At the conclusion of World War II, the American Philosophical Society undertook a number of projects that had been delayed by the war effort. Most concrete was the 1949 renovation of Philosophical Hall back to its original exterior architectural form. Meanwhile, under the leadership of William E. Lingelbach, the Library was making great strides which culminated in 1959 with the completion of Library Hall -- the fulfillment of the Society's long-cherished dream of an independent home for its great book and manuscript collections. Lingelbach, a well-regarded modern-European historian and retired Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Pennsylvania, had long been a member of the APS Committee on Library and in the early 1930s became a leading advocate of the expansion of the social sciences and humanities at the Society. During his "second year" at the APS, he vigorously promoted the cause of the Library, lobbying successfully for its own separate, modern structure (the necessary funds had been raised in the 1930s). Along the way, Lingelbach became a self-taught authority on Benjamin Franklin and the great collections of Franklin's papers and books at the APS. As a means of better informing both the members of the Society and the scholarly world of the great strengths and pressing needs of the Library, Lingelbach established the Library Bulletin, which later became an independent unit of the Society's annual Proceedings. At the same time, he appointed distinguished scholars as Library Research Associates who promoted the collections and raised their visibility through their research, and he commenced the acquisition of books and manuscripts, particularly Frankliniana and works on early American history, Native Americans, and the history of sciences.

The Library Bulletin was a major instrument of Professor Lingelbach's unrelenting campaign. While it published key documents or clutches of historical documents from time to time, its real metier were interesting, even distinguished articles on topics fashioned from the Library's notable collections. Having some of America's leading humanities scholars mining the Library's rich resources not only advanced learning, but effectively promoted the institution as a national research center.

With William E. Lingelbach and his many contributions very much in mind, we have decided to reestablish the Library Bulletin in a contemporary format while faithfully adhering to the historical integrity of its original purpose. To carry forward this challenge, I have asked our Manuscripts Librarian to undertake the editorship of our new APS Library Bulletin.