By the end of December, 1942, over a year after the events that had led to their internal exile had begun, Fusa Tsumagari (323-11-D) wrote an answering letter to her friend, Clara Breed.
At the time, Miss Breed was writing an article for the Library Journal on the establishment of libraries in the camps, and had written to her friend Fusa, requesting all the information that all the young Nisei could locate on the Poston libraries at Camps I, II and III.
With the help of her brother, YukioTsumagari (323-11-D) , Fusa was able to gather a quantity of material which she duly reported.
She found that the Poston library system was divided into two branches; an Education Department, and the Poston Public Library. Further, each branch functioned as an independent unit, administering the policies, procedures, and regulations laid down by the Poston's Head Librarian, who was usually an evacuee hired by the camp administration.42
The Central School Library for the entire camp complex was located at Poston II, and was supervised by Ethel Manning, a former California State Library worker from Colusa, California. She was employed by the WRA, who funded only the educational component of the Camp library system. Miss Manning supervised the distribution of school supplies including: text books, collateral reading materials, periodicals, and other miscellaneous readings materials. It is interesting to note that there were no maps of Arizona in either the educational or public libraries at Poston.43 The Central School Library served all three of the Poston camps.
Sources: http://www.sandiegohistory.org/journal/96summer/nikkei.htm
http://www.usfbloggers.com/feeds/two-librarians-and-the-internment-of-japanese-americans.html
