activates human capabilities; diminishes the division between people of different classes; and provides access to information — is an indicator of our society's commitment to fundamental human rights, democracy, and social responsibility. 1930s – 1950s 1936 - The Chicago Public Library issues the first intellectual freedom policy. 1939 - The first banning of the book The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck occurs during a transformative time for librarianship in the United States and its response to the issue of intellectual freedom. Most significant was the ban in Kern County, California, the main setting of the novel. This ban was likely a product of the desire of groups who had financial interests in California corporate farming to protect those interests, rather than the professed reason of obscenity. 1939 - The Library Bill of Rights is adopted by the American Library Association; it is the American Library Association's statement expressing the rights of library users to intellectual freedom and the expectations the association places on libraries to support those rights. 1939 - The Progressive Librarians Council (PLC) is founded by Philip Keeney and Mary Jane Keeney. Begins publishing the PLC Bulletin. 1940 - The PLC adopts a Statement of Purpose which lists certain aims pertinent to human rights: promotion of federal and state aid to libraries, support of the ALA's Committee on Intellectual Freedom, and opposition to involvement in the war. 1941 - The PLC adopts several resolutions after the annual meeting in Boston. The resolutions state the organization's positions on racial discrimination, cooperation with organized labor, salaries, civil rights of library workers and users, and continued aid to library workers seeking asylum (refugees coming to the United States from Fascist Europe). 1944 - The PLC disbands after the Organization Round Table and the Unions Round Table gain momentum and the number of round tables increase. 1956 - For many years the ALA avoided meeting in the South due to racial segregation. This was the year that ALA held its first integrated conference located in Miami Beach. 1960s – 1970s February 2, 1961 - the American Library Association (ALA) established Amendment V to the Library Bill of Rights to state, "A person's right to use a library should not be denied or abridged because of origin, age, background, or views". 1964 - The passage of the Library Services and Construction Act (LSCA) provides crucial funding for developing library services and collections