The New York Public Library will be closed from May 26 to May 28.
New York Public Library. Central Administration. Director's Office.
Manuscripts and Archives Division
Records mainly document Beals' years as Director of the New York Public Library from 1946 to 1954. The collectionconsists of correspondence (Ti to Z), memoranda, legal documents, appraisals, notes, reports, and bulletins relating to library functions such as acquisitions, donor relations, fund raising and reference services. Topics include a proposal for a regional research library, creation of a job classification system for the New York Public Library, efforts to obtain state funding for publiclibraries, and Beals' membership in U.S. and internationallibrary councils. Also included are some records relating to the directorship of his predecessor, Franklin F. Hopper,and his successor, Edward G. Freehafer. Additional Beals' correspondence is included in the Lydenberg, Hopper and Beals General Correspondence, 1926-1957, also held by NYPLArchives.
Ralph Albert Beals (1899-1954) began his library career in1940 at the Washington D.C. Public Library. Two years later he went to the University of Chicago as Director of Libraries and then Dean of the Library School. From 1946 until 1954, Beals was Director of the New York Public Library where he concentrated on increasing funding for staff salaries and acquisition budgets and was noted for improving the administrative structure of the Library.
Among first to enter action. Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Photographs and Prints Division.
One of 700,000 pictures in the NYPL Digital Gallery
NYPL Photostore