History

The Friends of the Long Beach Public Library was  formed as  a support group following the December 4, 1962 City Council hearing on censorship.  The pressure to ban the Nikos Kazantzakis novel, The Last Temptation of Christ, had begun in November, and was an attempt by certain citizens to dictate what books did or did not belong in the library. City Librarian Blanche Collins was supported at that hearing by the Long Beach Council of Churches and by freedom-to-read proponents in the community. 

After the hearing, a group of women discussed the formation of a Friends of the Library so there would be an action group ready if it were needed again. The first formal meeting of the Friends of the Library was held on December 8, 1963. The invitation to membership in the group stated: "The purposes of the organization shall be to further the principle that a well-informed populace and freedom to read are essential to the well-being of our community; and to focus public attention on library needs, services, and facilities." 

Through the years, the Friends has not considered itself either a social or fund-raising group.  Now a group of over four hundred members, it is an active defender of the freedom to read and a supporter of our community's library services through education and legislative action.