Kate Kaplan - I had donated various 20th century modern design items in the past, but the one that accepted my last gift with open arms and without judgment (two mint condition swags of 1960s woven textiles by Denmark's L.F. Foght attributed to Helga Foght and purchased at Goodwill for $1 each) was a design museum/collection outside the USA. It is the Lilianne and David Stewart Collection at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts which holds one of the finest and most extensive collection of 20th century modern design in the world - they loan and gift their stuff to other museums for display and various exhibitions worldwide. They even assigned a staff to do further research on the items I donated. They are very selective too but will accept a gift when they see if it has merit and fits their collection well.
http://www.mbam.qc.ca/en/museum-district/liliane-and-david-m-stewart-pav...
I know I suggested the Indianapolis Museum of Art in another thread but in retrospect, the IMA did made me feel I had to beg them to accept the 10 items I donated. I felt I had to go through several levels of snobbery from the receptionist all the way up the curator.
Best of luck with the search for finding a new home for your father's catalog.
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