Officers of the Rockefeller Foundation in New York and its staff members in the field often visited educational, scientific and research institutions and laboratories in many parts of the world to maintain contacts and assess work being done. Officers and field staff frequently conferred with government officials regarding the operation of the RF's programs. In order to preserve accurate records for the guidance of other RF officers, those who carried on these activities kept diaries of their day-to-day contacts and impressions. These diaries were sent to the RF office, where they circulated among officers and staff to the extent deemed advisable. Diaries are of two types: regular daily diaries, and special trip diaries. Some diaries have indexes, which are bound in the annual volume; indexing was not a requirement but was left to the discretion of the officers, and not all diaries are indexed.