Alexander Allain

Alexander Peter Allain (June 27, 1920 – January 5, 1994) became one of the United States’ most adamant fighters for the freedom of expression though his work as a lawyer and library advocate. His career was devoted to securing First Amendment rights for libraries.

Allain is recognized as one of American Libraries' “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 (ALA) included helping with the creation of the Office for Intellectual Freedom in 1967 and cofounding the Freedom to Read Foundation.

Born in Louisiana, as a young man, Allain served as a liaison officer in the French Navy during World War II, stationed in Casablanca. After serving time in the navy, he received his law degree from Loyola University New Orleans in 1942. In 1953, Allain was appointed to the St. Mary Parish Library Board of Control in Louisiana. It was during this time that the United States feared communism 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 cases his life’s work.

Allain was very involved in the 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.

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-founded the Freedom to Read Foundation (FTRF) in 1969. Based on the Freedom to Read Foundation Web site, the organization was founded as “the American Library Association’s response to its members’ interest in having adequate means to support and defend librarians whose positions are jeopardized because of their resistance to abridgments of the First Amendment; and to set legal precedent for the freedom to read on behalf of all people”.

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