Scholars the world over generally agree that U.S. library methods are the most efficient in the world. Last week the Rockefeller Foundation, plus U.S. Coordinator of Inter-American Affairs Nelson A. Rockefeller, were putting more than $240,000 into the spreading of U.S. library techniques (for microfilm work, preservation of treasures, cataloguing, etc.) throughout Latin America. Projects:
> In Mexico City a U.S. librarian is installing a “Union Catalogue” of the capital’s library resources, including the 4,700 U.S. books in the new Biblioteca Benjamin Franklin (pronounced “Beng-ha-meen Fronk-leen”)
> In Brazil, the city of Sao Paulo is organizing South America’s first full-blown library school. Teachers will include three U.S. -trained Brazilians (Louisiana State, 2; Columbia University, 1).
> In Argentina, Buenos Aires is using the U.S. Library of Congress cataloguing system to coordinate its scattered libraries, is planning a library school.
> In Nicaragua, an American Library has been organized at Managua.
> In Uruguay, Montevideo’s Biblioteca Artigas-Washington will give U.S. -style library training.
More Must-Reads from TIME
- The Reintroduction of Kamala Harris
- IVF Changed America . But Its Future Is Under Threat
- The 7 States That Will Decide the Election
- Inside Sam Bankman-Fried's Siege of D.C.
- Do You Really Store Stress in Your Body?
- The Rise of a New Kind of Parenting Guru
- The 50 Best Romance Novels to Read Right Now
- Can Food Really Change Your Hormones?
Contact us at letters@time.com