Library History and Library Archives in the United States

Although library history is a significant part of the research being done on libraries and librarianship, this interest has not produced a systematic effort to identify, preserve, and make accessible the archival records and manuscripts documenting libraries and their supporting profession in the United States. This article offers a preliminary investigation into this problem. It examines the kinds of archival sources library historians are using, considers how effectively these sources are being identified, preserved, and made available for research, and suggests some possible actions for the library profession to take to preserve the records of its institutions, associations, and leaders. As the article suggests, the collecting of manuscripts on library history has been more successful than the preservation of library institutional archives; this poses some serious problems for the future of library history research in the United States.