IV

106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. CON. RES. 269

Commending the Library of Congress and its staff for 200 years of outstanding service to the Congress and the Nation and encouraging the

American public to participate in bicentennial activities.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

MARCH 8, 2000

Mr. EHLERS (for himself, Mr. THOMAS, Mr. NEY, Mr. BOEHNER, Mr. EWING,

Mr. MICA, Mr. HOYER, Mr. FATTAH, and Mr. DAVIS of Florida) submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was referred to the

Committee on House Administration

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

Commending the Library of Congress and its staff for 200

years of outstanding service to the Congress and the

Nation and encouraging the American public to participate in bicentennial activities.

Whereas the Library of Congress, America’s oldest Federal

cultural institution, was established on April 24, 1800,

and in its 200 years of existence has become the largest

and most inclusive library in human history;

Whereas the Library’s mission is to make its resources available and useful to the Congress and the American people

and to sustain and preserve a universal collection of

knowledge and creativity;
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Whereas, in furtherance of its mission, the Library has

amassed an unparalleled collection of 119 million items,

a superb staff of ‘‘knowledge navigators’’, and networks

for gathering the world’s knowledge for the Nation’s

good;

Whereas the Library, the Congress, and the Nation have benefitted richly from the work of thousands of talented and

dedicated Library employees throughout the Library’s

200-year history;

Whereas the citizens of the United States have generously

contributed to the Library’s collections through their own

creativity, social and scholarly discourse, donation of materials in all formats, and generous philanthropic support;

Whereas the goal of the Library’s bicentennial commemoration is to inspire creativity in the centuries ahead and remind Americans that all libraries are the cornerstones of

democracy, encouraging greater use of the Library of

Congress and libraries everywhere;

Whereas this goal will be achieved through a variety of national, State, and local projects, developed in collaboration with Members of Congress, the staff of the Library

of Congress, libraries and librarians throughout the Nation, and the Library’s James Madison Council and other

philanthropic supporters;

Whereas the centerpiece of the bicentennial celebration is the

Local Legacies Project, a joint effort of Congress and the

Library of Congress to document distinctive cultural traditions and historic events representing local communities

throughout the country at the turn of the 21st century;

and
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Whereas the bicentennial commemorative activities also include symposia, exhibitions, publications, significant acquisitions, the issuance of a commemorative coin and

stamp, and enhanced public access to the collections of

the Library of Congress through the National Digital Library: Now, therefore, be it

1 Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate

2 concurring), That the Congress commends the Library of

3 Congress and its employees, both past and present, on 200

4 years of service to the Congress and the Nation and en5 courages the American public to participate in activities

6 to commemorate the Library’s bicentennial.

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