Alexander Peter Allain (June 27, 1920 – January 5, 1994) was a lawyer and library advocate known for his work securing the freedom of expression."In memoriam: Alexander Peter Allain 1920-1994", ''Louisiana Libraries'', Winter 2006, 4. His career was devoted to securing

First Amendment First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and reco ...

rights for libraries. Allain is recognized as one of ''

American Libraries ''American Libraries'' is the flagship magazine of the American Library Association (ALA). About ''American Libraries'' was first published in 1970 as a continuation of the long-running ''ALA Bulletin,'' which had served as the Association’s ...

“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; his work with the

American Library Association The American Library Association (ALA) is a nonprofit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world, with 49,727 members a ...

(ALA) included helping with the creation of the Office for Intellectual Freedom in 1967 and cofounding the

Freedom to Read Foundation The Freedom to Read Foundation (FTRF) is an American non-profit anti-censorship organization, established in 1969 by the American Library Association.Samek, Toni (2007). Librarianship and Human Rights: a twenty-first century guide. Cambridge: Woodh ...

.Kniffel, L., Sullivan, P., & McCormick, E. (December 1999). "100 of the most important leaders we had in the 20th century", ''American Libraries'', 39.

Early life

Born in

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

, as a young man, Allain served as a liaison officer in the

French Navy The French Navy (french: Marine nationale, lit=National Navy), informally , is the maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the five military service branches of France. It is among the largest and most powerful naval forces in t ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, stationed in

Casablanca Casablanca, also known in Arabic as Dar al-Bayda ( ar, الدَّار الْبَيْضَاء, al-Dār al-Bayḍāʾ, ; ber, ⴹⴹⴰⵕⵍⴱⵉⴹⴰ, ḍḍaṛlbiḍa, : "White House") is the largest city in Morocco and the country's econom ...

. After serving time in the navy, he received his law degree from

Loyola University New Orleans Loyola University New Orleans is a Private university, private Jesuit university in New Orleans, New Orleans, Louisiana. Originally established as Loyola College in 1904, the institution was chartered as a university in 1912. It bears the name o ...

in 1942. In 1953, Allain was appointed to the St. Mary Parish Library Board of Control in Louisiana.Allain, Alexander Peter, in ''Directory of Library & Information Professionals'' (Vol. 1, pp. 13-14). Woodbridge, CN: Research Publications. It was during this time that the United States feared

communism Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...

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 Intellectual freedom encompasses the freedom to hold, receive and disseminate ideas without restriction. Viewed as an integral component of a democratic society, intellectual freedom protects an individual's right to access, explore, consider, and ...

cases his life’s work.

The Louisiana Library Association

Allain was very involved in th
Louisiana Library Association (LLA)
as well as the ALA. 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 was instrumental in the formation of the Council of Louisiana Trustees (COLT), which worked to organize library trustee activity in Louisiana. He also served in numerous other capacities such as chair and vice-chair of the LLA Trustees Section.

The Freedom to Read Foundation and the American Library Association

One of Allain’s biggest contributions to fight for intellectual freedom within libraries was the work he did with ALA’s Office of Intellectual Freedom to co-found the

(FTRF) in 1969. The FTRF was set up in conjunction with the ALA’s office of Intellectual Freedom instead of as a separate entity because of the work ALA was already doing to protect the

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 Judith Fingeret Krug (March 15, 1940 – April 11, 2009) was an American librarian, freedom of speech proponent, and critic of censorship. Krug became director of the Office for Intellectual Freedom at the American Library Association in ...

, 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 FTRF.Allain, Alex P. Letter to Judith F. Krug. 7 October 1969. 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. Allain also felt that in forming the FTRF with the ALA, the Foundation would be able to benefit from some of the clout and connections that ALA already had. He also suggested keeping policies between the two organizations similar because of his belief in the good work that the ALA does; he was continuously concerned about the ALA in his creation of the foundation and did not want members to see the foundation as a replacement but rather an addition to.

Other works, achievements and involvements

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,” The Library Trustee: a Practical Guidebook, 1964; “Public Library Governing Bodies & Intellectual Freedom”, Library Trends, July 1970; and “The First & Fourteenth Amendment as They Support Libraries, Librarians, Library Systems & Library Development”, Illinois Libraries, January 1974. According to an article in memory of Allain in Louisiana Libraries, he won many awards including: LLA’s Modisette Award for Trustees (1965), ALA’s Trustee Award (1969), the University of Illinois’ Robert B. Downs Award (1973), ALA Honorary Life Membership (1975), the John Phillip Immroth Memorial Award (1979), the Freedom to Read Foundation Roll of Honor Award (1989 and 1999), the Southeastern Library Association President’s Award (1990) and the LLA Intellectual Freedom Award (1991). The Franklin branch of the St. Mary Parish Library in Louisiana is named in Allain's memory. Outside of his professional life, Allain was an avid volunteer in the community. He was a member of Rotary International,

Knights of Columbus The Knights of Columbus (K of C) is a global Catholic fraternal service order founded by Michael J. McGivney on March 29, 1882. Membership is limited to practicing Catholic men. It is led by Patrick E. Kelly, the order's 14th Supreme Knight. ...

Scouting Scouting, also known as the Scout Movement, is a worldwide youth movement employing the Scout method, a program of informal education with an emphasis on practical outdoor activities, including camping, woodcraft, aquatics, hiking, backpacking ...

and his Chamber of Commerce.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Allain, Alexander 1920 births 1994 deaths People from Louisiana American librarians Loyola University New Orleans College of Law alumni French Navy personnel of World War II 20th-century American lawyers American librarianship and human rights French Navy officers American expatriates in Morocco