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Creator
New York Public Library. Research Libraries. Director's Office
Call number
MssArc 5118
Physical description
20 linear feet (22 boxes)
Language
English
Preferred Citation

James W. Henderson Records, The New York Public Library Archives, The New York Public Library, Astor, Lenox and Tilden Foundations.

Repository
New York Public Library Archives
Access to materials
Request an in-person research appointment.Restrictions apply

Administrative files and correspondence of James W. Henderson, Director of the Research Libraries of The New York Public Library from 1963 to 1977.

Biographical/historical information

James Wood Henderson served as Director of the Research Libraries of The New York Public Library from 1963 to 1977. Henderson was born in Missouri on July 6, 1917. He received a B.A. (1939) and an M.A. (1941) in English from the University of Oklahoma. Henderson was Assistant Librarian of the Bartlesville, Oklahoma Public Library (1941-1942), and then Assistant to the Dean and Instructor at the University of Oklahoma (1943-1944). He joined the Army Signal Corps in 1944 and served until 1946. Henderson came to New York in 1947 for graduate study at Columbia University's School of Library Service where in 1948 he received an MLS. In 1958 he earned a Master's Degree in Public Administration from New York University. In 1947 Henderson joined The New York Public Library as Acquisitions Assistant. He left The Library in 1950 to head the Cataloging Section of the New York State Library. Henderson returned to NYPL in 1952 and was appointed to increasingly responsible positions in the Reference Department (renamed the Research Libraries in 1966). He was Chief of Acquisitions (1953-1959), Assistant to Director Edward G. Freehafer (1959-1963) and Chief of the Reference Deparment/Research Libraries (1963-1972).

Significant accomplishments of Henderson's years as Director include the opening of the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture and the Library and Museum for the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center, the publication of an 800-volume edition of the Research Libraries card catalog, the first efforts towards the automation of the catalog and establishment of a comprehensive conservation program. In 1972 Henderson was appointed the first Andrew W. Mellon Director of the Research Libraries, an endowed position with essentially the same responsibilities as his previous job. Henderson retired from The Library in 1977, but returned one year later to direct Project RETRO, a task force established to edit and rehabilitate The Library's catalog.

Henderson served as Editor of The New York Library Association Bulletin, Lecturer at Pratt Institute Library School, and as a Regent to the Public Librarians' Certification Examination Committee of the University of the State of New York.

Scope and arrangement

Records include correspondence, memoranda, minutes, reports, surveys, and related materials covering such topics as library automation, conservation and preservation, the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture and the Library for the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center. Files contain position papers, administrative decisions and changes, materials on collections and exhibitions, appraisals and acquisitions, memoranda and correspondence from Library curators about collections, accounting procedures, staff changes and salaries, statistics, relations with donors, collectors and readers, all reflecting the activities and responsibilities of the Director of the Research Libraries. The Lincoln Center Library and Museum Planning series documents the conception, and development of the facility. Nelson Survey materials consist of studies and surveys of the resources of the Research Libraries in the 1960s and 1970s. The files of the planning stages of the Schomburg Center for Black Culture contain reports, correspondence, memoranda, minutes, and newspaper clippings. Also included are some records of Henderson's predecessor, Harald Ostvold, and additional materials of Paul North Rice, Edward G. Freehafer and Rutherford D. Rogers.

The James W. Henderson records are arranged in five series:

  • Series I. Writings and Memoranda
    1961-1998
    1 box

    Miscellaneous memos and reports prepared during Henderson's tenure as Director off the Research Libraries. Also a copy of a 1998 memoir of his time at The Library.

  • Series II. NYPL General Files
    1929-1978
    16 boxes

    Files include materials on collections and exhibitions, appraisals and acquisitions, correspondence, memoranda, reports, loan approvals, accounting procedures, staff changes and statistics. There are interesting memoranda and letters from NYPL curators about collections. A notable series of letters by Spencer Collection Curator Karl Kup describes his adventures on buying trips for rare books, prints, and manuscripts in various cities. The T.S. Elliot file concerns the republishing of The Waste Land and includes letters from Mrs. Elliot. Other files document relations and problems with donors, collectors, and readers. The files are arranged in two chronological subseries: Subseries A 1929-1969, Subseries B 1969-1978.

  • Series III. Lincoln Center Library and Museum Planning
    1959-1972
    1 box

    A small group of records documenting the origins and development of the performing arts collections at Lincoln Center.

  • Series IV. Nelson Survey Associates
    1963-1970
    1 box

    Studies and surveys of the resources of the Research Libraries, their nature, frequency of use and needs in the 1960s and 1970s.

  • Series V. Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture
    ca. 1940s-1978
    1 box

    Includes plans, reports, correspondence, handwritten notes, confidential memoranda, minutes of NYPL committees, and newspaper clippings that document the interaction between the Harlem community and NYPL during the planning, construction and early years of operation of the Schomburg Center.

Administrative information

Processing information

Compiled by Francine Tyler; revised by Rod Hoffner; machine-readable finding aid created by Jim Moske.

Related Material

Using the collection

Location

New York Public Library Archives
Stephen A. Schwarzman Building
Fifth Avenue at 42nd Street, New York, NY 10018-2788
Brooke Russell Astor Reading Room, Third Floor, Room 328

Conditions Governing Use

All rights reserved. Permission to quote must be obtained in writing from the New York Public Library

Access restrictions

Access to the collection is restricted to qualified scholars and researchers through the Office of Special Collections, Room 316. Box 22 is closed until 2050.