[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 14]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 19860]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                      THE LAW LIBRARY OF CONGRESS

                                 ______
                                 

                              HON. TED POE

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, July 18, 2007

  Mr. POE. Madam Speaker, the Law Library of Congress was created by an 
Act of Congress in 1832. That year, President Andrew Jackson signed the 
bill into law stating that: ``. . . be it enacted by the Senate and 
House . . . that it shall be the duty of the librarian to prepare an 
apartment near . . . Congress . . . for the purpose of a law library.'' 
Since then the Law Library's mission has expanded beyond service to 
Congress, to include making its resources available to the Supreme 
Court, other branches of the U.S. Government, the American public and 
the global legal community.
  The Law Library's first systematic effort to collect legal documents 
from foreign nations began soon after the U.S.-Mexican War, when 
Congress directed the Law Library to obtain all available laws of 
Mexico; later, the laws of the major European nations were also added 
to the collection. The Law Library grew significantly during the 20th 
century, developing a much larger and well-cataloged collection, and 
publishing many authoritative reference works on U.S. and foreign laws. 
A sustained program for the acquisition of foreign legal material began 
after World War II, reflecting the expanding number of foreign 
jurisdictions, as well as the changing position of the United States in 
world affairs. The Law Library now has an unparalleled collection of 
2.6 million volumes and is staffed by more than 100 lawyers, 
librarians, and other professionals.
  The mission of The Law Library of Congress, the de facto national law 
library, is to make its resources available to Members of Congress, the 
Supreme Court, other branches of the U.S. Government, and the global 
legal community, and to sustain and preserve a universal collection of 
law for future generations.
  Unique among libraries, the Law Library is a repository of legal and 
legislative documents from around the world, and the most 
comprehensive, current, and reliable resource of its kind. In addition 
to housing some of the world's rarest legal sources, the Law Library 
stands as the primary resource for legal research for the United States 
Congress in U.S. law as well as foreign, comparative, and international 
law. The Law Library also conducts legal research for other branches of 
the U.S. Government and provides resources and services for the 
national and global legal community.
  Dr. Rubens Medina has been the Law Librarian of Congress, since 1994. 
He holds a law degree from the National University of Asuncion, 
Paraguay, a Ph.D. in Law and Sociology from the University of Wisconsin 
and has practiced and taught law in Paraguay and Chile. As Law 
Librarian of Congress, Medina manages and directs the government's only 
general legal research library and the largest law library in the 
world.
  Medina also serves as Chair of the Executive Council of the Global 
Legal Information Network (GLIN), an international cooperative 
information system developed and maintained by the Law Library to serve 
the United States Congress. The recipient of numerous awards and 
fellowships, Medina recently was presented with a 2007 Federal 100 
Award for shepherding the 2006 upgrade of GLIN, thereby providing 
citizens and nations with a means of accessing laws and related legal 
material from nations across Asia, Africa, Europe and the Americas, in 
13 searchable languages. Medina first came to the Library of Congress 
in 1971, when he was appointed Chief of the Hispanic Law Division. He 
held the position until 1994, when he was appointed the 21st Law 
Librarian of Congress.
  On July 14, 2007, the Law Library of Congress celebrated its 175th 
anniversary with a Gala Dinner in the Great Hall of the Library of 
Congress' Jefferson Building. Over 130 of the most respected and 
influential individuals in the political, legal, and educational world 
were present, including the Law Librarian of Congress, Dr. Rubens 
Medina, and the 175th Anniversary Honorary Chairperson, Jeffrey Toobin 
(from CNN).
  Madam Speaker, I had the distinguished privilege of being the gala's 
keynote speaker. The Honorary Committee consisted of members from the 
Library of Congress, the Supreme Court, Congress, and representatives 
from AT&T, Hewlett-Packard Corporation, Real Networks, Inc., Microsoft, 
The World Bank, Apple, Sony Corporation and Google. Additional Friends 
of the Law Library sponsorship came from: Thomson West; Beirne, Maynard 
& Parsons, L.L.P.; Burton Foundation for Legal Achievement; HeinOnLine; 
LexisNexis; Roll Call Group; American University and Congressional 
Quarterly, Inc. All of these society individuals were present to pay 
homage to the institution that serves as the world's largest law 
library.
  The Law Library of Congress is truly one of the greatest resources 
available to this Nation. Enriched in years of history, it allows 
individuals from across the world to search for and research hundreds 
of years of legal advice, opinions, and case decisions, providing these 
individuals the opportunity to create laws for the future society. I 
salute the Law Library of Congress on its 175th year anniversary and 
all its achievements. Here is to another 175 years.
  And that's just the way it is.

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