We came to Little Rock without any clear idea as to how we could contribute to the struggle against segregation. Very soon, however, we had an opportunity to become active. During my first semester at Philander Smith, I taught a course on the world since 1919. The Korean War had just broken out a few months earlier and I wanted to find background literature for my students. The poorly equipped college library had little that was relevant. Little Rock, like most larger American cities, had a good public library, but it was not accessible to blacks. There was a small branch library for blacks, that was open only a few hours a week, and a small childrens library. Theoretically, black readers could order any books from the main library, but there was no catalogue of the holdings of the main library at the branch. Moreover, a librarian at the main library told me that books that are in demand there are generally not forwarded to the black branch.
I decided to write a letter to the editor of the Arkansas Gazette, the more liberal of the two Little Rock newspapers, outlining the situation and urging the main library to open its doors to all readers regardless of race, and the letter was published. I did not expect my letter to have any results. But we know now from the minutes of the board of the library that the board took my letter very seriously. They called in President Harris for consultation. Harris then told me that I could send my students to the main library. They went and were served without problems. In fact, the board, which consisted of five members of the Little Rock establishment, had voted unanimously against the opposition of some of the staff to open the library not only to my students, but to all readers. The board also decided against making a public announcement, but word soon spread.
Source: Wilma and Georg Iggers, Two Lives in Uncertain Times, New York: Berghahn Books, 2006, p. 71