Finding Aid for Correspondence and Subject File by Country, 1953-2019 | The American Library Association Archives

Title: Correspondence and Subject File by Country, 1953-2019

ID: 7/2/56

Primary Creator: International Relations Office (IRO)

Extent: 9.0 Cubic Feet

Arrangement: Arranged alphabetically by country name

Date Acquired: 04/26/1974. More info below under Accruals.

Subjects: Australia-Library Education, Brazil, Chile, East-West Cntr Conf on Lib Ed and Training in Devel Countries, England, France, Ghana, Hawaii, India - Libraries, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Nicaragua, South Africa, Sweden, Thailand

Languages: English

General correspondence and subject of the International Relations Office by country (1953-69), contains correspondence and publications from Australia, Brazil, Chile, England, France, Ghana, India, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Nigeria, Sweden, and Thailand, includes a file on Hawai'i after 1959.

The International Relations Board (International Relations Round Table) creatred the International Relations Office (IRO) in June 1942 (1).  The IRO was set up to "carry on its work in cooperation with the other committees of the Association whose work had international implications" (2).  The IRO also functioned as an advisory agency for libraries abroad (3).  In 1942-45, the IRO served "as an operational agency for various projects of the Department of State, the Rockefeller Foundation, and other foundations and libraries" (4).  A "new" IRO was created in 1956 (5).  The IRO concentrated its efforts on library development and the director was charged to "study and investigate the state of library education in various parts of the world" (6).  The director was expected to spend several months of each year in nations on the continents of Asia, Africa, and South America (7).  In 1959, the IRO sponsored (with Rockefeller Foundation monies) a group of ten visiting Japanese librarians who studied reference and advisory services in the United States (8).  The IRO was disbanded in 1972 (9). The office reopened in 1976 before closing again in 1982, then reopening.

Repository: The American Library Association Archives

Accruals: 8/17/2020

Finding Aid Revision History: 11/15/2022 (fixed formatting)

Other Note: 12 Pages

URL: https://files.archon.library.illinois.edu/alasfa/0702056a.pdf

PDF finding aid for Correspondence and Subject File by Country (7/2/56)