The Truman Library's
printed materials collection had its origin in the several thousand books
that came to the government as part of Truman's donation of his personal
papers and other historical materials. The library in its early years,
guided by Truman's wish that his library should become a center for the
study of the Presidency and of American history in general, aggressively
acquired books on these topics. In more recent years the library has tried
to add to its collection new books, articles, and dissertations that relate
only to Truman's life and career. The book collection now totals about
40,000 items.
A card catalog is
available in the research room. The collection includes two series of
books that are part of the primary documentation of Truman's public career:
the Congressional Record and a complete serial set of Senate and
House of Representatives documents and reports for the years when Truman
was Senator, Vice President and President (1935-53). The library also
has all of the volumes of Foreign Relations of the United States
that document Truman's Presidency.
Periodical publications
in the collection, some in paper copy, others on microfilm, include the
following:
- Amerasia (1937-47);
- Commentary (1945-57);
- Congressional Digest (1946-52);
- Democratic Digest (1926-61);
- Democratic National Committee, Capital Comment (1947-51);
- The Department of State Bulletin (1942-53);
- The Department of State, The Record (1945-51);
- The Economist (1950-52);
- The Film Daily/The Hollywood Reporter (1947);
- Foreign Policy Bulletin (1946-52);
- Life (1945-53);
- the Kansas City
Star
- Kansas City
Times (microfilm, 1920-45);
- Military Government of the Ryukyu Islands, Ryukyu Statistical Bulletins (1950-53);
- the New York
Times (index and microfilm, 1933-90);
- Office of the Military Government for Germany, Monthly Reports of the Military Governor (1945-49);
- Office of the United States Commissioner for Germany Information Bulletins (1949-53);
- the St. Louis
Post-Dispatch (index and microfilm, 1934-53);
- Supreme Commander for Allied Powers, Summation of Non-Military Activities in Japan and Korea (1945-48);
- Time (1945-53);
- U.S. Element Allied Commissioner for Austria, Reports of the High Commissioner (1945-51).
The library has subscribed
for many years to a small number of archival, historical, museum, and educational
journals and newsletters. Back issues are available on request. Many reference
questions that come to the library can be answered or partly answered by
the newspaper and magazine clippings, article reprints, pamphlets, copies
of documents from Truman's papers, and other materials kept in the Vertical
File. This file, about 54 linear feet, is a product of more than 30 years
of collecting effort by the library's research room staff.
It has five series:
- Harry S. Truman
File (18 linear feet)
- Subject File
- Chronological
File (with files from 1901 to the present)
- Quotations
File
- Truman Family File
(3 linear feet)
- Subject File (16
linear feet)
- Name File (12 linear
feet)
- Presidential Libraries
File (5 linear feet)
Most of the library's
books are available for overnight loan to researchers working at the library.
Harry S. Truman: A Bibliography of His Times and Presidency (Wilmington,
Delaware, 1984), edited by Richard Dean Burns, is a comprehensive survey
of the books, articles and dissertations about Truman's life and career
written through 1982.
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