[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 145 (Thursday, September 27, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Page S12294]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




SENATE RESOLUTION 336--RECOGNIZING AND HONORING THE 20 YEARS OF SERVICE 
   AND CONTRIBUTIONS OF DR. JAMES HADLEY BILLINGTON AS LIBRARIAN OF 
                                CONGRESS

  Mrs. HUTCHISON (for herself, Mrs. Feinstein, Mr. Specter, Mr. Leahy, 
Mr. Lugar, Mr. Webb, Mr. Reid, Mr. Conrad, Mr. Dodd, Mr. Allard, Mr. 
Durbin, Mr. Nelson of Nebraska, Mr. Alexander, Mr. Dorgan, Mr. Stevens, 
Mr. Lott, Mr. Kennedy, Mr. Roberts, Mr. Bennett, Mr. Cochran, Mr. 
Coleman, and Mr. Bunning) submitted the following resolution; which was 
considered and agreed to:

                              S. Res. 336

       Whereas Dr. James H. Billington was nominated to be the 
     13th Librarian of Congress by President Ronald Reagan in 
     1987, and was confirmed by the Senate and sworn in as 
     Librarian of Congress on September 14, 1987;
       Whereas the world renowned collections of the Library of 
     Congress, the largest and most comprehensive in history, have 
     grown by almost 50,000,000 items since Dr. Billington became 
     Librarian, totaling more than 135,000,000 today;
       Whereas, during Dr. Billington's tenure, the Library of 
     Congress modernized its collection through the creation of 
     the National Digital Library Program, the American Memory 
     program, THOMAS, and the World Digital Library;
       Whereas the Librarian created the first ever private sector 
     philanthropic and advisory group, The Madison Council, to 
     spearhead countless programs for the Library and assist in 
     its funding efforts;
       Whereas the Library of Congress has successfully acquired 
     the 1507 Martin Waldseemuller map, the Martin Carson 
     collection of early Americana, the Jay Kislak early Americas 
     collection, and has also continued the preservation of 
     Library collections and promoted cultural and educational 
     outreach programs through the added assistance of private 
     contributions and in-kind gifts collected during Dr. 
     Billington's tenure;
       Whereas, during James Billington's Librarianship, the 
     Library of Congress has displayed its treasures and those of 
     other Nations in more than 300 spectacular and enriching 
     exhibitions at the Library and on its Internet website;
       Whereas, during Dr. Billington's tenure, the Library of 
     Congress has been a leader in the library world in 
     establishing systems to protect vast collections such as the 
     National Recording Registry and the National Digital 
     Information Infrastructure and Preservation Program, 
     developing cutting edge preservation developments to maintain 
     and protect multiple format collections for future 
     generations, and also ensuring the security of staff, 
     researchers, and visitors;
       Whereas the Kluge Center at the Library of Congress was 
     established during the Librarian's tenure to foster mutually 
     enriching interaction between the scholarly world and policy 
     makers and supports the $1,000,000 Kluge Prize honoring 
     lifetime achievements in the humanities;
       Whereas the Library of Congress Thomas Jefferson and John 
     Adams buildings were restored by Congress over a multi-year 
     period and reopened to the public in 1997, restoring in 
     particular the century-old Jefferson Building to its former 
     glory as one of the most beautiful buildings in America;
       Whereas Dr. Billington has overseen the consolidation of 
     the Library's recorded sound and moving images in a large-
     scale digital storage archive at the Packard Campus for 
     Audio-Visual Conservation, which was constructed through a 
     unique private-public partnership with the Packard Humanities 
     Institute;
       Whereas the Library of Congress and First Lady Laura Bush 
     instituted and have co-sponsored the very popular National 
     Book Festival annually since 2001, celebrating the joy of 
     reading and the creativity of America's writers and 
     illustrators;
       Whereas the programs of the Library of Congress, including 
     the National Digital Library which processed over 
     5,000,000,000 transactions in 2006 alone, have made freely 
     available to the American people millions of historical items 
     in the Library's incomparable collection through online 
     databases, including 11,000,000 rare primary source materials 
     from its collection, to invigorate and promote lifelong 
     learning in every locality in the United States: Now, 
     therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate recognizes and honors the 20 
     years of service and contributions of Dr. James Hadley 
     Billington as Librarian of Congress.

                          ____________________