Converted to EAD3 : Encoded Archival Description (EAD), Version 3 : Release: 1.1.1 : Release Date: 2019-12-16. Validating against latest version of schema.
Contact information: http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.mss/mss.contact
Catalog Record: https://lccn.loc.gov/mm79013219
Collection material in English
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the LC Catalog. They are grouped by name of person or organization, by subject or location, and by occupation and listed alphabetically.
The records of the Book-of-the Month Club were given to the Library of Congress by Ralph Thompson, editor of the Book-of-Month Club, in 1963-1968.
The records of the Book-of-the Month Club were arranged and described circa 1955-1970. The finding aid was revised in 2009.
The collection was described briefly in the
The status of copyright in the unpublished writings in the records of the Book-of-the Month Club is governed by the Copyright Law of the United States (Title 17, U.S.C.).
The records of the Book-of-the Month Club are open to research. Researchers are advised to contact the Manuscript Reading Room prior to visiting. Many collections are stored off-site and advance notice is needed to retrieve these items for research use.
Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: Container number, Book-of-the Month Club Records, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
The records of the Book-of-the-Month Club span the years 1939-1967, with the bulk from 1939 to 1960. The collection consists of editorial and publishers' correspondence relating to books submitted by publishing firms for consideration for selection by the club, along with preliminary readers' reports in the form of reviews and evaluations of the suitability of books for distribution by the club. Nearly all of the reports are on books that were not selected by the club. The records are organized into the following series: General Correspondence , Preliminary Readers' Reports , and Addition .
Correspondents include William Rose Benét, John Mason Brown, Henry Seidel Canby, Basil Davenport, Clifton Fadiman, Dorothy Canfield Fisher, Gilbert Highet, Amy Loveman, John P. Marquand, Christopher Morley, and William Allen White.
Preliminary readers include Graham Bates, Rosemary Benét, William Rose Benét, Basil Davenport, Elizabeth Wynne Easton, Gerald W. Johnson, Amy Loveman, Allan Nevins, and Ralph Thompson.
This collection is arranged in three series:
Letters sent and received.
Arranged chronologically by year or span of years and alphabetically therein by name of correspondent or publishing firm.
Book reviews and evaluations.
Arranged chronologically by years and alphabetically thereunder according to the title of the book to which the report refers.
Correspondence with publishers and authors, evaluations and reviews of books, and publicity material.
Arranged alphabetically by type of material and therein chronologically.