The British Library of Information in New York: A Tool of British Foreign Policy, 1919-1942

Abstract

The British Library of Information supported British interests in the United States by providing reference information and government documents explaining official British positions on domestic, imperial, and foreign affairs. The library also gathered information on American public opinion and politics and communicated with influential Americans throughout the country, thus contributing to the Foreign Office's analysis of American affairs. These efforts were part of a broader program of national publicity to ensure British political and economic competitiveness in the expanding environment of propaganda after World War I. The library model revealed conflicts in British information policy early in World War II.