Judith Krug, that ALA members would forget what the ALA has done and continues to do for intellectual freedom by covering themselves in this new umbrella of aid and assistance in the Freedom to Read Foundation . Allain felt that there should be overlap of both organizations so that the focus remained centered on intellectual freedom and could be worked on in harmony.
Library Trustees
Library trustees, along with intellectual freedom, were another area of Allain's interest and expertise. Some of his publications in this area include:
· "Trustees & Censorship," in The Library Trustee: a Practical Guidebook, 1964;
· "Public Library Governing Bodies & Intellectual Freedom", Library Trends, July 1970
· "The First & Fourteenth Amendment as They Support Libraries, Librarians, Library Systems & Library Development," Illinois Libraries, January 1974.
Awards & Honors
Sources
Asato, Noriko. "The Origins of the Freedom to Read Foundation: Public Librarians' Campaign to Establish a Legal Defense against Library Censorship." Public Library Quarterly (New York, N.Y.) 30, no. 4 (2011): 286–306.
Dawson, Alma, "Awards," p. 58. in Dawson, Alma, Florence M Jumonville, and Louisiana Library Association. 2003. A History of the Louisiana Library Association, 1925-2000. Baton Rouge, LA: Louisiana Library Association.
In memoriam: Alexander Peter Allain 1920-1994", Louisiana Libraries, Winter 2006, 4.
Kniffel, L., Sullivan, P., & McCormick, E. (December 1999). "100 of the most important leaders we had in the 20th century", American Libraries, 39.
Library services and construction amendments of 1970: hearing, Ninety-first Congress, second session, on H.R. 16365 and S. 3318. September 10, 1970, pp. 101-110.
The Robert B. Downs Intellectual Freedom Award University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, School of Information Sciences.
Roster of American Library Association Honorary Membership - Wikipedia
Alexander Allain. Wikipedia
Submitted by Kathleen de la Peña McCook
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In honor of the Sesquicentennial (150th Anniversary of ALA) in 2026, the Library History Round Table is hosting Librarians We Have Lost, Sesquicentennial Memories -1976-2026. This collage of tributes seeks to honor librarians who died between 1976-2026. The tributes are published to ALA Connect, a digital memorial on LHRT News & Notes, and ALA's institutional repository (ALAIR).
We invite tributes from anyone about any library worker who passed away between 1976-2026. To submit a tribute, please use the form at https://lhrt.news/librarians-we-have-lost-sesquicentennial-memories-1976-2026-2/
For questions or comments, please reach out to Dr. Kathleen McCook (kmccook@usf.edu) or Brett Spencer (dbs21@psu.edu).
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Brett Spencer
Reference Librarian
Thun Library, Penn State Berks
He/Him/His
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