On behalf of the Library of Congress and its staff, I welcome you to the American Library Association's Annual Conference. And please join us here at the Library for special tours, presentations, workshops, demonstrations, seminars, briefings and programs, all listed on our Web site.
Libraries are the key to a democratic society.
The Library of Congress will be 200 years old in the year 2000, and we are inviting all librarians and libraries to join us in the commemoration. Our goal is nothing less than inspiring creativity in the century ahead by stimulating greater use of the Library of Congress and of libraries everywhere. We plan to launch this nationwide contest jointly in local libraries in January 1999 and then to extend the project into the next century through a traveling exhibition. More details are available from the ALA at this conference. There will be many other opportunities for librarians to participate in the Library of Congress Bicentennial.