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This essay examines the deliberate role undertaken by the Macmillan Company of Canada tc develop a contemporary Canadian literature. It focusses on the period from 1921 to 1973, wher first Hugh Eayrs and later John Gray were presidents of the company. Under the direction ol Eayrs, Macmillan established itself as a publisher with a culture and interest separate from it! parent and affiliate houses in London and New York. Eayrs built a roster of important writers including Stephen Leacock, Mazo de la Roche, Frederick Philip Grove, E.J. Pratt, Grey Owl and Money Callaghan, and helped establish an audience for Canadian novels and poetry. Afte Eayrs's death, Gray continued to publish Canadian writers, among them novelists Huge MacLennan, Robertson Davies, W.O. Mitchell and Adele Wiseman. Both Eayrs and Gray were visionaries who shared a deep commitment to fostering the literature of Canada, which the often published in difficult circumstances and at considerable financial risk. Cet article examine le role intentionnel adopts par Macmillan Company of Canada afin d'etablisune litterature contemporaine au Canada. L'article porte sur les annees 1921 a 1973 lorsque tour d'abord Hugh Eayrs puffs John Gray etaient presidents de l'entreprise. Sous la direction de M. Eayrs, Macmillan s'est etabli comme une maison d'edition ayant une culture et des interets differents de ses maisons mere et affiliee de Londres et New York. Eayrs a encourage son groupe d'ecrivains importants comprenait Stephen Leacock, Mazo de la Roche, Frederick Philip Grove E.J. Pratt, Grey Owl et Morley Callaghan qui ont aide A former une appreciation pour la poesie et les romans canadiens. Apres le deces de Eayrs, John Gray a continue A publier des ecrivains canadiens, dont les romanciers Hugh MacLennan, Robertson Davies, W.O. Mitchell et Adele Wiseman. Eayrs et Gray etaient tous les deux des visionnaires qui etaient tres devoues a la promotion de la litterature canadienne qu'ils ont publiee - souvent dans des circonstances difficiles et en prenant des risques financiers consWiables. The Macmillan Company of Canada, along with Ryerson Press and McClelland & Stewart, has been described as "one of the foremost Canadian publishers of the twentieth century" (Spadoni, "Bibliography" 38). Macmillan was instrumental in developing Canadian letters and in shaping the culture of Canada. Literary historian Bruce Whiteman confirms that "Macmillan was willing to support at an early stage, both morally and financially, authors who were eventually to play key roles in modern Canadian literature" ("Archive" v). This essay examines the deliberate role undertaken by Macmillan to develop a contemporary Canadian literature. It focusses on the period from 1921 to 1973, when first Hugh Smithurst Eayrs and later John Morgan Gray were presidents of the company. Under the direction of Eayrs, Macmillan established itself as a publisher with a culture and interest separate from its parent and affiliate houses in London and New York. Eayrs, so encouraging of Canadian writers, fostered Macmillan's "enviable reputation for publishing Canadian books" (Whiteman, "Early" 70). His roster of important writers included Stephen Leacock, Mazo de la Roche, Frederick Philip Grove, EJ. Pratt, Grey Owl and Morley Callaghan, and helped establish an audience for Canadian novels and poetry. After Eayrs's death, Gray continued to publish Canadian writers, among them novelists Hugh MacLennan, Robertson Davies, W.O. Mitchell and Adele Wiseman. Throughout his tenure as president of the company, Gray was, in fact, "one of the most highly regarded publishers in Canada" (Whiteman, "Archive" vii). Both Eayrs and Gray were visionaries who shared a deep commitment to fostering Canadian literature, which they often published in difficult circumstances and at considerable financial risk. The Macmillan Company of Canada fonds - housed at the William Ready Division of Archives and Research Collections, McMaster University Library - is a vast and rich treasure trove of archival documents available for scholarly use. …

The purpose of this article is to describe the scope and depth of the historic corporate annual report collections in twelve academic/research libraries in North America. For many decades, a few major academic business libraries have been collecting and preserving corporate Annual Reports (ARS), the reports sent to shareholders documenting the financial status and future plans of the company. Today these historic collections provide more than a record of the companies’ finances; they provide a glimpse into the social and cultural thoughts from the past and the corporate stories of individual companies. Digitization of these reports has only just begun; so, except for fewer than 900 companies (most of which have been on the Fortune 500 list), the companies included in these historic annual report collections are not available electronically. The combined collection of the twelve libraries includes reports from nearly 38,000 different companies. Stanford, Harvard, and Western Ontario have the largest collections. Harvard and Columbia have collections with significant historic depth, while Purdue has a collection with important late–twentieth-century holdings. The overlap of the collections is much smaller than was anticipated. The two largest collections, Stanford with over 18,000 companies and Harvard with over 11,000 companies, have only 3,668 companies in common. The overlap of companies between the largest five collections is only thirty-three companies. This research identifies these collections as unique and therefore valuable to the study of specific company histories and the industrial development in North America. Librarians need to preserve these collections and work toward digitizing them.