The Card Catalog by Carla Hayden

Author:Carla Hayden
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Chronicle Books LLC
Published: 2017-04-10T16:00:00+00:00

View of Library construction with the U.S. Capitol in the background, October 18, 1890.

This picture was taken a few months after the cornerstone was laid. In describing the new Library’s exterior, Spofford reported that “the solid massiveness of the granite walls is relieved not only by the numerous windows, with their casings treated in high relief, but by foliated carvings beneath the cornices and pediments.”

View from the Capitol of the Library of Congress, early 1900s.

When President McKinley addressed Congress in 1897, he remarked, “The Library building provided for by the act of Congress approved April 15, 1886, has been completed and opened to the public. It should be a matter of congratulation that through the foresight and munificence of Congress the nation possesses this noble treasure-house of knowledge. It is earnestly to be hoped that, having done so much toward the cause of education, Congress will continue to develop the Library in every phase of research, to the end that it may be not only one of the most magnificent, but among the richest, and most useful libraries in the world.”

On a rainy November morning in 1897 the new Library of Congress opened its doors to the public, ahead of schedule and under budget. Readers entering the Main Reading Room approached the glossy wooden reference desk and gazed up in awe 175 ft (53 m) to the dome replete with murals, stained glass, imposing statuary, and ornamental arches. While the beauty and grandeur of the new Library was widely recognized by the public, the transition from congressional library to national library was hardly complete. As noted in the 1897 Report of the Librarian, “A library without a catalog is as a ship without a rudder.” The Library had its new building, but with inadequate cataloging and more material pouring in daily, the newly christened ship required a much stronger rudder.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.