During a May 23 appearance on the "Tony Danza Show," Librarian of Congress James H. Billington enthusiastically expounded upon the Library's many outreach initiatives, from the National Digital Library Program, which makes millions of important cultural and historical materials available at www.loc.gov; Open World, an exchange program that enables emerging Russian leaders to observe the democratic process in the United States; to the Veterans History Project, which documents the stories of the nation's veterans.
"We're a world library," said Billington. "We're expanding from American things to world things." He concluded, "Preserving some of the memory and richness of our culture … that's our job and we do it for you."
"This may be Abraham Lincoln himself reading the newspaper to see how things are going," said Peatross of a drawing done by Thomas Nast, which featured the interior of the hotel during the week of Lincoln's inauguration.
"These maps tell us what was important to people at a certain time in history," said exhibition curator Sam Brylawski.
"Brylawski is particularly glad someone at the Library of Congress saw value in a map that most people in the 1930s probably tossed away: a paper placemat from the [department store] Bullock's Tea Room," said reporter Brenda Reese. "The map depicts posh locations such as country clubs, private social clubs and nightclubs alongside more curious landmarks such as the public alligator and ostrich attractions of Lincoln Heights and oil tank farms in El Segundo." The exhibition can be viewed online at www.loc.gov/exhibits/lamapped/.
"Be it weather or world events, unexpected obstacles are par for the course when it comes to putting on one of the many literary festivals that take place around the country," said Kanter.
"I get a big kick out of seeing how the Library of Congress and its staff respond," said the Library's Center for the Book Director John Cole. "I love the behind-the-scenes job I have to get the best possible authors. I am a bookie, and I feel very lucky that I am able to do this."
In the UPI piece, Kevin Novak, the Library's head of Web services, said, "We're an authority for information … and pushing the limits of technology." He noted that the Library is making strides in making more than 22 million items available online and supporting some 4 billon hits a year on its site.
"To write this history, the great Librarian of Congress, James Billington, appointed Robert V. Remini as visiting scholar of the John W. Kluge Center," said book reviewer Michael P. Riccards. "This is a fine book by a very fine historian. The House is very fortunate to get a figure of his stature as its resurrected House historian."
Dorn recalled Neruda's 1966 reading at the Library of Congress several days after the Mayflower event. According to Dorn, after Neruda did a brief reading, he returned to the Library and asked to see the Walt Whitman papers. "There was a big reception at the Chilean Embassy," she said. "But the poet spent the afternoon, in the Library, reading."
