City librarian has earned national media attention
When “Ms.” magazine named Santa Monica’s top librarian one of the year’s “50 Women Who Fought and Won,” Wini Allard wondered what all the fuss was about.
Sure, she’d refused to hand over private library records to secret-service men without a court order. But Allard figured that’s what any First Amendment-minded librarian would do.
“It seemed a lot of notoriety over just doing the right thing, as far as I’m concerned,” Allard, 66, said Friday. “I didn’t feel as though I’d gone out and fought a battle or anything.”
Allard joked that the local press attention at the time of the incident and the recent magazine article constituted her “15 minutes of fame.” In reality, Allard, a widower and grandmother who lives in Century City, is content as a community force who operates largely behind the scenes.
The Harvard-educated librarian has worked in Santa Monica for 13 years. She moved to Los Angeles from Detroit as a young mother so her husband William could take work as a landscape architect. Though William passed away five years ago from stomach cancer, Allard still keeps their Century City townhouse and appears as excited as ever about books. She is an avid reader.
For Allard, there’s plenty to look forward to.
In the fall of 2005, the new $52 million Santa Monica main library is scheduled to open, complete with state-of-the-art equipment and ecologically astute facilities. Asked if she’s excited to be at the helm with the new building less than two years off, Allard said, “Oh my goodness, yes. I think it’s going to be such a landmark in this city.”
Here, the Daily Press asks more about Santa Monica’s resident bookworm.
You’ve become a national champion of First Amendment rights. How’d that happen?
“We’re very conscious. We talk about it a lot. If someone comes in asking for information about a library user, we have a routine. They’re referred to the administration, and I get in touch with the city attorney.
“I also have been adamant that they must have a court order to release information. Sometimes it feels a little uncomfortable to be quite so rigid, but I feel I have a responsibility. And I have had a lot of positive response from the community, people saying they appreciate that I’ve done that. So I will continue to take that stand.”
Can you tell us more about your interaction with the government?
“I’m not supposed to, but I will. There was only one, and it was shortly after 9-11.... It was the Secret Service. I must say that was a little off-putting, to have the Secret Service come in and say, ‘We need this information.’ So I said, ‘Fine, you’ll have to have a court order.’
“They were back within 24 hours with a court order. The unfortunate thing is the individual they were looking for was not in our records, so I felt it was a moot point... But I feel that what one person reads is no one else’s business.
“Now (officials are) concerned about people carrying almanacs.... It can get really absurd then, that they could arrest someone for wanting to carry around an almanac because they may be a terrorist....
“I was at a state workshop about the Patriot Act... and an FBI man said, ‘I don’t understand it, don’t you people want us to help stop terrorism?’ So they’re entirely missing the point. Of course we want to catch terrorists, but we also want to protect our rights and all the things we live here for....
“I thought it was a nice tactic to put us on the defense, that ‘Why don’t we want to fight terrorists?’ But I guess that’s quite typical.”
What about “Ms.” Magazine. How was that experience?
“There had been some information about this in the local papers.... The reporter at “Ms.” had heard about that, and they had heard about women taking stands....
“I did get a lot of response from people in the community. I had one person that called me and said, ‘Thanks for being such a gutsy broad.’ So I thought that was thanks enough. I love the idea of being a gutsy broad, although I’m not sure “Ms.” would appreciate that.”
You’ve worked in Santa Monica for 13 years. What do you like most about it here?
“I think the thing that I like most about the city is the concern of the community. I have never lived in a place where a community has been more concerned with the rights and the good of all, and I find that very impressive.
“I also love being this close to the ocean. I think it makes the city very special.... Maybe because of the vastness of the ocean, it allows people to think in bigger terms than people in enclosed cities. That’s kind of far-fetched, but I wonder.”
What about the other side of the coin. What areas would you like to see improved?
“A lot of things I would like to leave just as they are. I think maybe the density and the inability to park and easily get where you want to go.... That’s one of the things that I’d like to see changed and improved.
How do you think that might be accomplished?
“Gee, I wish I knew. I think if I knew, I’d have a job for life, wouldn’t I?
“I think the emphasis is towards a walking city, but it’s a hard thing to do. It’s a hard thing to change people’s mindsets — when people in Southern California are so accustomed to jumping in a car, they don’t think about walking anywhere.”
If you weren’t the city librarian, what would you be doing?
“I’d probably be a reference librarian somewhere.”
What about your dream job, what would that be?
“I think this is it. I love this job. I love this community.”
COMMUNITY PROFILE:
Wini Allard, city librarian
As the city librarian, Allard oversees Santa Monica’s main library and its three branches. A devoted protector of the First Amendment, Allard is also overseeing the new main library construction, a project expected to cost $52 million and be completed in the fall of 2005.
Background: Before coming to Santa Monica in 1991, Allard worked for 12 years with the County of Los Angeles Public Library system.
Education: Undergraduate studies at University of California, Los Angeles. Masters in Library and Information Science from the University of Michigan and Masters in Public Administration from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government.
Family: Widower with two children and two grandchildren. Daughter, Michelle, is 34. Son, Scott, is 32.
Born: Jan. 3, 1938, in Detroit, Mich.
Residence: Culver City townhouse.
Hobbies: Reading — anything, but especially mystery novels — and traveling.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on January 12, 2004. Read the original PDF.