Grants and Acquisitions

David Free

The Library of Congress recently awarded six Teaching with Primary Sources regional grants. Recipients of these regional grants will make subgrants on behalf of the library to organizations that wish to integrate library resources and Teaching with Primary Sources methods into their educational programming. The recipients include Illinois State University, Metropolitan State University of Denver, Waynesburg University, Middle Tennessee State University, the National Council for History Education, and the American Historical Association. They will award subgrants of up to $25,000 to school districts, colleges, and universities, libraries, cultural institutions, state entities, professional associations, and nonprofits to reach hundreds of thousands of learners in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico.

Acquisitions

The Library of Congress has acquired the photographs, manuscripts, and periodical collection of Raúl Ruiz, a leading figure in the Chicano Movement in Los Angeles beginning in the 1960s. Ruiz (1940–2019) was an activist, journalist, photographer, educator, and political candidate who advocated for the rights of Mexican Americans. He was perhaps best known as the editor of La Raza newspaper and magazine, groundbreaking periodicals that covered the East LA Walkouts in 1968, the Chicano Moratorium during the Vietnam War, and other issues of interest to the Chicano community. The Raúl Ruiz Chicano Movement Collection contains an estimated 17,500 photos by Ruiz (prints, negatives, contact sheets, and transparencies) and original page layouts for La Raza newspaper and magazine. It also offers nearly 10,000 pages of manuscripts, which include original correspondence, the unpublished draft of Ruiz’s book on Los Angeles Times journalist Rubén Salazar, and handwritten minutes from the staff meetings of La Raza. In addition, the collection includes published issues of La Raza newspaper and magazine, select issues of other Chicano periodicals, and video and audio recordings.

The Hoover Institute recently acquired the David A. Korn Collection, containing a rich array of memoranda, notebooks, correspondence, interviews, published and unpublished writings, reports, and photographs. From handwritten notes on the Israel-Egypt peace process to materials concerning terrorism and diplomacy, the collection offers critical insights into US policy on hostages, violations against the Kurds, and other geopolitical concerns. Korn (1930–2022) was a Foreign Service Officer, diplomat, and author whose career witnessed some of the most pivotal moments in Middle Eastern history.

His roles included State Department Director for Israel and Arab-Israeli Affairs, Chief of the political section at the US embassy in Israel, US Charge d’Affaires in Ethiopia, and US Ambassador to Togo. He played an active role in the Arab-Israeli conflict and subsequent peace process (1978–1980) during the Carter administration. Korn’s sharp understanding of the region extended well beyond, encompassing US policy on Iraq and the Ethiopian famine and civil war during the 1980s, among other areas.