University of Chicago. Friends of the Library.

Founded in 1933 with the purpose of increasing library funding. M. Llewellyn Raney, Director of University Libraries, oversaw many of the organization's activities. The Friends of the Library became inactive after 1942.

From the description of Records, 1933-1942. (University of Chicago Library). WorldCat record id: 52248151

The Friends of the Library of the University of Chicago (1933-1942) was an organization comprised of faculty, staff, alumni, and other individuals interested in developing the resources of the University Libraries. The idea for the Friends was originally conceived by M. Llewellyn Raney, then Director of the University Libraries, as a means of obtaining money to supplement a dwindling library budget. The University Administration approved Raney's idea, seeing the organization as, additionally, a valuable public relations tool. Officially, the Friends group was inaugurated in 1933, and was governed by an elected Executive Board; however, the Board seldom met in the years 1934-1937 and not at all after 1937. Raney willingly shouldered primary responsibility for Friends' activities -- he planned meetings, suggested purchases, and wrote and edited the group's publication, The Courier. The Friends of the Library faded into inactivity after Raney's retirement as Director of the Library in 1942.

From the guide to the University of Chicago. Friends of the Library. Records, 1933-1945, (Special Collections Research Center University of Chicago Library 1100 East 57th Street Chicago, Illinois 60637 U.S.A.)