A study of the U. S. diplomatic library in Mexico City

A Study of the U. S. Diplomatic Library In Mexico City by Lauren Ann Waelder, M. S. in Information Studies The University of Texas at Austin, 2013 SUPERVISOR: Philip Doty This paper addresses the topic of diplomatic libraries. It opens with a section covering the topic in general, but then focuses on the specific scope of the paper. It focuses on the circumstances associated with the library in Mexico City that goes with the U. S. Embassy to Mexico. That library is the Benjamin Franklin Library, established in 1942 and named after the person from the early United States history. It attempts to provide an overview of the library, as well as theoretical framework surrounding diplomatic libraries and cultural relations in the United States. The paper accomplishes these goals in two ways. First, it performs a review of relevant literature, both old and new, on the topic. This literature review also analyzes the gap in information between the older and more recent sources, focusing on a difference between the older works’ historical base and the newer works’ practical experience. Second, it also incorporates original research through an actual visit to the library in Mexico City. The paper goes on to discuss the two research questions and thirteen other questions that a process of interviews with three different groups of Ben Franklin Library librarians was able to answer. Finally, the paper wraps up both the literature review and the research notes through a discussion of the interaction between the two sections and how they both contribute to the paper as a whole and to an active readership. The discussion of these issues includes references to items in either form, but it transcends actual commentary on the contents of the relevant literature, focusing instead on its larger implications for the topic. It also touches briefly on a few of the ways future research could continue to enhance this field. Finally, a conclusion leaves the reader with a few comments that explain how an article of this nature provides its audience with an expansion of knowledge about the topic of diplomatic libraries and about the Benjamin Franklin Library in particular. This combination of information should allow other readers to form more educated opinions of diplomatic libraries and their place in society.