Horn, Zoia, 1918-2014

Zoia Markovna Horn née Polisar b. March 14, 1918, Odessa, Ukraine – July 12, 2014, Oakland, CA; emigrated with her family to Canada in 1926 at the age of 8, then to New York City where she attended Brooklyn College and the Pratt Institute Library School; first began working at a library in 1942; In January 1971, Horn was contacted by the FBI, seeking evidence involving Philip Berrigan, a Roman Catholic priest and anti-war activist, Horn worked at Bucknell University Library which relayed letters, allegedly including anti-war plot details and love letters, from fellow anti-war activists, to Berrigan in prison. Horn and another library employee at Bucknell testified before a grand jury. During the trial, they were subpoenaed to testify for the prosecution, but Horn refused to testify at the trial on the grounds that her forced testimony would threaten intellectual and academic freedom. served 20 days in Dauphin County Jail, but was released after the prosecution's case was found unreliable; speak out on issues of academic and intellectual freedom; 1995, Horn published her memoirs, titled ZOIA! Memoirs of Zoia Horn, Battler for the People's Right to Know; Horn was outspoken in her opposition to the provisions of the Patriot Act concerning library surveillance, and allowing the FBI to obtain a warrant from a secret court for library or bookstore records of anyone connected to an investigation concerning terrorism or spying; The Intellectual Freedom Committee of the California Library Association annually awards the Zoia Horn Intellectual Freedom Award