2840 bill, which the 34th President of the United States Dwight D. Eisenhower signed into law on June 19, 1956.

In 1935, as part of Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal, the American Library Association recognized that federal funding was a solution to expand services.

Schremser produced a historical overview that includes discussion of major participants in the legislation.

[9] Thus, making state and local governments prioritize the improvement of their libraries while also establishing their own initiatives and objectives.

Governor Harold Handley believed that by accepting the funds, “Hoosiers would be brainwashed with books handpicked by the Washington bureaucrats.”[9] U.S. Representative John Brademas of Indiana vehemently disagreed.

[11] An additional 5 million books and other informational and educational materials were secured for rural communities.