[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 123 (Tuesday, September 16, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1765-E1766]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


    TRIBUTE TO DR. JAMES BILLINGTON ON THE 10TH ANNIVERSARY OF HIS 
                   SELECTION AS LIBRARIAN OF CONGRESS

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. TOM LANTOS

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                      Tuesday, September 16, 1997

  Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I invite my colleagues to join me in paying 
a well-deserved tribute to Dr. James Billington, a dear friend of mine, 
who has served our Nation with great distinction as the Librarian of 
Congress for the last 10 years. This week we mark the 10th anniversary 
of the appointment of Dr. Billington to this important leadership 
position. I invite my colleagues to join me in paying tribute to him as 
we celebrate this important milestone.
  Dr. Billington was appointed the 13th Librarian of Congress by 
President Ronald Reagan in 1987, and he was subsequently confirmed to 
that position by the U.S. Senate. Earlier, he served as the director of 
the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, and before that 
he was a distinguished professor and scholar of Russian history and 
culture at Princeton University.
  The Library of Congress is the largest and most comprehensive library 
in the world with more than 110 million items in more than 450 
languages. Managing that immense collection is a major task in and of 
itself, but Dr. Billington assumed the position as Librarian of 
Congress at a critical time in the Library's history. The past 10 years 
have been a time of great change because of the rapid and complete 
transformation of information technology. At this critical time, Dr. 
Billington's vision, insight, and skills have been a tremendous asset 
for the Library, for the Congress, and for the American people.
  Dr. Billington was one of the first scholars and cultural 
administrators to recognize the significance of the approaching 
information age and its importance for the Library of Congress. At his 
confirmation hearing in 1987, Dr. Billington voiced his hope that ``the 
Library might furnish new technologies boldly'' and share its catalog 
and national treasures by the year 2000 with citizens in local 
communities across America. In 1994, Dr. Billington's hope became 
reality when the National Digital Library was launched. That project, 
which has as its objective to digitize 5 million items from the 
Library's collection at a cost of some $60 million, is being 
accomplished with private/public funding. Today, the Library's World

[[Page E1766]]

Wide Web site brings to tens of millions of people the Library's 
catalog, the American Memory collections of the National Digital 
Library, and Thomas--the Library's legislative information site. The 
Library's site is recognized as one of the most important content sites 
on the Internet, and it is quickly becoming a unique and popular 
educational resource for teaching and learning for students at all 
levels.
  During his 10 years as Librarian, Dr. Billington has made a great 
contribution to the improvement of the Library in many areas, in 
addition to his incredible efforts in the area of technology. He has 
strengthened control of the Library's various collections, and 
increased the Library's acquisitions. For example, he was instrumental 
in the acquisition of the Leonard Bernstein collection, the Marion 
Carson collection, and the Gordon Parks collection.
  Under the direction of Dr. Billington, the Library of Congress has 
undergone a period of tremendous growth and development. He has 
established the first office of development at the Library to raise 
private funds for scholarly activities, exhibitions, and the National 
Digital Library. He proposed and the Congress approved the 
establishment of the Madison Council, a group of private citizens who 
provide sustained financial support to the Library. In the 10 years 
that Dr. Billington has served at the Library of Congress, he has 
raised $91.7 million, of which $41.5 million represents the 
contributions from the Madison Council, which is chaired by John Kluge.
  Additionally, Dr. Billington has made a major commitment to public 
display of the Library's own treasures as well as the priceless 
heritage of other nations around the world, and he has sponsored a 
series of widely acclaimed exhibitions at the Library of Congress. A 
few of the most spectacular exhibitions include ``Rome Reborn: The 
Vatican Library and Renaissance Culture,'' ``Scrolls from the Dead 
Sea,'' ``Revelations of the Russian Archives,'' and ``From the Ends of 
the Earth: Judaic Treasures of the Library of Congress.''
  Mr. Speaker, I am particularly appreciative of my association with 
Dr. Billington and his friendship. Shortly after he became Librarian of 
Congress, to mark the ``Year of the Book,'' Dr. Billington and 
officials of the Library came to San Mateo, CA, in my congressional 
district, where they gave focus to the incredible resources of the 
Library and further emphasized the important outreach program that has 
been given great emphasis under Dr. Billington's leadership.
  Mr. Speaker, in my remarks thus far, I have focused on the 
outstanding achievements and leadership of Dr. Billington over this 4-
year period of his stewardship at the Library of Congress. I want to 
add a few personal comments about Dr. Billington as a friend. A number 
of our colleagues in the Congress and I, had the wonderful opportunity 
to travel with him on a visit to Russia a few years go, under the 
leadership of Mr. Gephardt and Mr. Gingrich. Dr. Billington added an 
incredible perspective and an understanding of Russia and the Russian 
people to those of us who participated in that important trip. He was 
not only a brilliant scholar, but also a delightful traveling 
companion. Dr. Billington also participated in meetings which I chaired 
at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire between delegations representing 
the Congress and the European Parliament. Again, he contributed in a 
major way to both delegations' understanding of the complexities of our 
relationships with Russia and the republics of the former Soviet Union.
  Mr. Speaker, Dr. Billington should be congratulated for his 
exceptional successes during his 10-year tenure at the Library of 
Congress. I invite my colleagues to join me in thanking Dr. Billington 
and paying tribute to him for the service he has given to the Library 
of Congress and our Nation over the past decade.

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