Emerson Greenaway (May 25, 1906 – April 8, 1990)[1] was an American librarian of considerable note, particularly during the Cold War era of the 1950s.

[6] During his time as head of the Pratt Library, Greenaway introduced both a film department and the bookmobile, both of which continue to serve the Baltimore community today.

Greenaway was a longtime advocate of adult education but also placed a great deal of emphasis on children's within the Pratt Library.

He was a vocal proponent of federal funding for libraries rather than requiring smaller communities to take on the bulk of the financial burden.

[10] In a 1959 speech and accompanying article for the American Philosophical Society, he detailed his own plans to create physical library spaces to better serve patrons.

[14] Greenaway argued that one of the main purposes of public access to information was to educate the masses against beliefs he found undesirable, such as communism.

In 1955 the American Library Association honored him with the Joseph W. Lippincott Award for distinguished service to the profession of librarianship.

[18] In 1964, he participated in an ALA-sponsored delegation trip to the Soviet Union, an area he had studied closely during his time as president of the ALA.[19] He also continued to serve on several task forces for the ALA.