Library of Congress

“ As the only Government library of comprehensive range, every year of its existence should be marked by incessant progress toward completeness in every department. In the new and splendid home for the Nation’s books provided by the far-sighted liberality of Congress, readers whose pursuits are endlessly varied should be assured of finding the best literature of all lands. It is a fact pregnant with meaning that the nations which possess the most extensive libraries maintain the foremost rank in civilization. ”

“ Librarian of Congress The Librarian of Congress shall have charge of all work (other than work under subsection (a) of this section) at the Library of Congress buildings and grounds.
(c) Transfer of funds The Architect of the Capitol and the Librarian of Congress may enter into agreements with each other to perform work under this section, and, subject to the approval of the Committees on Appropriations of the House of Representatives and the Senate and the Joint Committee on the Library, may transfer between themselves appropriations or other available funds to pay the costs therefor. ”

“ Too much material has already been absorbed into collections from which it will never emerge.
But universality in scope does not mean absolute comprehensiveness in detail. With its purchasing funds and other resources the Library of Congress bids fair to become the strongest collection in the United States in bibliography, in Americana (omitting the earliest) , in political and social science, public administration, jurisprudence. If any American library can secure the documents which will exhibit completely legislation proposed and legislation enacted it should be able to. ”

“ It is impossible to do more than glance at the principal libraries and activities, where the field is so immense, and a brief sketch of some of the chief federal, state, university, endowed and municipal libraries will therefore be presented.
The Library of Congress was first established in 1800 at Washington, and was burned together with the Capitol by the British army in 1814. President Jefferson’s books were purchased to form the foundation of a new Federal libraries. library, which continued to increase slowly until 1851, when all but 20,000 vols. were destroyed by fire. ”

“ The Library of Congress not only houses the much-appreciated Congressional Research Service, it also offers 1.6 million visitors access to 15 million primary-source documents and operates the Veteran's History Project and the Surplus Books Program. ”

“ THE FUNCTION OF A NATIONAL LIBRARY
BY AINSWORTH R. SPOFFORD The uses of a great national collection of books are so manifold and far-reaching that it is difficult to sum them up in any succinct statement. The Library at Washington, steadily growing for generations, was founded primarily for the use and reference of Congress. As the library of our national legislature, whose responsible labors cover the wide field of domestic welfare and foreign relations; it should contain all that can contribute to their service and information. ”

“ The modern substitute is to erect the cases in stories, or tiers, with corridors and passages only large enough to give convenient access to the books. Throughout, the aim of the builder is to dispose of every inch of space as economically as possible. Of the three stacks in the Library of Congress, those to the north and south are, as the visitor has seen, the largest, each having a length of one hundred and twelve feet against thirty for the East Stack. ”

“ Law will at once occur to all as a subject for which it may be desirable to run two sets of headings. We have done this at the University of Minnesota, using the special Library of Congress law headings in the department catalog, and the regular Library of Congress headings in the general catalog. A point to be carefully considered in adopting more than one set of subject headings, moreover, is the possible confusion of mind that may be produced in the student, the exigencies of whose work require him to use more than one of the library catalogs. ”

“ Herbert Putnam's intelligent and generous aid to students and scholars has made the Library of Congress the most attractive place in the world to persons engaged in literary or scientific work. The large resources of the Library have greatly facilitated the present task. ”

“ Worthington C. Ford, Chief of the Division of Manuscripts, we are under special obligations for the interest they have taken in rendering serviceable to us the vast and splendid resources of the Library of Congress. The Librarian of Columbia University also has generously extended to us helpful courtesies which we gratefully acknowledge. ”

“ The Commemorative Arch.—On the easterly side of the Staircase Hall, on the way to the Reading Room, the regularity of the arcade is interrupted by a portico of equal height, which does duty as a sort of miniature triumphal arch, commemorating the erection of the Library. The spandrels contain two sculptured figures in marble by the late Olin L. Warner, the sculptor of the bronze doors previously described. Along the frieze are [24] the words LIBRARY OF CONGRESS, inscribed in tall gilt letters. ”

“ No books can be taken out of the Library except on the responsibility of a member of Congress. Till within a very few years, books were allowed to be taken by strangers who presented a written permit to do so from a Congressional official. ”

“ The old author slip catalog must be revised and reduced to print. There must be compiled a subject catalog, of which none now exists. Innumerable gaps—that which is crooked can be made straight, but that which is wanting cannot be numbered—innumerable gaps are to be ascertained and filled. A collection of reference books must be placed back at the Capitol, with suitable apparatus, to bring the library once more into touch with Congress and enable it to render the service to Congress which is its first duty. ”

“ Libraries have always enabled people, in the words of James Madison, to "arm themselves with the power which knowledge gives." These words, inscribed at the entrance of the James Madison Memorial Building of the Library of Congress, are a tribute to the Library's past and a sustaining goal as it embarks on its third century. ”

“ The materials thus furnished to the politician, the historical writer, or the student of literature, are of great and incalculable value. A National Library is not for one generation alone, but for all time. So much the more important is its function of handing down to the readers and students of the future a full and authentic mirror of each age in its progressive growth, to be found most vividly in the pages of the daily and weekly journals, and the magazines and reviews of every class. These periodicals furnish the best impress of the times which can be derived from any single source. ”

“ In the vast and complicated system involved in a government so complex as the American, where State rights and Federal supremacy are constantly brought in question, Congress and its Committees are taxed with responsibilities which demand the widest political, historical, and judicial knowledge. Only a library of completely encyclopædic range, filled with books and periodicals which illustrate every subject, and throw light upon the history and policy of every nation, is adequate to equip them for their work. ”

“ Of course it should be one of the foremost aims of our National Library to secure all books, pamphlets, maps and periodicals relating to our own country. Everything that can illustrate the discovery, settlement, history, biography, natural history, or resources of America should be gathered. The already rich collection of Americana comprises a large share of the earlier works respecting America, nearly all of which are now rare, as well as of the early printed books of the various American presses, and many published in places where no books are now printed. ”

“ Many students sit down at a computer resource and assume that, because AM comes from the Library of Congress, all of American history is now at their fingertips. As a result of that sort of mistaken judgment, some students are known to conclude that AM contains nothing of use to them when they look for one or two things and do not find them. It is difficult to discover that middle ground where one has a sense of what the system contains. ”

“ All experience proves that a great library of reference cannot be made a library of general circulation without destroying its function as a reference library. Every frequenter of the National Library has a right to expect that the books it contains will be found when called for. This is impossible if a large portion of them are out in circulation. Nor can this be met by the claim that duplicates would enable the Library to loan freely. There are no more than enough duplicates to meet the uses of members of Congress who have the legal privilege of drawing books. ”

“ Now, I shall prepare another bill, or have the old bill introduced again, I do not know which, and, as long as I remain in the office of Superintendent of Documents, I shall endeavor to bring about legislation on the lines proposed in the bills heretofore presented to Congress. In the first place, I want all the government periodicals taken out of the Congressional series and bound in cloth, so that they can be distributed to the libraries as soon as they are printed. ”

“ As to my going anywhere, I have to tell you of a dream, which I should like to become a reality. There is going to be a Congress of Librarians in the United States, which is to open on the 15th of September next, and where all the great questions connected with the management of a great Library are to be discussed and uniform principles adopted. The Americans have always been my friends, and the principles which will prevail are mine. They wish me to go, and I 171should like it amazingly; but the expense is too heavy. I will try, if possible, to get help from the Trustees. ”