Use Of The Library's Collections example essay topic

... The simple classical building was intentional, fundamentally, as a useful and well-organized book stack 'encircled with work spaces. ' It was designed by the Washington architectural organization of Pierson & Wilson with Alexander Buel Trowbridge as a consulting designer. The contract was completed by June 24, 1938, but the structure was not ready for use until December 2, 1938. The move of the Card Division started on December 12, and it opened its doors for production to the public in the new building on January 3, 1939. On April 13, 1976, in a service at the Jefferson Memorial marking the birthday of Thomas Jefferson, President Ford signed into law the act to alter the name of the Library of Congress Annex Building to the Library of Congress Thomas Jefferson Building.

In 1980, the building got a hold of its current name, which honors John Adams, the man of letters and president of the United States who in 1800 permitted the law establishing the Library of Congress. The James Madison Memorial Building In 1957, Librarian of Congress L. Quincy Mumford started studies for a 3rd Library structure. Congress allowed preparation of funds for that building, today's James Madison Memorial Building, in 1960 and building was certified in 1965. The foundation stone was laid in 1974 and Pres. Ronald Reagan participated in devotion services on November 20, 1981, when the structure was finished. The structure serves both as the Library's third major building and as this nation's authorized monument to James Madison, the 'father' of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights and the 4th president of the United States.

That a chief Library of Congress structure should also become a monument to James Madison is right, for the institute's debt to him is significant. In 1783, as a part of the Continental Congress by proposing a list of books that would be helpful to legislators, an attempt that pave the way by 17 years the founding of the Library of Congress. In 1815, Madison was president of the United States and a eager spectator when the library of his close personal buddy and coworker, Thomas Jefferson, became the base of a progressive statesman who supposed the power of intelligence was necessary for individual liberty and independent government. REGISTRATION Every Single researcher that wants to use a public reading room in the library of congress is required to have a Reader identification card. Reader identification cards are issued by the library, and are free.

To get a card, all you have to do is present a valid drivers license, passport, or a state issued identification card at the Reader Registration station located in the Madison building. There is a very simple self-registration process. The station attendant checks the information, takes an identification photo, and then they will issue you your printed plastic card. The library cards are good for up to two years, and they have to be renewed as soon as they expire.

By using the card, it makes it possible for researchers to obtain materials from the library's collection much easier. The reason for this is because researchers only have to write their identification card number on each slip instead of their full name and address. One of the important components in the library security program is the reader registration procedure, because it is part of a larger plan to protect the library's collections. This plan was initiated by James H. Billington, a librarian of congress in March of 1992. Some other components of that plan include sealed stacks, surveillance cameras, electronic control of stack doors, and the installation of theft detection targets and detection gates. Any citizen of the United States over high school age with a photo-identification is eligible for a reader identification card.

High school students will not be allowed to use the library unless they meet all of the three following circumstances; They have used every single reference they could have used that is open to the public, and this is the only one left, that contains the information or resources they need. They have a letter from their principal describing in detail their project and the specific materials they need to use. On the other hand, having a principal's letter does not assure the student right to use the Library. A reference librarian, who makes the final determination as to whether or not the student's project requires use of the Library's collections, interviews them.

In almost every case, using local libraries can usually finish high school projects. The library of congress persuades high school students to use these resources in their research. MISSION The library's main mission is to make resources accessible and helpful to the congress and the American people, and to maintain and protect a worldwide selection of information and originality for our future generations. PRIORITIES 1. THE FIRST PRIORITY of the Library of Congress is to make information and creativity accessible to the United States Congress. The Congress is the legislative group of the United States.

As the depository of a worldwide collection of human knowledge and the ingenious work of the American citizens, the Library has the main task to make this data obtainable and to distinguish, evaluate and synthesize the information it contains to make it useful to the lawmakers who are the elected representatives of the American people. 2. THE SECOND PRIORITY of the Library of Congress is to acquire, organize, preserve, secure and sustain for the present and future use of the Congress and the nation: A. A complete documentation of American history and ingenuity; The documentation of American history and ingenuity has to be preserved in order to carry out the mandates, which are double: to defend academic property rights B. A worldwide collection of human knowledge. A worldwide collected works is necessary to meet the current and possible requirements of the Congress and of the government more broadly.

Each and every other service and activity of the Library of Congress provide for the core mission of maintaining and continuing to construct on the world's utmost reserves of recorded human intelligence. The collections have to persist to be comprehensive in order to keep up with the quick production of information. The Library of Congress is the only library on Earth that collects across the globe. If this traditional custom is done away with then the Federal government and the American uncontrolled enterprise organization will be the inferior from it. 3. THE THIRD PRIORITY of the Library of Congress is to make its collections totally available to A. The Congress; B. The U.S. government more broadly; C. The public.

4. THE FOURTH PRIORITY is to put in interpretive and enlightening importance to the fundamental resources of the Library in order to improve the excellence of the ingenious work and academic pursuit resulting from these resources, and to emphasize the significance of the Library's contributions to the nation's happiness and upcoming development. Understood in the large and global completeness of the Library's consumers is an additional idea of American the democratic system: the desire to encourage the free exchange of thoughts. There are three vital aspects to this main concern that are exclusively accessible because of the Library of Congress:" A. Greater use by the Congress, government officials, and the private sector of the vast special (i. e., non-book) and foreign language collections that are unique to the Library and that have generally been underused resources. B. Greater use of the Library's Capitol Hill facilities by scholars for the kind of interdisciplinary, cross-cultural, multimedia, multilingual, and synthetic writing that is important to Congressional deliberation and national policy-making, but inadequately encouraged both by special interest groups and by advocacy-oriented think tanks; and C. Greater use by the general public through programs that stimulate interest, increase knowledge, and encourage more citizens to use the collections on-site and electronically". The Library employees will add their position as information guides by "helping more people find appropriate materials in a swelling sea of unsorted information" and directing them to services and resources exclusive to the Library of Congress. This requires not only more growth of employees that the Library has formerly had, but also making it easier in new ways more wide-ranging and "systematic use by researchers of the distinctive materials that only the Library of Congress has".

Courses for the common public, such as displays or publications, must display the importance and value of the collections.