Books Across Borders: UNESCO and the Politics of Postwar Cultural Reconstruction, 1945–1951 (New Directions in Book History)

__Books Across Borders: UNESCO and the Politics of Postwar Cultural Reconstruction, 1945-1951__ is a history of the emotional, ideological, informational, and technical power and meaning of books and libraries in the aftermath of World War II, examined through the cultural reconstruction activities undertaken by the Libraries Section of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The book focuses on the key actors and on-the-ground work of the Libraries Section in four central areas: empowering libraries around the world to acquire the books they wanted and needed; facilitating expanded global production of quality translations and affordable books; participating in debates over the contested fate of confiscated books and displaced libraries; and formulating notions of cultural rights as human rights. Through examples from France, Poland, and surviving Jewish Europe, this book provides new insight into the complexities and specificities of UNESCO’s role in the realm of books, libraries, and networks of information exchange during the early postwar, post-Holocaust, Cold War years. Acknowledgments 7 Praise for Books Across Borders 9 Contents 10 Abbreviations 11 List of Figures 13 Chapter 1: Introduction: The UNESCO Libraries Section 14 Soft Power 17 Reconstruction 27 “Librarian Warriors” 31 Organization 41 Bibliography 48 Archives 48 Publications 48 Chapter 2: Wartime Planning, Postwar Response 53 Prehistory 54 Wartime Planning 61 The Books and Periodicals Commission 65 Planning and Assessment 69 Surveying and Assessing: The Immediate Postwar 72 Conclusions 80 Bibliography 81 Archives 81 Publications 81 Chapter 3: Books Between Libraries: Sharing, Exchange, and Purchasing 84 International Clearing House for Publications 88 UNESCO Bulletin for Libraries 96 UNESCO Book Coupons 100 Conclusions 113 Bibliography 114 Archives 114 Publications 114 Chapter 4: Books Across Borders: Translation and Cheap Books 116 Translation 118 Catalogue of Representative Works 131 Index Translationum 132 Cheap Books 137 Transnational Distribution 141 Conclusions 144 Bibliography 145 Archives 145 Publications 145 Chapter 5: The Contested Fate of Confiscated Books and Objectionable Literature 147 Confiscated Books 149 Jacob Zuckerman 151 Objectionable Literature 159 German Publications 164 Ex-German Libraries in Italy 167 Conclusions 175 Bibliography 177 Archives 177 Publications 177 Chapter 6: Non-restitutable Books and the Library That Never Was 179 Possible Solutions 183 Jewish Voices at UNESCO 186 Denmark and the World Jewish Library Proposal 197 UNESCO and the World Jewish Library Proposal 200 The Soviet Zone 204 Decline of the World Jewish Library Plan 209 Conclusions 211 Bibliography 214 Archives 214 Publications 214 Chapter 7: Access to Books, Libraries, and Information: Cultural Right, Human Right 218 Part I 223 UNESCO Committee on the Philosophic Principles of the Rights of Man 223 UNESCO Human Rights Exhibition 225 The World Jewish Congress 228 The New Cultural Politics 231 Part II 236 UNESCO-IFLA Summer School for Librarians (1948) 236 UNESCO Public Library Manifesto (1949) 243 Conclusions 251 Bibliography 252 Archives 252 Publications 252 Chapter 8: Conclusion: From the Postwar to Today 255 Valognes, France 258 Changing Priorities 265 Then and Now 269 Conclusion 274 Bibliography 274 Archives 274 Publications 275 Index 277 Front Matter ....Pages i-xv Introduction: The UNESCO Libraries Section (Miriam Intrator)....Pages 1-39 Wartime Planning, Postwar Response (Miriam Intrator)....Pages 41-71 Books Between Libraries: Sharing, Exchange, and Purchasing (Miriam Intrator)....Pages 73-104 Books Across Borders: Translation and Cheap Books (Miriam Intrator)....Pages 105-135 The Contested Fate of Confiscated Books and Objectionable Literature (Miriam Intrator)....Pages 137-168 Non-restitutable Books and the Library That Never Was (Miriam Intrator)....Pages 169-207 Access to Books, Libraries, and Information: Cultural Right, Human Right (Miriam Intrator)....Pages 209-245 Conclusion: From the Postwar to Today (Miriam Intrator)....Pages 247-268 Back Matter ....Pages 269-280