Processing the Records of The New York World's Fair, 1939-1940

FAIN: PA-51943-06

New York Public Library (New York, NY 10016-0109)
William Stingone (Project Director: July 2005 to April 2009)

Enhancing descriptive records and rehousing 1,200 linear feet of records documenting the conception, planning, realization, and operation, from 1935 through 1945, of the 1939 New York World's Fair.

The New York Public Library seeks a grant of $349,978 from NEH for a two and a half-year project to preserve and enhance access to the records of the New York World's Fair 1939-1940. These records are the official records of the Corporation that was established for the purpose of planning, realizing, and operating the Fair. This vast collection, measuring more than 1,200 linear feet and ranging from correspondence to minutes, financial and legal records to memoranda, among others, documents every phase and aspect of the Fair. It is among the most heavily-used collections in the Manuscripts and Archives Division, and is among the most physically endangered. The project will advance physical and intellectual access to this collection.