Title: International Visitors List, 1926-1938
ID: 7/1/17
Creator: International Relations Office (IRO)
Extent: 0.3 Cubic Feet
Arrangement: Original order; by group and alphabetical thereunder
Date Acquired: 00/00/1974
Languages: English [eng]
List of international visitors to ALA Headquarters and conferences (1926-1938) transcribed from guest books and attendance lists, comprising of cards with the names, affiliations and notes about international librarians, educators, and representatives who attended ALA conferences and the ALA Headquarters building. It also includes listings from the Bodleian Library Commission (1930, 1934) and Cambridge Library Comission (1930).
List includes representatives from South Africa, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Cuba, Denmark, England, France, Germany, Guatemala, Honduras, Hungary, Iceland, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Liberia, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Palestine, Peru, Poland, Russia, Salvador, Scoland, Siam, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Vatican City, Venezuela, and Yugoslavia.
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.
