Brief Description:

Subject files of American Librarians Abroad contains correspondence, printed materials, and reports relating to opportunities available to U. S. librarians outside the United States, includes applications from librarians seeking overseas positions and correspondence regarding the British Internship Program and service opportunities in Uganda, Malawi, Nigeria, Hong Kong, Ghana, Iran, Ceylon, and Austria.

Program file of Library Fellows contains correspondence, reports, applications, administrative files, and press releases relating to International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) and its role as a forerunner to the Library Fellows Program, logistics and evaluations of the program, grants from the US Information Agency and the personal reports and correspondence of the participating fellows and institutions, includes Fellows' reports which discuss in great detail the infrastructure, technologies and atmosphere of their host institutions.

Record Series Number: 7/2/17

Created by: International Relations Office (IRO)

Volume: 13.3 Cubic Feet

Acquired: 04/26/1974. 4/26/2003, 9/3/2013, 12/17/2018; 3/17/2020

Arrangement: Arranged by office files and by subject title thereunder

Biographical Note for International Relations Office (IRO) : 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.

Subject Index

Languages of Materials