National Library News March/April 2000 Vol. 32, nos. 3-4

Librarians’ Papers

Doug Robinson,
Research and Information Services

During their careers, librarians may produce or contribute to various library-related documents and often retain these documents or papers even beyond retirement. Those which are prepared for, or relate to, their own institution normally remain in that institution’s archives or records office. Some papers are personal in nature, however, and often involve work done for an association, committee or outside group. It is important to ensure that these particular papers are not inadvertently destroyed. For the purpose of historical, social and cultural research, it is vital that these library-related archival materials be identified and placed in a repository to ensure that they are stored properly and made accessible to researchers and library historians.

In the summer of 1998, I conducted an informal survey of several library schools on behalf of the National Library of Canada. The purpose of the survey was to find out what happens to the papers of prominent and influential Canadian librarians and to determine what collecting, if any, the library schools surveyed undertake. According to the informal survey, all seven library schools surveyed currently refer offers of librarians’ papers and papers of library groups to their respective university’s archives, as the archives’ staff are in a better position to organize and make the fonds available to users. As a rule, these universities acquire fonds from people who are affiliated with their institution. Records of a library association or group are often acquired if a staff member is linked in some way to it.

The National Library’s Collections

The National Library has traditionally collected in the field of library and information science. Of late, the collection has focussed on Canadian material, with some notable exceptions, such as the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) and UNESCO. To date, the National Library has no formal policy or program concerning the acquisition of librarians’ papers. During the past few years, the Library has acquired the papers of two individual library consultants, as well as the archival fonds of one library organization. These fonds have added a new dimension to the Library’s collection and provide valuable information to those seeking to understand library development in Canada.

The Beckman Associates Fonds

Margaret Beckman is perhaps best known for her contributions to library management and library planning. She has lectured to, and acted as a consultant for, library planners in academic, government and public libraries throughout Canada, the United States, New Zealand, Australia, Saudi Arabia and Sweden. In the 1960s, she helped to design the McLaughlin Library at the University of Guelph, where she later became chief librarian. Margaret Beckman has been employed as a library planning consultant since retiring from her academic position in 1984. She recently represented Canada at a number of UNESCO’s conferences on library buildings.

The fonds contains the corporate records of Beckman Associates and does not include Margaret Beckman’s personal papers. Margaret Beckman has prepared an excellent detailed finding aid to this archival fonds. The finding aid documents the various projects undertaken by Beckman Associates in Canada and abroad.

Albert Bowron Fonds

Mr. Bowron has been a library consultant for more than 25 years and has visited a great number of libraries in America and abroad, including France, Belgium, Germany, Sweden and Russia. His collection consists of manuscripts, reports, correspondence, radio scripts, colour slides of libraries, etc. and has been organized by project.

The Provincial and Territorial Library Directors Council (PTLDC)

The Council, established in 1978, allows for the exchange of information and ideas about provincial library policies and programs, while providing a forum for planning resource-sharing development. The National Librarian is a member of this Council.

The files that the National Library acquired date from 1978 to 1993 and include material such as minutes and provincial reports. The material, which also includes surveys and some speeches, is grouped and arranged by year.

Ex Libris Association

In an article in Ex Libris News, no. 24, autumn 1998, Nancy Williamson and Jean Weihs describe the Personal and Institutional Archives Project that is being carried out by the Ex Libris Association, an association largely composed of retired librarians. The first stage of this project is to identify and locate personal and institutional archives or papers. These archives will later be listed in Ex Libris News and subsequently in a separate publication. Anyone who can identify or provide information about the location of such papers should contact Nancy Williamson, chair, Personal and Institutional Archives Project, by telephone at (416) 926-9320; fax at (416) 971-1399; e-mail at william@fis.utoronto.ca; or by mail at Ex Libris Association, c.o. the Dean’s Office, Faculty of Information Studies, University of Toronto, 140 St. George Street, Toronto, Ontario M5S 3G6.

As a contribution to the Ex Libris Association’s effort to identify materials related to Canadian library history, the National Library is currently investigating the status of the papers of certain of its own retired staff members. For the wider Canadian library community, the National Library is developing policy and guidelines for the acquisition of librarians’ papers that are not held in another repository.