A Container List of Its Records at the Harry Ransom Center
Creator:
Franklin Book Programs
Title:
Franklin Book Programs Records
Dates:
1952-1978
Extent:
40 record cartons (40 linear feet)
Abstract:
The material in this collection consists of
chronological correspondence files from the Franklin Book Programs. These files, consecutively
numbered, consist of letters
and cables to and from Franklin's New York office and their foreign offices: Cairo,
Tehran,
Beirut, Baghdad, Lahore, Dacca, Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta, Nigeria, Mexico City, Rio de
Janiero,
and Buenos Aires.
Call Number:
Manuscript Collection MS-01474
Language:
English
Access:
Open for research. Researchers must create an online Research Account and agree to
the
Materials Use Policy before using archival materials.
Use Policies:
Ransom Center collections may contain material with sensitive or confidential information
that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and regulations. Researchers
are advised that the disclosure of certain information pertaining to identifiable
living
individuals represented in the collections without the consent of those individuals
may have
legal ramifications (e.g., a cause of action under common law for invasion of privacy
may
arise if facts concerning an individual's private life are published that would be
deemed
highly offensive to a reasonable person) for which the Ransom Center and The University
of
Texas at Austin assume no responsibility.
Restrictions on Use:
Authorization for publication is given on behalf of the University of Texas as the
owner of
the collection and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright
holder
which must be obtained by the researcher. For more information please see the Ransom
Center's Open Access and Use Policies.
Administrative Information
Preferred Citation
Franklin Book Programs Records (Manuscript Collection MS-01474). Harry Ransom Center,
The
University of Texas at Austin.
Franklin Book Programs was created as a nonprofit corporation in New York in 1952,
principally for the purpose of making American books available in the languages of
developing countries: books about American history, culture, technology, and science
as well
as poetry and fiction. The project, initiated in 1951 by Verner Clapp, Assistant Librarian
of Congress, was funded by numerous public and private corporations. From the program's
inception there was close involvement with the U.S. publishing industry. The Franklin
Book
Program was also guided by librarians, professors, and other civic minded individuals.
Certain unique factors aided in the development of this program: small fees for translation
rights, free consultation services and office space, and selection of books by local
advisers in each country.
The material in the Franklin Book Programs Records consists of chronological correspondence
files. These
files, consecutively numbered, consist of letters and cables to and from Franklin's
New York
office and their foreign offices: Cairo, Tehran, Beirut, Baghdad, Lahore, Dacca, Kuala
Lumpur, Jakarta, Nigeria, Mexico City, Rio de Janiero, and Buenos Aires. The "chrono
files"
comprise the correspondence between these offices from their inception to termination.
These
materials are in their original binders. Additional materials, dating from 1952 to
1978,
consist of financial and annual reports, a bibliography of translations, photocopies
of the
original charter and other legal documents, and newsletters and brochures. In terms
of
academic research, the Franklin collection touches upon several subject areas: the
history
of U.S. government relations with developing countries, the West's influence on intellectual
development in the Third World, the history of the United States publishing industry,
the
history of United States philanthropy, and book publishing development in the Third
World.
Related Material
Related materials are held by Princeton University, University of Pennsylvania, and
the
Library of Congress.
For further information, see:
Mitgang, Herbert. "Poor countries Helped With Books,
"
New York Times, June 25, 1978
Smith, Datus C., Jr. "Books for Developing Countries: The
Franklin Book Program,"
The Quarterly Journal of the Library of Congress,
Summer 1983.
