[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 15]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 21820-21821]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



 DR. JAMES BILLINGTON, LIBRARIAN OF CONGRESS, HONORED FOR BICENTENNIAL 
                       AND LOCAL LEGACIES PROGRAM

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. PAUL E. KANJORSKI

                            of pennsylvania

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, October 5, 2000

  Mr. KANJORSKI. Mr. Speaker, today I pay tribute to Dr. James H. 
Billington, the Librarian of Congress, and to thank him for the fine 
job that he and the staff of the Library have done with the Local 
Legacies program, which has served as the focal point of this year's 
bicentennial celebration for the Library.
  As the members may be aware, the Library of Congress, the nation's 
oldest federal cultural institution, was established by an act of

[[Page 21821]]

Congress in 1800, when President John Adams signed a bill transferring 
the seat of government from Philadelphia to the new capital city of 
Washington. In addition to the Local Legacies program, which is the 
focus of my remarks today, the bicentennial of this great institution 
has been observed with ceremonies, exhibitions, the issuance of a 
commemorative stamp and coins, as well as the launch of a new, easy-to-
use and entertaining Web site, americaslibrary.gov.
  In light of Dr. Billington's accomplishments and the tremendous 
success of the Local Legacies project, I would like to point out his 
ties to the Keystone State and to Northeastern Pennsylvania in 
particular. He is a native of Pennsylvania and holds an honorary degree 
from the University of Scranton. He has made great stride toward his 
goal of making the Library truly the ``people's library,'' and the 
Local Legacies project is an excellent example of this.
  Last year, each Member of Congress was asked to submit audio, visual, 
or textual documentation for at least one significant cultural heritage 
that has been important to his or her district or state to serve as a 
record for future generations, who might otherwise have lost this 
important knowledge forever. This documentation is now permanently 
housed in the collections of the Library's American Folklife Center. In 
May, Members of Congress and Local Legacies project participants from 
across the country came together in the Great Hall of the Thomas 
Jefferson building to celebrate the completion of this magnificent 
collection of historical material.
  I was pleased to register several important cornerstones of community 
life in my district for posterity as Local Legacies: the Hazleton 
Funfest, the Bloomsburg Fair, the West End Fair, the Wyoming 
Commemorative Association, the Anthracite Heritage Parade, the Pittston 
Tomato Festival and the Saint Mary's Annual Homecoming Picnic in 
Mocanaqua.
  Led by Father Thomas Skotek, the pastor of Saint Mary's, Our Lady of 
Perpetual Help Church, the Mocanaqua community sent the largest 
delegation of anywhere in the country--more than 80 people--to 
Washington for the Local Legacies completion ceremony. I was pleased to 
introduce them to Dr. Billington at the ceremony.
  Mr. Speaker, the visit of the Mocanaqua delegation for the Local 
Legacies celebration was a particularly special occasion for Frank 
Evina, a native of Mocanaqua and 30-year employee of the Library of 
Congress, whose accomplishments are noteworthy in their own right. Mr. 
Evina was co-coordinator of the Local Legacies project and has helped 
organize numerous exhibits at the Library, including The Thomas 
Jefferson Building: Book Palace of the America People,'' an exhibition 
marking the centennial of the opening of the Jefferson Building, and 
``The Wizard of Oz: An American Fairy Tale,'' an exhibition marking 
this year's 100th anniversary of one of America's most beloved stories, 
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.
  The Library is holding a gala celebration tonight as part of the 
year-long observation of its bicentennial. I send my congratulations to 
Dr. Billington, Mr. Evina and the staff of the Library of Congress for 
their tremendous work on the Local Legacies project and all of the 
bicentennial commemorations, and I also send my best wishes to the 
people of Saint Mary's and Mocanaqua for the continued success of the 
Homecoming Picnic.

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