Exploring the American Idea at the New York Public Library

In the aftermath of the Second World War, as American society adjusted to the political and international landscape of the early Cold War, librarians examined the role of libraries as agencies of culture. With mounting fears about Communist expansion, government agencies, foundations, and the mass media undertook efforts to educate citizens about the meaning of democracy. Librarians, following intense wartime activity, returned to questions about the public library's appropriate clientele and collections. At the New York Public Library a new reading and discussion group, "Exploring the American Idea" (EAI), merged these strands of societal and professional concerns. Focused on the meaning of the American democratic tradition in turbulent times, EAI can be viewed as part of the postwar effort to create a liberal consensus around democratic values. An adult education program based on the Great Books model, EAI can be regarded as the embodiment of the library as an agency of culture providing serious works to an educated elite. A closer look, however, suggests that as it developed, Exploring the American Idea gave participants room to question the liberal consensus and offered the library a means to expand its audience beyond its traditional base.