[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 137 (Monday, September 17, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Page S11575]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS

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                       TRIBUTE TO JIM BILLINGTON

 Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, I congratulate Jim Billington on 
two decades of service as Librarian of Congress. For 20 years, he has 
presided over this prestigious institution that serves Congress so well 
but is truly America's national library. It houses documents and 
artifacts that date to the earliest days of our democracy and, at the 
same time, manages the U.S. Copyright Office that maintains an ongoing 
record of America's creative heritage.
  Jim Billington had a brilliant career in the academic world before 
beginning his responsibilities at the Library of Congress. He was 
highly respected at Harvard, at Princeton and, immediately before 
becoming Librarian of Congress, as director of the Woodrow Wilson 
Center.
  Throughout his career, Jim Billington has brought a dynamic integrity 
to the scholarly world. Under his leadership, the Library of Congress 
was not a dormant collection of books and artifacts. He undertook a new 
initiative to digitize its collections and make them more accessible 
and more permanent. He also established the Madison Council to bring 
outside support and wise counsel to the Library, and created a center 
for advanced scholars in the humanities.
  His tenure as Librarian is noteworthy for his many achievements and 
innovations, his dedication to the historic role of the Library and its 
unique relationship to Congress, and, most importantly, his 
extraordinary vision of what the Library could become. Through his 
work, Jim has made unparalleled contributions to enhance the role that 
American culture plays in our national life.
  On this special anniversary, I commend him for all that he has 
accomplished. I am especially grateful for the support and wise counsel 
he has given to the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. As 
Librarian of Congress, he has served as a member of the board of 
trustees for the center for two decades, and has been a source of 
consistent leadership and guidance throughout that time.
  All of us in Congress owe Jim Billington an immense debt of gratitude 
for his outstanding public service, and we look forward to many more 
years of his leadership. On this 20th anniversary of his becoming 
Librarian of Congress, I join my colleagues in extending my warmest 
congratulations and deepest appreciation for his achievements.

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