This concludes a series of monthly articles about the Bicentennial that began in June 1999 with "Looking Back to Look Ahead: How the Library Celebrated Its Sesquicentennial in 1950."
"This Bicentennial occasion is not to be a self-congratulatory institutional one," stated Librarian of Congress James H. Billington during a news conference on Oct. 6, 1997, when he announced the Library's Bicentennial plans. Instead, he noted, the Library was working with its major users to develop a celebration that would focus on "leaving a legacy for the future."
This legacy consists of important projects, events, gifts, publications, relations efforts and products that have strengthened and will continue to strengthen the Library's ties with its patrons—Congress in particular, libraries, the scholarly and educational communities and the general public. Furthermore, the Bicentennial has brought the Library more national publicity than it has ever received in its history, and thus more Americans are taking advantage of its services, especially those offered online at www.loc.gov.
Looking more to the institution's future than to its past was only one way in which the Library's Bicentennial celebration was unusual. It was staff-driven and staff-directed, both in planning and execution. Thanks to the early involvement of the James Madison Council (the Library's private sector advisory group) and subsequent help from other generous donors, it was supported mostly by private funds. It enjoyed the enthusiastic support of Dr. Billington and hundreds of staff members, who along with the Librarian recognized the unique opportunity the Bicentennial presented to the Library, its collections and its programs.
And, in the view of this writer, who first discussed the Bicentennial in a planning meeting with Dr. Billington in December 1989, the timing could not have been more fortuitous. By accident of history, the Library of Congress was created at the beginning of a century, bringing to the celebration many convenient zeros, as in "200 years old in the year 2000." The Library did not have to search for a "millennium project:" it had one in its Bicentennial celebration and was able to focus resources and goals on a project that would have a lasting effect on the institution.
Moreover, the reopening of the Jefferson Building in 1997 (the building's centennial year) after a 13-year restoration gave the forthcoming Bicentennial commemoration a significant boost through publicity for the Library and, in the Jefferson Building itself, an unparalleled setting for key Bicentennial events.
Highlights of the Library's Bicentennial program and celebration follow.
December 1989
Dr. Billington convenes the first meeting to discuss several proposed approaches to the Bicentennial celebration. He emphasizes that the Bicentennial must "demonstrate why the history of the Library of Congress is relevant to the institution's future and to the intellectual and cultural life of this country and of the world."
March 1995
Dr. Billington informs the Joint Committee on the Library about the Library's developing Bicentennial plans and seeks congressional sponsorship of a bill to authorize two commemorative coins in 2000.
May 1996
Dr. Billington writes the Citizens Commemorative Stamp Advisory Committee, requesting a Bicentennial stamp that would be issued on April 24, 2000, the Library's 200th birthday.
August 1996
In a letter to the director of the U.S. Mint, Dr. Billington seeks the approval of the Citizens Coin Advisory Committee for two commemorative coins in 2000.
October 1996
The staff Bicentennial Steering Committee is established and begins regular meetings. Chaired by John Y. Cole, director of the Center for the Book, its members are: Norma Baker, director of Development; Jill Brett, public affairs officer; Jo Ann Jenkins, chief of staff; Geraldine Otremba, director of the Congressional Relations Office; Winston Tabb, associate librarian for Library Services; and Roberta Stevens, staff assistant. Committee members also become involved in planning the 1997 centennial celebrations of the opening of the Jefferson Building. Also this month, the Madison Council Advisory Committee for the Bicentennial meets for the first time.
August 1997
Dr. Billington makes a presentation in New York City before the U.S. Mint's Citizens Commemorative Coin Advisory Committee.
Oct. 6, 1997
During a news conference in his ceremonial office in the Jefferson Building, Dr. Billington outlines preliminary plans for the celebration of the Library's Bicentennial, including the Bicentennial goal of "inspiring creativity in the century ahead by stimulating greater use of the Library of Congress and libraries everywhere" and the theme and logo "Libraries, Creativity, Liberty."
Oct. 7, 1997
The Bicentennial celebration is officially launched with a gala fund-raiser, supported by the Library's Madison Council, that raises more than $800,000 for the Bicentennial Fund.
Participants in the Library's Bicentennial celebration on the Capitol's East Lawn included (top, from left): Big Bird; Dr. Billington in the crowd; jazz vocalist Dianne Reeves; and folk singing legend Pete Seeger. Bicentennial Living Legends (below, from left) included Jeanne Kirkpatrick, Alan Lomax, Gordon Parks, Katherine Paterson, Jaroslav Pelikan, Colin Powell and Tito Puente; among the hundreds of Local Legacy projects submitted to the Library was Utah's Lamb Day celebration held annually in the farming community of Fountain Green. - Paul Hogroian, Richard Menzies, and Susan Davis International
Nov. 13, 1997
At an all-day retreat, the Bicentennial Steering Committee agrees on a general schedule of Bicentennial events, adds "Gifts to the Nation" as a component of the commemoration and invites Laura Campbell, director of the National Digital Library Program, to become part of the committee. U.S. Ambassador to the Vatican Lindy Boggs and former Sen. Mark O. Hat- field are named honorary Bicentennial co-chairs.
December 1997
The Citizens Commemorative Coin Advisory Committee recommends to Congress that the nation's first bimetallic coin be issued, to commemorate the Library's Bicentennial in 2000.
Dec. 18, 1997
The Bicentennial Steering Committee presents its overall plan for discussion and approval to Dr. Billington, the Library's Executive Committee and the Library's Senior Management Reporting Group. Ms. Jenkins becomes co-chair of the Bicentennial Steering Committee.
January 1998
The Bicentennial Steering Committee solicits proposals for Bicentennial projects from the Library's staff.
February 1998
Postmaster General Marvin T. Runyon informs Dr. Billington that the Citizens Stamp Advisory Committee has approved a Library of Congress Bicentennial stamp for 2000.
July 1998
Roberta Stevens becomes Bicentennial Program Manager and the Bicentennial Program Office begins operations.
Oct. 21, 1998
President Clinton signs the Library of Congress Bicentennial Coin Act of 1998, authorizing two commemorative coins for the Library's celebration.
April 5, 1999
The Library announces a "once-in-a-century" series of appointments for the Library's poetry program in preparation for the Library's Bicentennial. Robert Pinsky will serve an unprecedented third term as poet laureate consultant in poetry, along with three special consultants: former poet laureate Rita Dove, Louise Glück and W.S. Merwin.
Madison Council member Jerry Jones and his wife Gene made a $1 million contribution to help rebuild Jefferson's original library. - Glen Krankowski
April 14, 1999
The Bicentennial's Gifts to the Nation program is launched during a news conference announcing a $1 million gift from Madison Council member Jerry Jones to replace books lost in an 1851 fire that destroyed nearly two-thirds of Thomas Jefferson's library.
May 20, 1999
The first Bicentennial exhibition, "The Work of Charles & Ray Eames: A Legacy of Invention," opens and remains on view until Sept. 4, 1999. It then travels to other venues across the country.
June 1999
In cooperation with the American Library Association, the Library distributes nationwide a "Toolkit" and "Tip Sheet" with ideas for celebrating the Library's Bicentennial and underscoring the importance of all libraries to the communities they serve.
June 14-17, 1999
The first Bicentennial symposium, "Frontiers of the Mind in the Twenty-First Century," is held. Distinguished scholars in some 20 fields of knowledge examine significant developments in the past century and explore the challenges ahead.
June 26, 1999
Winners of the national photography contest "Beyond Words: Celebrating America's Libraries" are announced. Sponsored jointly by the Library of Congress and the American Library Association, the contest invited photographers to feature people using libraries.
October 1999
To mark the Bicentennial, the Music Division launches "I Hear America Singing," a three-year series of concerts, recordings and educational programs emphasizing America's musical heritage from Colonial days to the end of the 20th century. Taking its title from Walt Whitman's poem, the series is excerpted for radio broadcast nationally and internationally.
Nov. 18, 1999
The second Bicentennial exhibition, "John Bull & Uncle Sam: Four
Centuries of British-American Relations," opens and remains on view
until March 4, 2000.
Feb. 29–March 1, 2000
"Informing the Congress and the Nation," a Bicentennial symposium for Congress and its staff, is held.
March 7-10, 2000
The Bicentennial symposium "Democracy and the Rule of Law in a Changing World Order" is sponsored jointly by the Library of Congress and New York University School of Law.
April 2000
Three books are published in honor of the Library's Bicentennial: America's Library: The Story of the Library of Congress, 1800-2000 by James Conaway (Yale University Press); Thomas Jefferson: Genius of Liberty, with introduction by Garry Wills. Essays by Pauline Maier, Charles A. Miller, Annette Gordon-Reed, Peter S. Onuf and Joseph J. Ellis (Viking Studio); and The Library of Congress: An Architectural Alphabet by Blaine Marshall (Pomegranate Communications Inc.).
April 3-4, 2000
The Bicentennial symposium "Poetry and the American People: Reading, Voice and Publication in the 19th and 20th Centuries" is held as part of the "Favorite Poem" Bicentennial initiative. Poet Laureate Robert Pinsky presents to the Library tapes made during the past two years of Americans from all walks of life reading their favorite poems.
April 21, 2000
The third Bicentennial exhibition, "The Wizard of Oz: An American
Fairy Tale," opens and remains on view until Sept. 23, 2000. The exhibition
celebrates the 100th anniversary of one of the most famous works ever
registered for copyright by the U.S. Copyright Office in the Library
of Congress.
April 24, 2000
The Library's 200th birthday party. After many days of rain, the sun shines on the Library, its friends and its staff. Highlights include the issuing of the commemorative stamp and two commemorative coins in a ceremony in the Great Hall; the launching of America's Library (www.americaslibrary.gov), an easy-to-use Web site for families and young people; the opening of the major Bicentennial exhibition, "Thomas Jefferson"; the announcement of three resolutions (from the U.S. Congress, the American Library Association and the California state Senate) and two proclamations (from the president of the United States and the mayor of the District of Columbia) congratulating the Library on its Bicentennial; a program and concert on the U.S. Capitol's East Lawn honoring 84 Bicentennial "Living Legends" and featuring top American singers and entertainers; a luncheon for the Living Legends; and a celebratory reception chaired by Madison Council member Mrs. William Cafritz.
May 23, 2000
Nearly 2,000 Local Legacies project participants, including many members of Congress, gather in the Library's Great Hall to celebrate America's local cultural traditions.
September 2000
The Nation's Library: The Library of Congress, Washington, D.C., by Alan Bisbort and Linda Barrett Osborne (Scala Publishers), the Library's first guide book in more than a decade, is published.
Oct. 5, 2000
The Library announces an unprecedented gift of $60 million from Madison
Council Chairman John W. Kluge as part of the Bicentennial Gifts to
the Nation program. The gift will establish the John W. Kluge Center
in the Library and the John W. Kluge Prize in the Human Sciences and
will include endowed chairs in several areas.
Oct. 6, 2000
The Madison Council celebrates its 10th anniversary. The Library thanks the council for its support with a display of representative projects and items their generosity has made possible. Since its founding in 1990, the 103-member Madison Council has provided $134.6 million in support of 208 Library initiatives. This includes $87.1 million of the $106 million the Library has received as part of its Bicentennial Gifts to the Nation program.
Oct. 23-26, 2000
The Bicentennial symposium "National Libraries of the World: Interpreting the Past, Shaping the Future" explores the influences shaping national libraries today. The conference is co-sponsored with the American Library Association's Library History Round Table and the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions' National Libraries Section, Reading Section and Library History Round Table.
Oct. 30-31, 2000
The Bicentennial symposium "To Preserve and Protect: The Strategic Stewardship of Cultural Resources" focuses on the Library's role in safeguarding its collections, which represent the nation's intellectual heritage.
Nov. 15-17, 2000
The Bicentennial symposium "Bibliographic Control for the New Millennium: Confronting the Challenges of Networked Resources and the Web" brings together authorities in the cataloging and metadata communities to discuss outstanding issues involving improved descriptive information and access to resources on the Internet within the framework of international standards.
December 2000
The Library meets its goal of mounting 5 million digital items on the Library's American Memory Web site by the end of the Bicentennial year (see story on page 3). Also, the U.S. Mint reports sales figures for the Library's Bicentennial commemorative coins. Sales of 251,548 silver coins and 34,571 bimetallic coins yield a potential surcharge of nearly $3 million to fund Library of Congress programs.
Dec. 20, 2000
The Bicentennial year draws to a close with the sealing of a Time Capsule containing some 85 items documenting the daily life of the Library's staff in 2000. It is stored in the walk-in safe in the Librarian's ceremonial office in the Jefferson Building.
