[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 156 (Friday, September 10, 2021)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E965]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   HONORING BERNARD A. BARTON, JR., IN CELEBRATION OF HIS RETIREMENT

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. RODNEY DAVIS

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                       Friday, September 10, 2021

  Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois. Madam Speaker, I rise today to 
congratulate Bernard A. Barton, Jr. on his retirement from the Library 
of Congress and to thank him for nearly three decades of dedicated 
public service.
  Following his service as a U.S. Air Force officer, Mr. Barton spent 
his career at the intersection of knowledge and technology. As Deputy 
Chief Information Officer for the North Carolina National Guard, Mr. 
Barton designed the agency's disaster recovery and continuity of 
operations capabilities, ensuring the Guard can meet its ``Always 
Ready'' motto. As Chief Information Officer for the Defense Technical 
Information Center, Mr. Barton ensured that the Department of Defense's 
largest library had the IT infrastructure necessary to ``fuse science 
and technology data'' and ``reliably deliver the knowledge needed to 
develop the next generation of technologies to support our Warfighters 
and help assure national security.''
  In 2015, Mr. Barton took on what Fortune Magazine labeled maybe the 
``hardest job in tech,'' serving as the Chief Information Officer for 
the Library of Congress. Since then, he has ably guided the nation's 
oldest federal cultural institution through a complete technological 
overhaul. With aplomb, he oversaw the centralization of Library 
technology activities; fostered the creation of an agency-wide digital 
strategy; and marshalled efforts to optimize and modernize the 
Library's IT infrastructure and critical IT business systems. Under his 
leadership, the Library completed a three-year Data Center 
Transformation, embracing the best of traditional IT services and the 
Cloud to ensure a stable, flexible, scalable foundation for the future. 
He also completely revamped IT security, and successfully addressed 
more than 100 major technology recommendations identified by Congress 
and the GAO.
  Through it all, he has been a transparent, proactive, and 
enthusiastic partner for Members of Congress, our staff, and our 
constituents. He has responded to our inquiries and ideas with the 
resolute assurance that technology will not be a problem for our 
Library.
  The impact of these changes cannot be overstated. As the world's 
largest library and home of both the Congressional Research Service and 
the U.S. Copyright Office, the Library of Congress stands as a beacon 
of knowledge and creativity the world over. Mr. Barton leaves the 
Library a stronger, more digitally enabled institution that is better 
prepared than ever to serve the needs of Congress, researchers, and all 
Americans.
  Please join me in wishing Mr. Barton a well-deserved retirement after 
a lifetime of faithful public service.

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