The role of the Carnegie Corporation of New York in the provision of library services to South Africa’s ‘non-Europeans’1

Abstract

This paper² will explore the role of the Carnegie Corporation in the provision of library and information services (LIS) for non-whites from 1928 to 1938. The Carnegie sponsorship was based on the recommendations made at the first South African Library Conference in 1928 by Pitt and Ferguson, commissioners employed by the Carnegie Corporation to survey the libraries in the Union of South Africa and suggest proposals towards improved library services. Various factors, such as the social context of South Africa, which influenced the proposals made, and the funding from the Carnegie Corporation in those years, will be examined. The paper will investigate the development of LIS for nonwhites, specifically blacks, after 1928 and assess the role of the Carnegie Corporation in this connection.