The Victory Book Campaign (VBC) was a national drive to collect books for the Army
and Navy, led by the American Library Association and The Red Cross. The program
lasted two years with drives from November 25, 1941 to March 26, 1942 and again
January 5, 1943 to March 5, 1943. Originally called the National Defense Book
Campaign, the name was changed to VBC a week after Pearl Harbor. Despite many books
being deemed unfit due to condition or subject matter, the campaign distributed 10
million books to the U.S. military.
A board made up of members from the U.S.O., A.R.C., and A.L.A., led the VBC,
appointing Althea H. Warren, librarian at the Los Angeles Public Library as the
first director. Warren organized each state, directed publicity, and oversaw book
collection and distribution. Richard E. Krug, Milwaukee Public Library’s Director,
was selected as Wisconsin’s State Director for the VBC.
