Finding Aid for African and Asian Projects File, 1935-1960, 1968 | The American Library Association Archives

Title: African and Asian Projects File, 1935-1960, 1968

ID: 7/1/53

Primary Creator: International Relations Office (IRO)

Extent: 1.3 Cubic Feet

Arrangement: Arranged by continent or region and alphabetically by country thereunder

Date Acquired: 04/26/1974

Subjects: African Libraries, Africa Projects, Algeria - Library Education, Asia Projects, Egypt - Libraries, Ethiopia - Libraries, India - Libraries, Indonesia - Libraries, Japan, Japanese Library School, Korea - Libraries, Malaya - Libraries, Near East Project, Philippines, Rockefeller Fund for Libraries in War Areas, Singapore - Libraries, South Africa-Libraries, Sudan - Libraries, Thailand-Libraries, Turkey

Languages: English, French, Arabic, Dutch;Flemish, Japanese, Turkish

Files of African and Asian Projects contains correspondence, reports and lists relating to library resources in African and Asian countries, the postwar distribution of periodicals under the Rockefeller Fund for libraries in war areas (1946-48) and a Japanese library school (1950-52). Books for the Near East Project (1945-48) contains materials on Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Palestine, Sudan, Syria and Turkey. African files include material on Accra, Algiers, Ethiopia, South Africa (1940-47) and Tunisia. South Asian files contain materials on India (1944-48), Ceylon, Nepal and Pakistan. East Asian contains materials on Korea, Japan (1935-40, 1945-52), Malaya (Malaysia), Netherlands East Indies (Indonesia) (1945-48), the Philippines (1945-49), Siam (Thailand), and Singapore.

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

Other Note: 2 Pages

URL: https://files.archon.library.illinois.edu/alasfa/0701053a.pdf

PDF finding aid for African and Asian Projects File (7/1/53)