America's Library: The Story of the Library of Congress 1800-2000 (review)

America's Library: The Story of the Library of Congress 1800-2000 by James Conaway; foreword by James H. Billington; introduction by Edmund Morris. New Haven and London: Yale University Press and the Library of Congress, 2000. 226 p. $45 (ISBN 0-300-08308-4).

A cursory look at James Conaway's new history of the Library of Congress brings to mind a small-scale coffee table book, complete with an eye-catching cover design by Lance Hidy and slick, heavy paper complimenting 151 illustrations, many in color. Fifteen interspersed articles on topics related to the primary text, but separated from it by colorful titles, a smaller font, and relevant images underscore such a first impression. However, this book, written in celebration of the Library's Bicentennial, is much more than a beautifully printed volume. Conaway has produced an engaging, well-balanced narrative of the development of the complex institution that began in 1800 with 740 volumes purchased "for the use of Congress" (p. 9) and slowly evolved to become America's national library, described in 2000 as "the most extensive library on earth" (p. 157).

James Conaway, the former Washington editor of Harper's and author of a number of magazine articles, has written eight books, including another anniversary history of an august institution, The Smithsonian: 150 Years of Adventure, Discovery, and Wonder (1995). His new offering is the first full narrative history of the Library of Congress since the publication of David C. Mearns' The Story Up to Now: The Library of Congress, 1800-1946 (1947). Conaway quotes from the work of both Mearns and John Y. Cole, the author of the more recent historical studies, For Congress and the Nation: A Chronological History of the Library of Congress (1979) and Jefferson's Legacy: A Brief History of the Library of Congress (1993). The book includes both an index and a bibliography, which, at seven pages, is extensive but not exhaustive. It does not list, for example, such recent publications as Jane A. Rosenberg's The Nation's Great Library: Herbert Putnam and the Library of Congress, 1899-1939 (1993) or Anne-Imelda Radice's The Original Library of Congress: The History (1800-1814) of the Library of Congress in the United States Capitol (1981).

Following a brief foreword by current Librarian of Congress James H. Billington, the book begins with a not-to-be-missed introductory essay, "One Writer's Library," lovingly-written by Edmund Morris, whose most recent publication is Dutch: A Memoir of Ronald Reagan (1999). Morris' description of his experiences as a researcher in the Library of Congress, covering a span of thirty-three years, will make the reader wish that he or she, too, could look back on a long history of delving into the Library's treasures.

In his prologue Conaway speaks of a library built by "the determination of a relatively few people" (p. 3). His story, chronologically arranged, focuses primarily on the challenges, failures, and accomplishments of the thirteen men who have held the position of Librarian of Congress since 1802. While they are the feature players, his story also includes the Presidents who nominated them, the members of Congress who either supported or thwarted their efforts, the architects and builders who created the Library's physical spaces, and those who collected the unique materials that would so enrich the Library's holdings. Beyond the focus on the individual, the book records the Library's development within the context of the nation's history, with particular emphasis on the political climates that ultimately influenced the Library's growth and direction.

The story of the Library of Congress is a fascinating one that should be of significant interest both to librarians and to all who respect the work carried on by libraries. It is a tale of how a gradually emerging vision of a national library, with...