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MBLC Celebrates 125 Years

1945

Poster listing services of the ALA's Committee for Economic Development

Poster from the ALA's Committee for Economic Development. Almost everyone was focused on the massive influx of service personnel returning home and the post-WWII economy.1


In 1945: Wartime restrictions lifted! Restrictions on library books dealing with explosives, secret inks, and ciphers were imposed by order of the United States Secretary of War in 1942. "Since hostilities have ceased, it is agreed that the necessity for limiting the circulation and use of these types of books no longer exists and that the libraries which participated in this program should be notified to this effect."1

What else happened in 1945?

  • Hitler committed suicide (April 30); Germany surrendered to the Allies (May 7); May 8 was declared V-E Day2
  • The San Francisco Conference established the United Nations.3
  • A B-25 bomber flew into the Empire State Building, killing 13.2
  • The United States dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima (August 6) and Nagasaki (August 9); Japan surrendered on V-J Day (September 2).2
  • The first experimental microwave relay system was introduced by Western Union between New York and Philadelphia. This distribution system transmitted communication signals via radio along a series of towers. With lower costs than coaxial cable, microwave relay stations carried most TV traffic by the 1970s.4

References:
1. American Library Association Bulletin, November 1945.
2. www.infoplease.com [link].
3. www.un.org [link].
4. fcc.gov [link].