[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 36 (Tuesday, March 28, 2000)]
[House]
[Pages H1437-H1441]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
COMMENDING LIBRARY OF CONGRESS FOR 200 YEARS OF OUTSTANDING SERVICE
Mr. EHLERS. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the
concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 269) commending the Library of
Congress and its staff for 200 years of outstanding service to the
Congress and the Nation and encouraging the American public to
participate in bicentennial activities.
The Clerk read as follows:
H. Con. Res. 269
Whereas the Library of Congress, America's oldest Federal
cultural institution, was established on April 24, 1800, and
in its 200 years of existence has become the largest and most
inclusive library in human history;
Whereas the Library's mission is to make its resources
available and useful to the Congress and the American people
and to sustain and preserve a universal collection of
knowledge and creativity;
Whereas, in furtherance of its mission, the Library has
amassed an unparalleled collection of 119 million items, a
superb staff of ``knowledge navigators'', and networks for
gathering the world's knowledge for the Nation's good;
Whereas the Library, the Congress, and the Nation have
benefitted richly from the work of thousands of talented and
dedicated Library employees throughout the Library's 200-year
history;
Whereas the citizens of the United States have generously
contributed to the Library's collections through their own
creativity, social and scholarly discourse, donation of
materials in all formats, and generous philanthropic support;
Whereas the goal of the Library's bicentennial
commemoration is to inspire creativity in the centuries ahead
and remind Americans that all libraries are the cornerstones
of democracy, encouraging greater use of the Library of
Congress and libraries everywhere;
Whereas this goal will be achieved through a variety of
national, State, and local projects, developed in
collaboration with Members of Congress, the staff of the
Library of Congress, libraries and librarians throughout the
Nation, and the Library's James Madison Council and other
philanthropic supporters;
Whereas the centerpiece of the bicentennial celebration is
the Local Legacies Project, a joint effort of Congress and
the Library of Congress to document distinctive cultural
traditions and historic events representing local communities
throughout the country at the turn of the 21st century; and
Whereas the bicentennial commemorative activities also
include symposia, exhibitions, publications, significant
acquisitions, the issuance of a commemorative coin and stamp,
and enhanced public access to the collections of the Library
of Congress through the National Digital Library: Now,
therefore, be it
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Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate
concurring), That the Congress commends the Library of
Congress and its employees, both past and present, on 200
years of service to the Congress and the Nation and
encourages the American public to participate in activities
to commemorate the Library's bicentennial.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Michigan (Mr. Ehlers) and the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer) each
will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Ehlers).
{time} 1600
Mr. EHLERS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure to speak on this resolution today. I
hope the Chair will indulge me as I go through some of my history of
involvement in libraries and why I believe this is a very important
resolution.
This story goes back many years to the time when I was a young lad in
Minnesota. I had chronic asthma. I was unable to go to school, and did
all my schoolwork at home. I was home schooled before people knew that
term. And that left me with a great deal of time to read because I
could do most of my schoolwork in 3 hours a day.
I lived in a small town of 800 people. We had a library that
contained probably that same number of books, about 800 books. I
believe I read every book in that library at least once, except for
those that the librarian kept hidden under her desk, as they did in
those days. This led me to a great interest in reading and a great
appreciation for libraries.
As I grew up, I continued to value and treasure libraries and the
resource they represent for our communities and for our country. Little
did I know at that time that I would become involved in politics. I
never expected to, never intended to, and yet here I am. But, on the
way, I have served as a member of a county library board. I have served
as a member of a city library board. I also served as a member of the
Board of the State Library of Michigan. And now I am on the Joint
Committee of the Library of Congress.
My experience with all these libraries increased my appreciation of
libraries and librarians. Tremendous resources are available in
libraries, and I found this out as I got into the academic world first
at Calvin College and then at the University of California at Berkeley.
Coming from a very small town, I was just amazed at what I could find
in a library not only in terms of books to read but also in material
useful for research.
I also remember the first time I used the Library of Congress. I was
engaged in academic research on energy resources sometime after the
energy crisis of 1973, and I studied various aspects relating to
scientific analysis of energy resources, the use of energy,
alternatiave sources of energy, improving efficiency of energy use, and
so forth.
On a trip to Washington, I spent a day at the Library of Congress
doing research. I was just delighted with all the materials that I
found there which were very, very useful in my research. I could easily
have spent a couple of weeks devouring the material there and
condensing it for use in my work.
I was truly astounded at the resources of the Library of Congress but
also very, very pleased at the way the employees helped me and treated
someone from a small town in Michigan trying to do research on a major
national issue. They were extremely helpful. They determined what I
needed to find and they helped me find it.
My appreciation of the Library of Congress increased even more after
I came to the Congress and observed firsthand the services they provide
to our country and to our Congress. It is a marvelous institution and
is blessed with a good administration, and is blessed now and has been
blessed for 200 years with an outstanding staff.
It is a venerable institution that started in a small way in this
building and then was burned out when the British came in and burned
the Capitol and the White House some years ago. Thanks to Thomas
Jefferson, who after the fire willingly offered his personal library of
some 20,000 volumes to the Congress for purchase at a reasonable price,
the Library of Congress was revived and eventually developed into what
we have today, the largest collection of books and materials in the
entire world.
The Library and its employees have also advanced into the modern age
with the addition of the Internet, which first of all helps make all
public documents of the House of Representatives and the Senate
available to every person in this country and indeed on this planet.
In addition to that, they make much other information available; they
have developed what is called the digital library. With the help of
grants from various good citizen and corporations in this country, much
of the material in the Library of Congress is available to
schoolchildren everywhere.
So the Library continues to adapt to the changing times and changing
technology, and they are doing a marvelous job of not only providing
that information but training the staff to enter the digital age.
I am very appreciative of all that they have done, and I rise to
support this resolution and urge its passage. It recognizes not only
the history of the institution and the contributions they have made
but, in particular, the contributions that the staff has made working
very diligently to meet the needs of our citizens.
I must confess to a little personal interest here as well. I have a
daughter who became a librarian and has been the manager of a branch
library in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and was recently promoted to become
the head of the reference section in the main library there; she also
has enlightened me about many of the problems of modern-day libraries,
and she is my personal consultant on matters relating to libraries.
So it is with great pleasure that I recognize the major role that
libraries have played but, in particular, what the Library of Congress
has meant to this Nation and, indeed, to all academic institutions
worldwide and, in addition to that, recognize the staff and
administration for the outstanding work they have done for 200 years.
We welcome their contributions, and we admire them and congratulate
them as they reach their bicentennial. We wish them a wonderful
bicentennial year as they engage in many different celebrations.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise to join my very distinguished colleague, the
gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Ehlers). I might say that he started out
with saying that he had a long history in dealing with libraries and
was going to go back to his childhood; and I want to tell my friend I
was going to jump to my feet and yield him more time on the theory that
it might take some time. He is a distinguished scholar and a
distinguished Member of this body, and I want to join in his remarks.
Mr. Speaker, I am proud to support this concurrent resolution which
honors the Library of Congress and its extraordinary staff. As the
oldest Federal cultural institution and the largest library in the
world, the Library of Congress serves a unique role in American life.
It is the keeper of our past and a teacher of our future.
The Library archives America's cultural history through its
collections of 119 million items, including books, films, musical
recordings, prints, maps, and photographs.
Make no mistake, though, the Library is not simply a collection of
documents wasting away in a Federal warehouse. Due to an
extraordinarily talented and dedicated staff, the Library, as the
gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Ehlers) has pointed out, is a true
American treasure. The employees of the Library of Congress make
millions of items in the collection come to life as a living history of
our Nation.
Through its 22 reading rooms on Capitol Hill and its extensive web
site, the Library, as I said, educates America. Whether it is a Member
of Congress examining an issue, a school child researching a report, or
an author writing a book, the Library of Congress will have what they
are looking for and its staff of ``knowledge navigators'' will make
sure they find it.
Just last month, Mr. Speaker, I introduced my new web site at the
James Madison Middle School in Upper Marlboro, Maryland. The student
who was
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helping me demonstrate the site was doing a paper on the Gold Rush.
Through my site, we linked to the Library of Congress' American Memory
web site.
The student searched for information on the Gold Rush and emerged
with a treasure trove of information, letters from frontiersmen,
pictures of the Old West, lyrics from music sung on the trail. I saw a
light, Mr. Speaker, in that young boy's eyes as history came alive for
him.
This is but one small example of the power and impact of the Library
of Congress. It is an example that is repeated daily in classrooms all
across America. The answers that boy found, the answers the Library
helps all of us find, do not come to us simply because we click the
mouse or pick up a phone or visit the reading room. The answers, Mr.
Speaker, come because of the hard work and dedication of the staff of
the Library of Congress.
We do not always know their names, but it is impossible not to know
their work. They are the ones who find the books, who organize the
materials, who research the issues, who write the summaries, and, yes,
who update the web site. Our lives and the American people's lives are
richer for their work.
I am proud to join my friend, the gentleman from Michigan (Mr.
Ehlers), in honoring them today and the Library itself. I am honored
and privileged to support this resolution.
The Library of Congress is among the finest institutions in our land
and, yes, even more so than that, probably the finest library in the
world and one of the finest institutions in the world.
It is led by an extraordinary American, Dr. Jim Billington, my
friend, a scholar himself, one of the intellectuals of this Nation, one
of the experts on Russia and many other subjects. But he and the staff
with whom he works have brought alive the information so necessary to
succeed in our society today.
Mr. Speaker, the Library of Congress was relevant when it was founded
200 years ago. In the information age, I suggest to my colleagues, the
Library is more relevant today than it has ever been. It is opening up
the gateway to knowledge, knowledge essential not just to the young but
to all of us if we are to succeed and to enjoy this information age in
which we live. Mr. Speaker, as I said earlier, I rise in strong support
of this concurrent resolution.
Mr. Speaker, I do not have any requests for time, I tell the
gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Ehlers). I know my colleagues on the
committee, the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Fattah) and the
gentleman from Florida (Mr. Davis), join me in my comments and in the
comments of the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Ehlers) and in their
congratulations to the Library of Congress and to its staff.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. EHLERS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume in
concluding.
Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer) for his
comments about the Library. He truly recognizes the value of the
Library of Congress and what it has done for this Nation. But one
comment in particular rang true, that this has truly become the library
of the world.
When I was a youngster, it was a library of Congress. It soon became
the library of this country. And now, through the Internet and through
its leadership, it has truly become the library of the world. I
personally believe it is having as much or more impact on what is
happening in the world around us today than the Library of Alexandria
over two millennia ago had on the known world at that time.
It is truly a venerable institution and filled with very good people,
good scholars, helpful scholars; and it has meant so much to this
Congress and to this Nation. I am very pleased that the Congress will
be joining us in honoring them for their good work. Mr. Speaker, I urge
passage of this resolution.
Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I welcome the effort of our colleague from
Michigan (Mr. Ehlers) for this legislation we are considering today
commending the Library of Congress and its employees, both past and
present, on 200 years of service to the Congress and the Nation and
encouraging the American public to participate in activities to
commemorate the Library's bicentennial.
As my colleagues have noted, Mr. Speaker, on April 24 of the year
1800, President John Adams signed legislation establishing the Library
of Congress and appropriating $5,000 for this modest effort. The year
after President Adams and the Congress established our nation's
national library, 740 volumes and three maps purchased from a London
bookseller comprised the initial holdings of the library.
By 1812, the collection had grown to 3,076 books. During the War of
1812, however, the British military occupied Washington, D.C., and
burned the Library of Congress as well as torching a number of other
prominent Washington buildings, including the White House and the
Capitol.
The nature of the institution was transformed in 1815 when Thomas
Jefferson sold his personal library to the Library of Congress to
reconstitute the collection. The Jeffersonian purchase was fortuitous
because it permitted the Library to re-establish a collection, but it
also fundamentally changed the nature of the Library of Congress.
Before 1814, the Library was a narrow collection of books dealing with
legal and historical topics. Jefferson's personal library was a broad
collection which included literature on a wealth of topics and fields
of knowledge, including literature.
In 1815, some Members of Congress objected to books in foreign
languages and books on spiritualism, architecture, and other topics
that they considered to be of no interest to the Congress. But
Jefferson argued that ``there is, in fact, no subject to which a Member
of Congress may not have occasion to refer.'' Fortunately, Jefferson's
conception of the Library of Congress won out, and that concept still
guides the accessions of the Library today.
The library today comprises almost 119 million items--18 million
books, 12 million photographs, 5 million maps, millions of technical
reports, music, movies, prints, manuscripts, microfilm. The collection
includes items in 490 languages. The library collection requires some
530 miles of bookshelves and the collection increases by 10,000 items
each day.
Mr. Speaker, I want to pay particular tribute to Dr. James
Billington, the 13th and current Librarian of Congress, who has played
such a critical role in the modern transformation of the Library. Dr.
Billington has taken the lead in emphasizing the continuing importance
of knowledge in the modern world, and he has undertaken a number of
critical innovations to bring the library into line with our digital
and Internet era.
When he launched the bicentennial of the Library of Congress three
years ago, Dr. Billington gave the celebration the theme ``Libraries,
Creativity, Liberty.'' That theme is particularly appropriate, Mr.
Speaker. Libraries are the knowledge they preserve and disseminate are
fundamental to our nation's creativity and innovation in this age of
rapid change. At the same time, libraries and their repository of
knowledge are essential for the function of a democratic society.
Knowledge available to a nation's citizens is a requirement for a free
people and for a democratic society to function.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join in supporting this
important resolution.
Mr. Speaker, I submit Dr. James Billington's personal reflection,
``The Library of Congress turns 200'' which appeared in the April 2000
issue of the magazine American History. Dr. Billington reflects his
insight regarding the role and position of the Library of Congress in
the United States. At the same time, he provides a personal insight as
one of our nation's foremost historians.
On April 24 of this year the Library of Congress--America's
national library and oldest federal cultural institution--
will turn 200. The Library was founded in 1800 with the
primary mission of serving the research needs of the United
States Congress, but during the past two centuries the
collections have evolved into the largest repository of
knowledge in the world. The Library now houses more than 115
million books, maps, manuscripts, photographs, motion
pictures, and music.
The Library's history reflects in many ways the story of
the passions of its builders--beginning with Thomas Jefferson
and James Madison. Initially the Library's holdings were no
bigger than some home libraries. A mere 740 volumes and three
maps ordered by Congress from London booksellers arrived in
1801 and were kept in the office of the secretary of the
Senate. A year later Thomas Jefferson appointed the first
Librarian of Congress, John J. Beckley, who also was the
clerk of the House of Representatives. Little did Jefferson
know at the time that his own library would be the seed from
which the present collections would grow.
On August 14, 1814, British soldiers burned the U.S.
Capitol and with it the contents of the Library of Congress,
that by then contained more than 3,000 items. Following the
conflagration, Jefferson offered to sell Congress his
personal collection of 6,487 volumes for $23,950. Congress
approved the purchase, though not without some debate.
Several members believed Jefferson's library included books
unrelated to legislative work, to which he retorted: ``There
is, in fact, no subject to which a member of Congress may
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not have occasion to refer.'' That statement has guided the
collecting policies of the Library of Congress to this day
and is one of the main reasons why the institution's
collections have a breadth and depth unmatched by any other
repository.
Disaster struck the Library again on Christmas Eve 1851
when a faulty chimney flue started a fire that destroyed
nearly two-thirds of the Jeffersonian collection. Over the
years, the Library has worked, with some success, to find
duplicates of these volumes. An aggressive campaign to
acquire the remaining missing tomes is currently under way in
conjunction with Gifts to the Nation, a bicentennial program
that encourages donations of rare and important materials to
the national collection. All books found will be featured in
``Genius of Liberty,'' an exhibition about Jefferson that
will open in April.
Over the years Congress has generously supported the
Library and the Librarians of Congress in their pursuit of
building this grand house of knowledge. For example, when
Abraham Lincoln appointed Ainsworth Rand Spofford Librarian
of Congress in 1864 (he served until 1897), he selected the
man, more than any other individual, who transformed a
legislative library into an institution of national
importance. At the time of Spofford's appointment, the
Library's collections numbered only 82,000 volumes. That
number was to explode to roughly 900,000 by Spofford's
retirement.
In March 1865 Congress followed Spofford's recommendation
and changed the copyright law to require that one printed
copy of every copyrighted ``book, pamphlet, map, chart,
musical composition, print, engraving or photograph'' created
in the United States must be sent to the Library for its
use. That law is chiefly responsible for the growth of the
institution's collections. In 1870, President Ulysses S.
Grant approved an act of Congress requiring that two
copies of every copyrighted item be sent to the Library
and that all U.S. copyright activities be centered there.
Spofford also persuaded Congress to appropriate funds for a
separate Library of Congress building, since space in the
Capitol had been exhausted. The new structure, now known as
the Thomas Jefferson Building, opened in 1897. Some have
called it the most beautiful public building in America.
Since then, the Library has constructed two more buildings on
Capitol Hill. The John Adams Building opened in 1939, and the
James Madison Memorial Building was completed in 1981. The
Madison is not only the Library's third major structure but
also the nation's official memorial to its fourth president,
the ``father'' of the Constitution and Bill of Rights. While
a member of the Continental Congress in 1783, Madison was
also the first person to sponsor the idea of a library for
Congress, and he was president when Jefferson's personal
library became the foundation of the renewed Library of
Congress.
Since 1987 I have served as the 13th Librarian of Congress.
The position has given me unique access to this vast treasure
house, and I have found some items in the collections that
stand out for me personally. As a student of Russian history
and culture I am intensely interested in the Prokudin-Gorskii
Collection of Imperial Russia. Sergei Prokudin-Gorskii was
one of the first Russians to experiment with color
photography. At the outset of the revolution in 1917, the
photographer escaped to Paris with 1,900 glass-plate
negatives, providing a remarkable look at Russia from 1909-
1911.
Other items of personal interest include the Presidential
Papers Collection, which features documents from 23 U.S.
presidents, beginning with the Founding Fathers and
continuing through to the twentieth century's Calvin
Coolidge. The documents constitute the foremost source for
the study of American leaders and provide a personal view of
history that no textbook can offer.
In 1996, the Library acquired the Marian Carson Collection
of Americana, believed to be the most extensive existing
private assemblage of rare materials relating to the nation's
history. The Carson family of Philadelphia had collected such
precious materials as an extremely rare broadside printing
(only one other copy is known to exist) of the Declaration of
Independence, believed to have been printed circa July 10-20,
1776; an 1839 photographic self-portrait of Robert Cornelius,
the earliest extant U.S. portrait photograph known; and a
chalk-drawing of George Washington, made within a year of his
death in 1799. These and the many other items in the
collections have reinforced the Library's preeminence as a
source of materials relating to American history.
Established by an act of Congress in 1976, the American
Folklife Center holds the largest archives of the nation's
distinctive cultures. The center's collections will increase
significantly with Local Legacies project, which is providing
a snapshot of American creativity at the turn of the century.
Local Legacies is the premiere project of the Library's
bicentennial effort and is jointly sponsored by Congress.
Among the many resources of the Library's Rare Book and
Special Collections Division, the Lessing J. Rosenwald
Collection of illustrated books from the fifteenth through
twentieth centuries stands out. It features an amazing number
of books of great rarity. Two of this collection's many
treasures include the magnificent fifteenth-century
manuscript known as the Giant Bible of Mainz, kept on
permanent display in the Library's Great Hall, and one of
only two known copies of the 1495 edition of Epistolae et
Evangelia, sometimes called the finest illustrated book of
the fifteenth century.
During the 1990s, the Library moved into the digital age,
with its award-winning and widely popular web site
(www.loc.gov), which now handles more than 80 million
``hits'' per month. In April internet users will find
information on five million items relating to American
history that the Library is making available on the site as
its Gift to the Nation. This technology makes the collections
at the Library of Congress accessible to people from across
the country who are unable to make the trip to Washington,
D.C. ``America's library'' has truly become the nation's
library.
Mr. THOMAS. Mr. Speaker, on April 24, 2000, the Library of Congress
will celebrate its bicentennial. With House Concurrent Resolution 269,
we commend the Library and its staff for two hundred years of service
to the Congress and to the American people, and encourage all Americans
to participate in the Library's bicentennial activities.
On April 24, 1800, President John Adams approved legislation
appropriating funds for purchasing ``such books as may be necessary for
use of the Congress.'' The first collection of 740 books and 3 maps
arrived in 1801 and was stored in the U.S. Capitol, the Library's first
home. On January 26, 1802, President Jefferson approved the first law
which defined the role and functions of this new institution, creating
the post of Librarian of Congress and creating the Joint Committee on
the Library to oversee the Library's activities.
Since then, the Library's collections have grown to some 119 million
items, making it the largest library in the world. The Library's
collections now consist of over 18 million books, 53 million
manuscripts, 12 million photographs, 4.5 million maps, 2.4 million
sound recordings, nearly a million moving images and millions of other
items.
Mr. Speaker, on April 24, 2000, the Library will begin a yearlong
program of bicentennial activities, which will be a national
celebration of all libraries and the important role they play in our
society. The centerpiece of this effort is a project called Local
Legacies, which created an opportunity for citizens to participate in
the Library of Congress Bicentennial celebration.
Senators and Representatives, working with their constituents and
local libraries and cultural institutions, have selected at least one
significant cultural event or tradition that has been important to
their district or state. These events have been documented and
forwarded to the Library to be added to the American Folklife Center's
archives to provide a cross section of the grassroots creativity of
America that will be preserved and shared with future generations.
Members will be able to provide links on their webpages to the Local
Legacies projects they have chosen and to the main Local Legacies
Project page on the Library of Congress' website. Materials selected
for Internet access will encompass the widest possible range of
contributions, including video, sound, print, manuscript, and
electronic formats.
Several months ago, I requested that the Library consider further
enhancing public participation in the bicentennial by holding an
exhibit of the Library's top treasures during the summer when the
greatest number of constituents visit our Nation's capital. I am
pleased to report that some of the most exciting items from the
Library's enormous holdings will be on display throughout the summer at
the Library and I would encourage all Members to direct visiting
constituents to this once in a lifetime exhibit.
Mr. Speaker, I once again would like to congratulate the Library of
Congress, the Librarian of Congress, Dr. James Billington, and all of
the Library's staff on two hundred years of outstanding service to the
Congress and the American people.
Mr. LARSON. Mr. Speaker, today I rise to honor one of our nation's
most revered cultural treasures: the Library of Congress. This year
marks the 200th year of the library's compilation of America's history
and human knowledge. In this bicentennial year, I am honored to take a
moment to extend my deep appreciation to Dr. James H. Billington, the
Librarian of Congress. I would be remiss, Mr. Speaker, if I didn't also
commend Dr. Billington's fine staff, especially Geraldine M. Otremba,
Pamela J. Russell, Ralph Eubanks, Norma Baker, Peter Seligman, and Judy
Schneider, who serve the Library so well and have been so helpful
during my tenure in Congress. It is through their creative and
dedicated efforts that our nation is reminded this year about the
importance of libraries, and is encouraged to celebrate the uniqueness
of their communities.
The Library's historic architecture may be deceiving to some, but
once inside its marble walls the building continues to stimulate and
inspire all who visit. It is that inspiration, that re-connection with
American culture, which is the focus behind one of the Library's key
bicentennial programs, the Local Legacy Project.
The Local Legacy Project was created to give hometown libraries,
cultural institutions,
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and other groups, in concert with their United States Senator or United
States Representative, an opportunity to document the unique customs
and cultures that make us Americans. I think of the Local Legacy
Project as a patchwork quilt of American communities; no two are
exactly alike, but each is a true treasure.
I am very pleased that the First Congressional District in
Connecticut will be participating in the Library's Local Legacy Project
with four projects of our own: The Legacy of Our Education will feature
six historic and influencial institutions: American School for the
Deaf, Trinity College, University of Connecticut School of Law,
University of Hartford, Teaching Hospitals and St. Joseph's College;
The Legacy of Our Natural Resources includes the Riverfront Recapture--
Connecticut River and Elizabeth Park Rose Garden; The Legacy of Our
Proud Heritage includes the First Congressional District Foot Guard,
Old State House, Mark Twain House, Harriet Beecher Stowe House, Noah
Webster House, Oliver Ellsworth Homestead, Cheney Homestead, Warehouse
Point Fife and Drum Corps, and the Eighth Connecticut Regiment Fife and
Drum Corps; and The Legacy of the Creative Spirit includes the
following organizations: Wadsworth Atheneum, Hartford Stage, Bushnell
Memorial Hospital, Hartford Symphony, and Real Art Ways.
I am optimistic that our ``creative spirit'' will not be limited to
our Legacy projects alone. One of the Library's other bicentennial
programs includes the exhibition of its unparalleled collection of
Thomas Jefferson materials, documents, books, drawings, and prints. I
am hopeful that a collection of his works may make their way to
Hartford, Connecticut, our state's capital, to be displayed.
While much is taking place in communities across America to preserve
our culture, I am pleased to have played a role in the preservation of
our legislative culture here in the House of Representatives. As a
former high school history teacher, I was heartened by the support I
received from Dr. Billington and his staff last year as I worked to
obtain passage of my History of the House Awareness and Preservation
Act. This bill authorizes the Library of Congress to commission eminent
historians to assemble a written history of the House. Presently, the
Library is beginning the process by gathering the names of eminent
historians.
The largest rare book collection in North American, the largest and
most diverse collections of scientific and technical information in the
world, and the most comprehensive collection of American music in the
world, are just a fraction of the unique documents housed in the
Library. I addition, the Library receives 22,000 items each day. How
could Thomas Jefferson ever imagine that his personal library of 6,487
books would one day grow to be such a tremendous source of knowledge.
The Library of Congress: an institution that has touched the world,
and an institution that has touched history. Congratulations on your
bicentennial, and may you continue to make America proud.
Mr. EHLERS. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Petri). The question is on the motion
offered by the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Ehlers) that the House
suspend the rules and agree to the concurrent resolution, H. Con. Res.
269.
The question was taken.
Mr. EHLERS. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX and the
Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be
postponed.
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