Despite the fact that the United States has not experienced combat on its soil since the Civil War, there have been many times when the country prepared for enemy invasion and disaster.

During the Cold War of the 1950s and 1960s, threat of possible nuclear attack by the Soviet Union inspired the creation of the Federal Civil Defense Administration by President Truman.

The Government Publications Department of the Free Library is home to many informational pamphlets produced by the FCDA during the Cold War, which were intended to prepare the American public for emergencies.

The events of September 11, 2001, as well as public concerns about pandemic avian influenza, dirty bombs, global warming, and crises such as Hurricane Katrina, have once again made preparedness a public issue. In 2006, the Federal Civil Defense Administration emerged as the Federal Emergency Management Agency under the Department of Homeland Security.

In browsing the Free Library's collection of pamphlets, one sees the differences between the "Civil Defense" and "Emergency Management" eras. While the methods of preparation are remarkably similar, the approaches taken are quite different.

Please visit the hallway outside the Government Publications Department on the first floor of the Central Library to see these and the many other such pamphlets in person.