Map Collection Research Guide

The Early Years: 1919-1927

With regard to the organization of the Library of the League of Nations, and subsequently of its map collection, the first questions that needed a quick answer were those related to its character and purpose, as raised by Florence Wilson, the newly appointed Assistant Librarian[1].

Should it be a ‘a first class and comprehensive Library on every sort of international subject, accessible to outside research workers as well as to people engaged in the service of the League; or whether it should be restricted to the dimensions of a collection of hand books for the daily use of the sections of the Secretariat?’

The differences of opinion to these questions were more a matter of emphasis; ultimately in this early phase, the concept of the working library serving the pressing needs of the work of the Secretariat and all other Organizations and Commissions connected with the League, the Council, the representatives of Members of the League of Nations, as well as permanent delegations took precedence. Within this library framework maps were listed as being essential: 

the staff maps of various countries, some of the detailed geological maps, especially of the regions of mineral deposits - decent ethnic maps, European war maps, series such as Phillip's Comparative Wall map, the Oxford series of wall maps, and a select list of atlases.[2]

During this period, efforts were being made to acquire a supply of maps and atlases from the Geographical Society of the General Staff at the War office in London or through requests made to the member states governments to send maps of their own country.[3]

1927-1936: Maps at the League of Nations' Rockefeller Library

In 1927, John Rockefeller, the American philanthropist, made a donation for the construction and appointment of a new library at the planned location where the League of Nations were to have its headquarters, from the Palais Wilson on Lake Geneva to what became the Palais des Nations in Ariana Park.

The basic documents on the creation of the League's Rockefeller Library - the Memorandum presented by the Secretary General to the Council, September 9, 1927, and the Council Resolution of the same date stated the duties of the Library to be:

a) To assist the work done under the auspices of the League

b) To provide a study centre on international relations.[1]

During this period, both the Library and its map collection appear to have been consolidated, having established relationships with libraries around the world and working with member state governments for the supply of publications, including maps. By 1929, the new Librarian, T.P. Sevensma,[2] proudly described the map collection of the Library to his audience at the Association of French Librarians as

‘a very big collection as it is used in the majority of studies undertaken by the League of Nations on political and technical subjects on which one has to study first the topography and the descriptions of the countries in question, (Upper Silesia, loan to Austria or Greece, etc). A special room has been designated for the collection of maps, and there is the hope to be able to complete and keep up to date the collection of official maps with the cooperation of governments so that the collection becomes an important source of documentation’.[3]

Another important step for the map collection was the appointment of a new qualified librarian to take charge of the geographical department of the library, Sigurd Hartz Rasmussen.[4] He took charge of the arrangement and classification of the maps and atlases collections, compiling carto-bibliographies relevant to the Mandates sections, while pointing to those maps and materials in the possession of the LON and recommended procedures for the sections using and requiring maps to:

a) Stamp the maps and to note their use with the name of the section, and to transfer those not in constant use in a given section to the geographical department of the library;

b) To keep separate lists of maps transferred to the library or kept at the section, with copies for both sections and library, while outlining the advantages of such handling[5].

1936-1946: The Final Years of the League of Nations

This period is marked by ups and downs for both the League itself and its different departments, including the Library and within it the map collection. In a 1935 report, T.P. Sevensma, appointed as the Library’ Chief of Section, lamented the conditions of the Library and the lack of progress towards the construction of the Library at its new location at the Palais des Nations.

Pour l'opinion publique, qui ne peut pas se rendre compte des difficultés éprouvées, la situation actuelle de la Bibliothèque est incroyable : la Société des Nations a en 1927, accepté un don de 2 millions de dollars pour sa Bibliothèque; en 1938, il n'y a qu'un bâtiment inachevé qu'il est impossible d'exploiter de la façon prévue.[1]

Although the move to its new location at the Palais des Nations in Ariana Park in the spring of 1936 resulted in ‘superior facilities for the library’, problems arose due to a change of leadership at the library and earlier on at the helm of the League itself, practicality as the library and its users were separated spatially and the acquisition of transportation installations for materials was denied by the Administration.[2]

Later on, the World War II brought physical privations and restrictions, but also the worries and the efforts the people undertook to ensure the library would have a future as the following letter from 1941 from the Assistant librarian, A.G. Breycha-Vauthier, Assistant Librarian to Mr. A. Sweetser, Princeton New Jersey, Geneva, July 10, 1941

Dear Sweetser,

I have been feeling sometimes these last weeks a certain uneasiness about the future of the Library in connection with decisions that might be taken at the forthcoming meeting of the Supervisory Commission. You always have been amongst the "Haute Direction" the one who understood that an intellectual centre like the Library presented other problems than purely administrative or political Secretariat business. Presuming that you will be present at this forthcoming meeting, but not knowing if the Library shall have anybody presenting its case as it deserves to be, I should like to provide you with some arguments. This letter is of course purely private; moreover I hope that the possible emergency will not materialize, but I would not have done my duty if I did not try to safeguard the continuance of our work.[3]

Documents relating to the acquisition of the map collection can be found in the Archives, in Section files S2542-S2543.

Click the image above to discover these documents!