Horn, Zoia, 1918-2014

Zoia Horn (b. March 14, 1918, Odessa, Ukraine–d. July 12, 2014, Oakland, CA) emigrated with her family to Canada in 1926 and later relocated to New York City where she attended Brooklyn College and the Pratt Institute Library School. Horn is best known for her participation in a 1971 trial in Pennsylvania. The FBI contacted Horn, a librarian at Bucknell University, seeking evidence involving Philip Berrigan, a Roman Catholic priest and anti-war activist. Bucknell University Library 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 were subpoenaed to testify for the prosecution in front of a grand jury, but Horn refused to testify at the trial on the grounds that her forced testimony would threaten intellectual and academic freedom. She served 20 days in Dauphin County Jail, but was released after the prosecution's case was found unreliable. She continued to speak out on issues of academic and intellectual freedom and was outspoken in her opposition to the provisions of the Patriot Act concerning library surveillance. The Intellectual Freedom Committee of the California Library Association annually awards the Zoia Horn Intellectual Freedom Award.