A directory of U.S. book publisher archives.

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This Guide to Book Publisher's Archives is a directory of the archives of U.S. book publishers who have been active in the twentieth century. This apparently straightforward description is misleading, however: almost every term in it requires explanation.

First, a truly "U.S." book publisher is hard to find. We have included the American branches of European publishers (although their archives are frequently maintained by the home offices), a few expatriate publishes, and U.S. publishers now owned by European conglomerates.

Nor have we been terribly strict in defining book publishers. We have included listings for magazines that were sponsored by book publishers (Collier's and Harper's, for example); for publishers whose main product is journals but who also publish books (including many professional societies); and for magazines devoted to the book industry (notably Publishers Weekly).

We have stretched "publishers" to include book clubs, organizations of publishers (such as the Association of American University Presses) and organizations of publishing professionals (such as the Women's National Book Association).

The predecessor firms of the twentieth-century companies are also included, even if they ceased to exist under their own names before 1900. In almost every borderline case, we have chosen to be inclusive.