This paper examines the reasons why, in the first half of the twentieth century, Australian librarians were encouraged to adopt professional work practices and educational standards based on US models of "democratic" librarianship. The promotion of US models of library education and association occurred both directly through government agencies such as the United States Office of War Information (OWI), and indirectly through the philanthropic agencies and professional associations such as the Carnegie Corporation of New York (CCNY) and the ALA, and was to have a lasting impact on the work of Australian librarians and on their education. (Contains 68 footnotes.)