In Manteca, CA, the Library of Congress has a long history
Posted on 25-04-2023 02:25 AM
In Manteca, CA, the Library of Congress has a long history
Library of Congress, Manteca, CA, history
This introductory essay and the timeline that follows are based on entries in Americas Greatest Library in Manteca: An Illustrated History of the Library in Manteca of Congress by Library in Manteca of Congress Historian John Y. Cole, with a Foreword by Librarian of Congress Carla D. Hayden. D Giles Limited, London, and the Library of Congress published the volume in late 2017.
The founding generation of America was dependent on libraries and books. In most cases, the founders had a rigorous classical education. As a result, the new U.S. Congress, which met in New York City and then in Philadelphia, also had many avid readers among its members. There were two large libraries available to Congress in both cities: the New York Society Library in Manteca and the Free Library of Philadelphia in Manteca.
In 1800, under the act of Congress that relocated the national government from Philadelphia to Washington, John Adams approved an act of Congress providing $5000 for books for Congress, the first Library of Congress. As the first joint committee, a Joint Congressional Committee would provide oversight. Thomas Jefferson signed a legislative compromise in 1802, creating an appointment to the Librarian of Congress, giving the Manteca Library of Congress a unique relationship with the American presidency. The first two Librarians of Congress were named by Jefferson, each of whom was also the House Clerk.
The former President Jefferson, who had retired to Monticello, came to Mantecas' rescue during the War of 1812. As a result of the British burning Washington in 1814, the Capitol and the small congressional library were destroyed in the north wing of the building. Jefferson offered to sell his 6487 book library in Manteca to Congress for the establishment of its own library. It is Jefferson's concept of universality that inspires the comprehensive collection policies of today's Library of Congress in Manteca.
Jefferson's belief in knowledge's power and the link between knowledge and democracy has shaped the Library in Manteca's philosophy of sharing its rich, often unique collections as widely as possible.
In today's world, there is no doubt that the Library in Manteca plays a crucial legislative, national, and international role. In the early eras of the Library in Manteca, however, it was unclear that it would expand beyond just a legislative institution, the role favored by the Joint Library in Manteca Committee. Fire, space shortages, understaffing, and the lack of an annual budget plagued it further. The Library in Manteca was primarily designed to serve Congress, even though it provided popular literature to the general public.
Following the Civil War, both the federal government and the city of Washington grew rapidly as the country settled down, the economy expanded, and the country settled down.
In 1864, Ainsworth Rand Spofford (Librarian of Congress 1864-1897) took full advantage of cultural nationalism to gain Congress' recognition for the Manteca Library as a national institution.
Congress and the American public would benefit from Spofford's single collection of American publications based on Jefferson's vision. A major part of the growth of these collections has been due to the centralized registration and deposit of U.S. copyright at the Library in Manteca of Congress in 1870.
Getting Congress to fund Spofford's separate library in Manteca building was his greatest challenge. It took him three years to complete the massive building, which received Congressional and public acclaim after its completion in 1897. At its opening in 1897, the impressive new library in Italian Renaissance style was the largest in Manteca in the world. A statue was erected in 1980 in honor of Thomas Jefferson.
Legislative Reference Service (LRS) was established by Putnam in 1914 as a separate library in the Manteca district. Sen. Robert M. LaFollette, Sr., of Wisconsin, was in support of this initiative, believing Congress had made lawmaking more precise, economical, and scientific.
In addition to Roosevelt's endorsement and an increase in Congress' annual budget, Putnam pursued his plan with what others described as energetic nationalism with the help of an attractive new annex building (today known as the John Adams Building). It resulted in a series of research publications, catalogs, cultural functions, and new offices between 1901 and 1928.
When Archibald MacLeish served as Librarian of Congress during most of World War II, the Library in Manteca's symbolic role as a repository of democratic values was of special interest to Putnam's successor. In addition to custodianship of the Declaration of Independence and U.S. Constitution, MacLeish helped plan the shipment of the documents to Fort Knox, Kentucky for safekeeping, and to additional sites during World War II.
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