[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 128 (Tuesday, September 8, 2015)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6458-S6459]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    RECOGNIZING THE 200TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS'S 
           ACQUISITION OF THOMAS JEFFERSON'S PERSONAL LIBRARY

  Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President, this year is the 200th anniversary of one 
of the wisest decisions Congress ever made. In 1815, Congress acquired 
the entirety of Thomas Jefferson's personal library to

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replace Congress's library, which was burnt by the British Army the 
previous year.
  I would like to take a few moments to recognize this anniversary and 
to focus on the good work one small Library of Congress program does 
today.
  Though the Library of Congress was established in 1800, for the first 
15 years of its existence it was mainly a law library. It was not until 
the acquisition of Jefferson's personal library that the Library became 
the broad repository of knowledge that it is today. Some Members of 
Congress opposed the idea of buying Jefferson's entire library, which 
included books in many languages, and on a variety of topics, including 
science, math, philosophy, and religion. However, Thomas Jefferson 
famously replied, ``I do not know that it contains any branch of 
science which Congress would wish to exclude from their collection; 
there is, in fact, no subject to which a Member of Congress may not 
have occasion to refer.'' Fortunately, this view won the day, and today 
the Library contains an unparalleled number of items from every branch 
of knowledge, making it the largest library in the world.
  Forever growing, the Library of Congress receives 20,000 new items 
every day. However, only about half are kept for the Library's 
permanent collection. It is the program designed to bridge that divide 
which has grown to touch so many Oregonians, as well as regular folks 
around the country.
  The Library of Congress's Surplus Books Program takes the books not 
needed for the Library's collections and provides them to schools, 
libraries, and nonprofit institutions around the country. Each week, 
staff from my office are able to select books, box them up, and send 
them to Oregon.
  One recipient in Oregon has been the new library in Halsey, OR. 
Halsey is a small town, but the community has come together to build a 
fantastic new library. I have been able to send them several hundred 
new books to help them grow and diversify their collection. I expect to 
be able to send them hundreds more, thanks to the Library of Congress's 
Surplus Books Program.
  I would be remiss if I failed to recognize Joseph Maher, acquisitions 
specialist and librarian for the Surplus Books Program. Mr. Maher 
almost singlehandedly runs the program and often goes above and beyond 
to identify books for particular organizations. Mr. Maher works to find 
a good home for each of the books, while simultaneously balancing the 
needs of the many congressional offices, schools, universities, and 
Federal agencies that select books from the program. He works 
tirelessly knowing that the books they send around the country are 
going to make a positive impact on many lives.
  Reading sparks creativity, learning, passion, and imagination, and 
the Library of Congress continues to help ignite it. I could not be 
more pleased to see communities in Oregon benefitting from this 
program.

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