America's Library: The Story of the Library of Congress, 1800-2000 [Hardcover]

James Conaway (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0300083084 | ISBN-13: 978-0300083088 | Publication Date: May 2000 | Edition: 1

The Library of Congress, considered by many to be the greatest library on earth, holds over 110 million items/books in 450 languages, irreplaceable national documents, priceless art works, and objects of cultural fascination. From a modest collection of 740 books purchased by the Congress in 1800, the Library has grown to house hundreds of miles of bookshelves. Laid end to end, they would stretch from Washington D.C., to Chicago. This book tells the continuously interesting story of the first two hundred years of the Library of Congress. It is a vast history, filled with an immense cast of characters ranging from presidents, poets, journalists, and congressmen to collectors, artists, curators, and eccentrics. James Conaway centres this history around the thirteen men who have been appointed by presidents to lead the Library of Congress. The author investigates how the Librarians' experiences and contributions, as well as the Library's collections, have reflected political and intellectual developments in the United States. Each Librarian confronted great challenges: the entire Library collection was lost when the British burned the Capitol in 1814; in the 1940s, a backlog of one and a half million objects waited to be catalogued; the gigantic task of replacing the card catalogue with a computerised system was undertaken in the 1980s. Yet each Librarian also enjoyed the excitement of acquiring unique treasures, from Walt Whitman's walking stick to the papers of the Wright brothers, from the Civil War photographs of Mathew Brady to the archives of Leonard Bernstein. This lively account of the Library of Congress and those who guided its progress of two centuries is the history of an American institution that today is truly a library to the world, serving readers and researchers everywhere.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Founded in 1800 as a resource for lawmakers, the Library of Congress is one of the greatest libraries in existence, with more than 110 million items in holding, including books in 450 different languages, national documents and art works. Conaway (The Smithsonian) investigates the Library's history from the vantage point of the 13 Librarians of Congress, to illustrate how their experiences and contributions have reflected political and intellectual developments in the U.S. Several Librarians of Congress stayed on for decades, dedicating their lives to the institution. The first, John J. Beckley, appointed in 1802 by President Thomas Jefferson, was confronted with an enormous challenge when the original collection was engulfed in flames during the British's burning of the Capitol by the British in 1812. Aimsworth Rand Spofford, appointed by Abraham Lincoln, succeeded in securing copyright deposit at the Library, thus ensuring its place as the national repository. Appointed by William McKinley, Herbert Putnam made the cataloging system available to U.S. libraries, while Archibald MacLeish, appointed by Franklin D. Roosevelt, established the Library as an important cultural center through his acquisitions and literature programs. The current Librarian of Congress, James H. Billington, appointed by Ronald Reagan, has made a good portion of the collection available electronically. This is an engrossing and comprehensive read, as much a history of the people who made the Library of Congress what it is today--a library to the world--as it is a rich chronicle of the magnificent institution. 100 b&w and 12 color illus. (May)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

The venerable Library of Congress, source of pride and source of perplexity for America's librarians, has reached its bicentennial. Since its inception in 1800 with the gift to the U.S. of Thomas Jefferson's personal book collection, the library's expansion has paralleled that of the nation it serves. Often opportunistic, driven by political as well as social and educational goals, the Library of Congress has grown on a vast, exuberant scale into the world's premier repository of the printed word. Conaway has chosen to organize his history of this institution around that tiny, hardy band of men and women who have used both political acumen and intellectual vision to build the library's collections and establish those services that make the LC library to both Congress and nation. Richly supplemented with photographs, this history reaches out to touch all who love libraries, not just professional scholars and librarians. Conaway's prose flows smoothly, avoiding jargon and placing the library's history in the context of the nation's development. Mark Knoblauch
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Yale University Press; 1 edition (May 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0300083084
• ISBN-13: 978-0300083088
• Product Dimensions: 10.4 x 7.6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,115,865 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

James (Jim) Conaway grew up in Memphis but lived in Europe for several years before moving to Washington, D.C. A former Wallace Stegner fellow at Stanford University, he's the author of two novels and nine books of non-fiction, the most recent being "Vanishing America: In Pursuit of Our Elusive Landscapes", described by writer Tracy Kidder as "an enthralling, lovely tribute to a lot of what is precious in America."
His previous book, "The Far Side of Eden", was a Washington Post Best Book of the Year in 2002 and a sequel to his best-selling "Napa: The Story of an American Eden", described in the New York Times Book Review as "an important story, emblematic of our time."
His other books include the memoir, "Memphis Afternoons", and "The Kingdom in the Country", a personal journey in a van through the public lands of the American West and described by Stegner as "a very lively book... He got into places and activities that most westerners never even get close to." Author Jim Harrison called it "a wonderful, well-considered evocation of the New West."
Jim's first novel, "The Big Easy", is based on his experiences as a police reporter in New Orleans; his second novel, "World's End", is a Louisiana coastal saga ofr politics and crime described as "a combination of All the King's Men" and "The Godfather." He has just completed a new novel set in California.
Jim has written for many magazines, including The New York Times Magazine, Atlantic, Harper's, The New Republic, Gourmet, Smithsonian, and National Geographic Traveler. He divides his time between piedmont Virginia and Washington.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good Coffee Table Book, December 19, 2008

By 

John M. Ford "johnDC" (near DC, MD USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: America's Library: The Story of the Library of Congress, 1800-2000 (Hardcover)

This book presents an interesting overview of 200 years of the Library of Congress. "Overview" describes its strengths and its limitations. It does give a sense of the library's place in our nation's historical timeline. It is a worthwhile read along with Presidents: All You Need to Know to see how major events in the Library's history coincide with the tenure of our presidents and major political and economic developments in our history.

It has the strengths of a good coffee table book. It has attractive photographs that provide readers with a feel for the majesty of the Library's architecture and the look and feel of some of its many books and other documents. It can be read in a hit-or-miss fashion, allowing readers to benefit from whatever they have time to read while waiting by the coffee table for a party or dinner date to begin. My favorite "quick nugget" is the anecdote about one of the Librarians of Congress coming across the last contents of Abraham Lincoln's pockets hidden away in a safe, lost and forgotten for decades. Fascinating stuff!

The book disappoints by lacking the more detailed historical treatment you would expect to find on the bookshelf next to your host's coffee table--or on the hallowed shelves of the Library itself. Some of the past Librarians merit greater attention, more analysis of their motives and machinations. The actions of Congress and influential donors of collections could be further connected to concurrent historical events.

My appetite for Library lore was whetted by this offering, but not sated. If you have a similar yearning for more history after reading this book, I highly recommend moving on to Encyclopedia of the Library of Congress: For Congress, The Nation & The World. This book is a particularly good second course if your tastes extend to a detailed description of the current Library, its collections, administrative organization, and staff of experts. Enjoy!

5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Superb introduction and history of the Library of Congress., August 4, 2000

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: America's Library: The Story of the Library of Congress, 1800-2000 (Hardcover)

The American Library of Congress holds over 110 million items - many of them unique and priceless - and this charts the history of the Library and its holdings, from its initial 740-book collection begun in 1800 to its miles of bookshelves today. Vintage photos and illustrations pack a presentation which is a 'must' for any who would understand American book history.