The Library has just published "Jefferson's Legacy: A Brief History of the Library of Congress" by John Y. Cole, the director of the Center for the Book. A well-illustrated, 103-page book aimed at the general reader, "Jefferson's Legacy" summarizes the history of the Library from 1800 to 1992. It also contains sections on the institution's collections, its buildings and the 13 Librarians of Congress, from John Beckley (1802-1807) through James H. Billington, who took office in 1987.
"If ever a library had a single founder, Thomas Jefferson is the founder of the Library of Congress," states Dr. Billington in his preface. Pointing out that the Library, "America's oldest national cultural institution," will be 200 years old in the year 2000, Dr. Billington notes that in its bicentennial decade, "the Library of Congress will honor its founder and renew its commitment to the knowledge-based society that Jefferson envisioned."
John Y. Cole, a historian and librarian, has been on the staff of the Library of Congress since 1966 and director of the Center for the Book since it was established in 1977. His many writings about the history of the Library include "For Congress and the Nation: A Chronological History of the Library of Congress" (1979) and 'The Nation's Reading Rooms' in "Washington, D.C.: A Smithsonian Book of the Nation's Capital" (1992).
The publication of "Jefferson's Legacy: A Brief History of the Library of Congress" was supported by the Madison Council, a national, private sector advisory group dedicated to helping the Library share its unique resources with the nation and the world.
The price is $9.50 and it may be purchased in person at the Library of Congress Sales Shop or ordered prepaid from the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D. 20422. The stock number, 030-001-00142-3, should be cited in mail orders.
Report on 'Year of the Lifetime Reader' Published
Developing Lifetime Readers: A Report on the 1991 "Year of the Lifetime Reader" promotion of the Library of Congress, has just been published. The illustrated, 44-page booklet describes how the Center for the Book's Year of the Lifetime Reader project developed and what happened in schools, libraries, bookstores and other organizations around the country. It was compiled by the center's Michael Thompson to share the ideas that made Year of the Lifetime Reader so effective in promoting reading and to stimulate thinking on how to make future campaigns even more effective.
In his preface, Center for the Book Director John Y. Cole outlines the history of the center's reading promotion campaigns, which began in 1987 with the "Year of the Reader," and is continuing in 1993-94 with "Books Change Lives." The photographs in the report include "Great Grandmother Reads to Me," by Connie Thompson of Pollok, Texas, the grand prize winner in the "To Be a Lifetime Reader" photo contest and 12 other national winners in the black-and-white category. The 109 national, civic and educational organizations that served as reading promotion partners of the Library of Congress in the campaign are listed in an appendix.
Copies of Developing Lifetime Readers are being distributed to the Center for the Book's 28 affiliated state centers and to its national reading promotion partners, which now number 124. Single copies are available at no cost to libraries and other organizations. Requests should be sent to the Center for the Book, Library of Congress, Washington, DC 20540-8200.
