Scope and Content Note
The Council on Library and Information Resources Records span the years 1937 to 2001, with the bulk of the material dating between 1956 and 1980. The collection is organized into six series: Administrative File, President’s Files, Correspondence, Projects, Subject File, and Oversize.
This collection focuses on the functions of the Council on Library Resources, one of two organizations that merged to form the Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR) in 1997. The vast majority of these records chronicle the operations, projects, and activities of the Council on Library Resources from its founding in 1956 until 1980, with heavy emphasis on the organization's work in the field of book and paper preservation. Represented to a minimal extent are records related to the mission and activities of the Commission on Preservation and Access, the second organization from which CLIR was formed. Evidence of the merge itself and of CLIR's operations and pursuits afterward are also minimally documented.
Where possible, a distinction was made between projects and endeavors of the Council on Library Resources, Comission on Preservation and Access and CLIR, though in some cases, the researcher will have to refer to the records to determine by which entity work was conducted.
The Administrative File chronicles the Council on Library Resources' establishment and early operations with material dating between 1955 and 1996. A chronological file forms the bulk of this series and includes founding documents, by-laws, annual reports, Board of Directors meeting minutes, Executive Committee meeting minutes, and project proposals. Also included are internal memoranda between organizational leaders, planning documents, organizational histories, press releases and some publications. No files documenting the administration of the Commission on Preservation and Access or CLIR are included in this series.
The President’s Files contain material associated with past presidents of the Council on Library Resources, Commission on Preservation and Access, and CLIR with dates ranging between 1937 and 2001. Included in this series are documents created or collected by Verner W. Clapp, president of the Council on Library Resources from 1956 until 1967, Patricia Battin, president of Commission on Preservation and Access from 1987 until 1994, and Deanna B. Marcum, president of Council on Library Resources, and later CLIR from 1995 until 2003. This series chronicles speeches and remarks, articles, reports, and research material and primarily documents professional and scholarly pursuits related to the study of information and library science, but not necessarily associated with responsibilities of organizational leadership.
The Correspondence file comprises letters sent and received by CLIR and its originating organizations between 1956 and 2000 and is organized into two subseries. The Alphabetical subseries comprises incoming and outgoing letters associated with the Council on Library Resources exclusively. The Chronological subseries primarily represents outgoing correspondence from the Council on Library Resources, but also includes some correspondence, board reports, and press releases created by the Commission on Preservation and Access in the mid-1990s and outgoing letters from CLIR dating between 1997 and 2000.
The Projects series comprises records detailing projects funded through grant awards given by or to CLIR and range in date from 1955 to 1999. The series is organized into three subseries representing major projects comprised within. The W.J. Barrow Research Laboratory subseries documents various studies into paper preservation funded by the Council on Library Resources from 1957 until 1977. The W.K. Kellogg Foundation subseries chronicles a grant awarded to CLIR to participate in their Human Resources for Information Systems Management (HRISM) program from 1994 to 1997. The General subseries comprises grant listings and indices, funding information and sources, and smaller projects funded by CLIR.
The Subject File comprises material related to a variety of topics pertaining to library operations and administration, librarianship, and preservation and date between 1957 and 1996. Subjects include microfilming, copyright, access, library education, and professional organizations such as the Association of Research Libraries, National Association of Government Archives and Records Administrators, and the Coalition for Public Library Research.