Luther Harris Evans
Luther Harris Evans (1902-1981) helped to draft the Universal Copyright Convention and to organize UNESCO.
Life
Contributions
OTHER INFORMATION:
Opposed censorship of library holdings; Helped to draft the Universal Copyright Convention and to organize UNESCO; Director of Historical Records Survey, WPA; This program was characterized as "the greatest single achievement of any nation in describing and interpreting the records of its people" (Current Biography).
LC: 1939-?; Librarian 1945-?; Helped expand the services of the LC; Saw the LC as a reference center not a reading room; Worked on increasing ILLs; Felt the LC was "a great factory on the frontier of knowledge" (Current Biography)
Worked to obtain any information possibly needed by government offices.
For more information, see Sittig, W. J. (1976). Luther Evans: Man for a new age. Quarterly Journal of the Library of Congress, 33, 251-267.
OFFICES:
ADI/ASIS Pres. 1950-52; Director-General of UNESCO 1953-58
Selected Publications
Papers
LOCATION #1: Columbia University Libraries, New York, NY
PAPERS DATES:1925-1970
SIZE: ca. 25,500 items
FINDING AID: Correspondence, mss. of writings, reports, and related printed material documenting Evan's activities in law, international relations, and library service. Extensive files on Federal Library Survey Project, UNESCO.
SOURCE: NUCMC, MS 78-680, p. 80.
LOCATION #2: Columbia University, Rare books and Manuscripts, New York, NY; search under: Evans, Luther Harris, 1902-. Papers, 1952-1970.
PAPERS DATES: 1952-1970
SIZE: 23 linear feet (ca. 27,000 items in 55 boxes)
INCLUDES: Correspondence, manuscripts, reports and printed materials; The papers, which consist to a large extent of mimeographed and printed reports of various organizations with which Evans was affiliated, chronicle a wide range of his activities in the fields of law, international relations, and library service; Gift of Luther Evans, 1975 and 1976; Transfer from Lehman Library, 1986; Permission to publish materials must be obtained in writing from the Librarian for Rare Books and Manuscripts.
FINDING AID: Contents list, 1p.
SOURCE: RLIN
LOCATION #3: Columbia University, Oral History Project, New York, NY; search under: Evans, Luther Harris, 1902-. Reminiscences of Luther Harris Evans: oral history, 1965.
PAPERS DATES: 1965
SIZE: Transcript: 844 leaves; Tape: 1 reel
INCLUDES: Describes early life and education as well as work as instructor at New York University, Dartmouth Princeton; Works Progress Administration, 1935-1939; director of Historical Records Survey; director of Legislative Reference Service; Librarian of Congress, 1945-1953; new projects, programs; establishment of Council of National Library Association; United Nations Education, Scientific, and Cultural Organization(UNESCO); United States National Commission, 1946; Executive Board, 1949, director-general, 1953, delegate to General Conference, 1947-1951; UNESCO program development: education, agriculture, mass communication, financial aid; Brookings Institutions; National Education Association; automation project; United States Commission for Refugees; American Civil Liberties Union. Interviewed by Thomas F. Hogan.
SOURCE: RLIN
LOCATION #4: Stanford University, Hoover Institution Archives; search under: Evans, Luther Harris, 1902-. Conference summaries, 1949.
PAPERS DATES: 1949
SIZE: 1 folder
INCLUDES: Relates to meetings of the US delegation to the Third Session of the UNESCO General Conference, 1948.
SOURCE: RLIN
LOCATION #5: Columbia University, Oral History Collection; search under: Evans, Luther Harris, 1920-. Reminiscences of Luther Harris Evans: oral history, 1970.
PAPERS DATES: 1970
SIZE: 34 leaves
INCLUDES: Discusses Works Progress Administration, Historical Records Survey; Library of Congress, 1939 and 1945; UNESCO, 1949-1958; First meeting with Dwight D. Eisenhower as President of Columbia University; Interviewed by Donald North; Forms part of the Eisenhower administration project; (Copyright by the Trustees of Columbia University in the City of New York, 1976.) Permission required to cite, quote, and reproduce; Contact repository for information; Microfiche copy available for purchase; (Columbia University oral history collection, part III, published by Meckler Publishing, Westport, CT).
FINDING AID: Name index available
SOURCE: RLIN
LOCATION #6: Library of Congress
PAPERS DATES: 1920-1981
SIZE: 84,000 items, 117 containers, 8 microfilm reels, 46.8 linear feet
INCLUDES: Personal and professional files of Evans's work as director of the Historical Records Survey (U.S.), as Librarian of Congress, and member of the Unesco Executive Board. Also includes notes and drafts of writings, materials pertaining to his studies at the University of Texas at Austin and Stanford University, and lecture notes for classes he taught at Dartmouth and Princeton universities. Includes correspondence (1934-1942) of Francis S. Philbrick relating to the Historical Records Survey (U.S.).
FINDING AID: Available in the Library of Congress Manuscript Reading Room.
SOURCE: Library of Congress Catalog (https://lccn.loc.gov/mm82020008)