The Library of Congress is one of three libraries with collections of original materials from the Franklin Book Program, Inc. The Library holds the archival copies delivered from the Program. The office files and records were divided between The Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas at Austin and Princeton University. The Program had two distinct sets of records. Duplicate copies of correspondence and cables to and from Franklin's field offices were made. Each was assigned a unique number and filed chronologically, while the duplicate was filed alphabetically by subject. The "chrono copies" are at the Harry Ransom Center and the duplicates are with Princeton University. For more information about these two collections, please visit the respective finding aids:

Franklin Book Programs Records, 1920-1978, bulk 1952/1977. Princeton University Library, Princeton University. External

"The Records of the Franklin Book Programs document the activities of the organization from its inception in 1952 to its dissolution in 1978. For 26 years, Franklin assisted developing countries in the creation, production, distribution, and use of books and other educational materials. Its efforts were based on the premise that through wider and improved education, underdeveloped nations could better utilize their human resources to help eliminate hunger, poverty, overpopulation, and economic paralysis." - From the Princeton University Library website.

Franklin Book Program Records (Manuscript Collection MS-01474). Harry Ransom Center, The University of Texas at Austin. External

"The material in this collection consists of chronological correspondence files. These files, consecutively numbered, consist of letters and cables to and from Franklin's New York office and their foreign offices: Cairo, Tehran, Beirut, Baghdad, Lahore, Dacca, Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta, Nigeria, Mexico City, Rio de Janiero, and Buenos Aires. The "chrono files" comprise the correspondence between these offices from their inception to termination. These materials are in their original binders. Additional materials, dating from 1952 to 1978, consist of financial and annual reports, a bibliography of translations, photocopies of the original charter and other legal documents, and newsletters and brochures. In terms of academic research, the Franklin collection touches upon several subject areas: the history of U.S. government relations with developing countries, the West's influence on intellectual development in the Third World, the history of the United States publishing industry, the history of United States philanthropy, and book publishing development in the Third World." - From The Harry Ransom Center, University of Texas Austin website.

Access to these collections may vary. For additional primary source materials, the author heading of "Franklin Book Programs" in WorldCat External point to a vast array of materials accessible through university libraries such as Baylor University, University of Oregon, New York University, and Columbia University.