Free Speech Community Loses a Champion

On January 12, free speech advocate Gordon Conable died suddenly of a heart attack at his home in Riverside, California. He was 58 years old. Conable was president of the American Library Association's Freedom to Read Foundation (FRTF) since 1998. He was also an ALA Council member and an executive for Library Systems and Services (LSSI).

"Gordon Conable was a true First Amendment hero who put his career on the line more than once to defend free speech," said American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression President Chris Finan. "In 1992, he outraged some people in his library district when he bought the Madonna book Sex. Someone even called in a bomb threat. But Gordon refused to back down. Some of his patrons had requested the book, and that was all that mattered to him. His courage will be deeply missed."

Joyce Meskis of Tattered Cover Book Store in Denver, who served with Conable on the FRTF Board, told BTW, "The death of Gordon Conable is a tremendous loss for his family, colleagues, and all who have been engaged in the love and importance of books, certainly for those who knew him, and even those who didn't. Through the thoughtful process that marked his professional endeavors, as well as by his example, vision and strength, Gordon provided the tools that enabled those with whom he worked to support and enhance the rights of readers everywhere.

"Working with Gordon on the Freedom to Read Foundation Board was a privilege and an education, as well as a pleasure. In his capacity as president of the Board of Trustees, he provided an extraordinary form of leadership that brought wisdom, knowledge, compassion, action, and a strong sense of principle and purpose to the most formidable tasks at hand, of which there were many. While good humored and gentle, he didn't flinch in the face of challenge. An articulate and experienced spokesperson, he represented the interests of not only librarians, but readers and all who cherish the rights inherent in the First Amendment. He will be sorely missed."

Gordon Conable received his master's degree in library science in 1976 from Columbia University. He began his library career at Washington's Fort Vancouver Regional Library and eventually became associate director of the library system. From 1988 to 1998, he served as director of Michigan's Monroe County Library System.

Surviving Conable are his wife, Irene; son, Ted; brothers, Daniel and Bill, and a sister, Katherine Conable.

In his honor, the FTRF has established the Gordon Conable Memorial Fund. Checks should be made out to the foundation and sent to Judith Krug, Office for Intellectual Freedom, 50 E. Huron St., Chicago, IL 60611.