ABSTRACT
The establishment of the Chinese Communist government in October 1949 has brought about two Chinas in the world—one on the mainland, known as the People’s Republic of China (PRC); and one on Taiwan, known as the Republic of China. The closed-door policy of the PRC had resulted in the lack of communication between the United States and the PRC for a quarter of century. The Library of Congress has been able to acquire materials from Taiwan with little difficulty, but has experienced many frustrations in the acquisition of materials published on the Chinese mainland. The heavy demands for materials placed on the Library of Congress during World War II had revealed serious deficiencies in its collections of foreign materials. During the period of World War II China was unable to receive American documents due to the difficulties in transportation.
