“Neighborhood Library Modernization”: Public Library Development and Racial Inequality in Milwaukee during the 1960s

By the early 1960s, the Milwaukee Public Library (MPL), Richard Krug (head librarian of MPL), and Milwaukee mayor Henry Maier and his administration became major partners in expanding the reach of branch libraries across its urban neighborhoods. MPL grew from thirteen isolated libraries to nine connected branch libraries through the coordinated branch library system by 1972. This paper analyzes the history of library expansion in Milwaukee during the 1960s. Goals of community engagement, partnership, and citywide circulation guided the development of branch library construction. However, the creation of these branch libraries in Milwaukee was interconnected with the existence of racial inequality and changing racial demographics in the social, political, and economic context of the African American population in the city. Site and budget decisions made in this context had long-term consequences for the nine new branch libraries in Milwaukee.