On December 7, 1941, the Japanese navy launched a surprise attack on Hawaii’s Pearl Harbor, resulting in the official entrance of the United States into World War II. Roughly six months later, the DC Public Library opened an official War Reading Room in its central library “as a central location for war-related literature [including subjects such as civilian defense, the causes of war, and the history of the armed forces] to educate patrons on the ongoing war and its context.” Image via Dig DC, the DC Public Library’s digital depository for historic photographs and other documents from our collections.
[image description: black & white digitized photograph of a reading room with bookshelf-lined walls, decorated with patriotic symbols including the American flag. Patrons sit at a table reading while another browses the books on the shelves. A librarian sits at the reference desk by the door to assist patrons in finding information.]