This title doesn’t appear in the Library’s OPAC, but it did appear in a footnote in the Guide to Photocopied Historical Materials in the United States and Canada (which is the best title ever). The Guide specifically said that this trial transcript was at the Library.

After two hours of searching, let me assure you that it’s not here anymore.

For your reading pleasure, a slightly modified version of one of my favorite Ask A Lib responses of late.

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I found the card in both the Law Library card catalog and shelf list for “Stenographic report of the trial of Daladier…”  This was a promising start. Sometimes a card will only appear in the main card catalog, mentioning a law location, but will not appear in the Law Library’s catalog, suggesting a location change, or some other irregularity. Not the case with Daladier.

I found the call number range in our closed stacks, but sadly we are missing from LL-53 to LL-58 (Microfilm Law became LL). The items surrounding LL-57 were also trials from the 1940s; I feel that I was looking in the correct place. [I tested some alternative combinations of LL and 57 and found LL-F-57 on the Holy Roman Empire and LL-057, the Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology.] I requested the item in the Microfilm Reading Room back in the main library collection, just in case. It was not there either [nor should it have been, but they were very kind to check].

As you see on the card, this edition of the transcript of Daladier’s trial was part of a larger collection from the Interdepartmental Committee for Acquisition of Foreign Publications [just a plan for microfilming at that last link, what a tease], a group that collected war time publications in Europe, Asia and North Africa during WWII. I tried searching this group for a larger collection, or perhaps a parallel record, but did not find anything in our online catalog.
Of course, Daladier’s trial did not appear in our online catalog either. I decided to look for a print guide to the Interdepartmental Committee holdings. I found two titles, a list and a guide to “original publications recorded and available,” neither of which have call numbers or holdings information. I did not check the main card catalog for an entry for “Interdepartmental Committee…” but there is no entry in the main shelf list, law card catalog, or law shelf list. [I also searched the guide to microfilm guides at the Library for something on the Committee, but no luck. However, fabulous resource if you're looking for a time sink.] I would not describe this as a dead end, but rather another place to look.

I searched “Interdepartmental Committee…” on WorldCat and found these options. If you can find a complete collection, look for reel no. 163, which should be the Daladier transcript according to the Library’s card.

WorldCat also suggested this court report covering the same time period, available at the British Library. [I love my library, but secretly pine for some way important research issue that can only be solved at St. Pancreas, in the main reading room, and will take weeks and weeks.]

I cannot imagine where LL-57 has disappeared to [but I'm 100% confident that this is not a simple misshelving error], and I apologize for the gap in our collection. However, I hope that this explanation will give you a few more places to look. [p.s. Please let me know where you eventually find it! I need closure.]

[xoxo, Meg]