A Brief History of the Library of Congress

By John Y. Cole

A Brief History of the Library of Congress

By John Y. Cole

The oldest cultural institution in the nation’s capital, the Library of Congress occupies a unique place in American civilization. Established as a legislative library in 1800, it grew into a national institution in the nineteenth century, a product of American cultural nationalism. Since World War II, it has become an international resource of unparalleled dimension and the world’s largest library. In its three massive structures on Capitol Hill, the Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, and James Madison Memorial Buildings, the Library of Congress brings together the concerns of government, learning, and librarianship—an uncommon combination, but one that has greatly benefited American scholarship and culture.

[2] The history of the Library of Congress is the story of the accumulation of diverse functions and collections. As a repository of information and knowledge, its collections in all formats now contain more than 103 million items—books, films, maps, photographs, music, manuscripts, and graphics—from all over the world. The scope of these collections is universal; materials have been acquired in more than four hundred and fifty languages. The Library is open to everyone over high school age, and more than two million tourists visit it annually.

國會圖書館是美國首都最古老的文化機構，在美國文明中獨樹一幟。1800年建立時，該館是一座立法圖書館，19世紀時發展為國家機構，是美國文化民族主義的產物。第二次世界大戰后，該館成為世界最大的圖書館，擁有的國際資源前所未有。國會圖書館由位于國會山的三座雄偉建筑組成——托馬斯·杰斐遜大廈、約翰·亞當斯大廈和詹姆斯·麥迪遜大廈，集政界、學界和圖書館界的關注于一身。此等融合非同一般，美國的學術與文化大得裨益。

[2]在不斷發展的過程中，國會圖書館功能愈加多樣，藏書日益豐厚。這是一座信息與知識的寶庫，藏品來自世界各地，形式多樣，超過1.03億件，其中包括圖書、電影、地圖、相片、音樂、手稿和圖像。收藏范圍遍及全球，資料語種超過450種。該館對高中學齡以上者開放，每年來此參觀的游客超過200萬人次。

[3] The Library of Congress has been shaped primarily by the philosophy and ideas of its principal founder, Thomas Jefferson, who believed that a democratic legislature needed information and ideas in all subjects to do its work. It was established by Congress on April 24, 1800, with an appropriation of five thousand dollars, as the government prepared to move from Philadelphia to the new capital city of Washington. From the beginning, however, the institution was more than a legislative library, for an 1802 law made the appointment of the Librarian of Congress a presidential responsibility. It also permitted the president and vice president to borrow books, a privilege that eventually was extended to the judiciary, officials of government agencies, and, under certain conditions, members of the public. Originally located in the Capitol Building, the Library moved to its own building in 1897. At the same time, Congress gave the Librarian of Congress sole responsibility for making the Library’s rules and regulations and invested in the Senate the authority to approve a president’s nomination of a Librarian of Congress.

[3]從根本上看，國會圖書館受其主要創建者——托馬斯·杰斐遜的思想觀點影響，杰斐遜認為民主國家的立法機關需要所有學科的知識和思想。1800年4月24日，美國政府準備從費城遷都華盛頓時，國會撥款5000美元建造了該館。不過，從一開始，這個機構就不止是一個立法圖書館， 1802年的一項法案規定，國會圖書館館長由總統任命，并允許總統和副總統在該館借書。最終，該權利范圍擴大至司法部門和政府部門官員，在特定情況下，公民也可在此借書。國會圖書館最初位于國會大廈中，1897年遷往獨立的專屬建筑。同時，國會授權國會圖書館館長全權負責制定該館規章制度，并賦予參議院權力，可投票表決總統對國會圖書館館長的任命。

[4] Thomas Jefferson took a keen and continuing interest in the Library. In 1814, when the British invaded Washington, they destroyed the Capitol, including the Library of Congress. By then retired to Monticello, Jefferson offered to sell his personal library of more than six thousand volumes to Congress. The purchase was approved in 1815, doubling the size of the Library. It also expanded the scope of the collections. Anticipating the argument that his collection might be too wide-ranging and comprehensive for use by a legislative body, Jefferson argued that there was “no subject to which a member of Congress may not have occasion to refer.” The Jeffersonian concept of universality is the philosophy and rationale behind the comprehensive collecting policies of today’s Library.

[5] The individual responsible for transforming the Library of Congress into an institution of national significance was Ainsworth Rand Spofford, Librarian of Congress from 1864 to 1897. Spofford applied Jefferson’s philosophy on a grand scale. He linked the Library’s legislative and national functions, building a comprehensive collection for both the legislature and the nation. In obtaining greatly increased support from Congress, Spofford employed a combination of logic, flattery, and nationalistic rhetoric. In 1867 his acquisitions made the Library of Congress the largest library in the United States. Spofford’s other major achievements were the centralization in 1870 of all U.S. copyright activities at the Library—which ensured the continuing growth of the collections by stipulating that two copies of every book, pamphlet, map, print, and piece of music registered for copyright be deposited in the Library—and construction of a separate building, a twenty-six year struggle not completed until 1897.

[4]托馬斯·杰斐遜一直深切關注國會圖書館。1814年，英國入侵華盛頓時摧毀了國會大廈，殃及國會圖書館。那時，杰斐遜已經卸任，居住在蒙蒂塞洛，他主動提出將自己私人收藏的6000多冊書籍售給國會。此項采購1815年獲批，使該館藏書翻倍，藏書范圍也得以擴大。預料會有人提出，他的藏書范圍和涉及領域可能遠遠超過一個立法機構的需要，對此，杰斐遜表示，“國會議員可能用到任何一門學科的知識”。杰斐遜的這一普適理念正是如今該館廣泛收藏政策背后的哲學原理。

[5] 1864至1897年在任的國會圖書館館長安斯沃斯·蘭德·斯波福德使該館轉變成國家機構。斯波福德將杰斐遜的理念加以推廣，結合了圖書館的立法職能和國家職能，使圖書館成為適用于法律體系和國家體系的綜合性藏書機構。斯波福德運用條理清晰、富含恭維的民族主義言辭去爭取國會更多的支持。1867年，國會圖書館在他的種種努力下成為美國最大的圖書館。斯波福德取得的重要成就還有：1870年，國會圖書館得以集中管理美國所有與版權有關的活動——如此一來，注冊版權的圖書、宣傳冊、地圖、印章和音樂都要向國會圖書館提交兩份復本，確保了該館藏品不斷增長；1897年，歷經26年后，獨棟大廈終于落成。

[6] Spofford’s concept of the Library of Congress as both legislative library for the American Congress and national library for the American people has been wholeheartedly accepted by his successors. Herbert Putnam, Librarian of Congress from 1899 to 1939, extended this philosophy still further. To Putnam, a national library was more than a comprehensive collection housed in Washington. It was “a collection universal in scope which has a duty to the country as a whole.” He defined that duty as service to scholarship, both directly and through other libraries.

[6]斯波福德認為，國會圖書館既是為美國國會服務的立法圖書館，也是為美國民眾服務的國家圖書館，其繼任者完全接受了這一理念。1899至1939年的時任館長赫伯特·普特南將這一理念發揚光大。對普特南而言，國家圖書館不僅僅是位于華盛頓的一個綜合性藏書機構，還是“一座藏書范圍遍及世界、承擔整個國家義務的圖書館”。他把這種義務定義為學術方面的服務，包括該館的直接服務和通過其他圖書館提供的間接服務

[7] The first experienced librarian to fill the position, Putnam felt that a national library should actively serve other libraries, and he immediately began such a service. Through the sale and distribution of printed catalog cards, union catalogs1聯合圖書目錄，指一種聯合兩所以上圖書館館藏目錄的數據庫。使用者可以從單一窗口網站來檢索國內多所圖書館的館藏。interlibrary loan2館際互借，是基于館際之間資源共享而提供的一種服務。and other innovations, he “nationalized” the Library’s collections and established the patterns of service that exist today. During his tenure, the Library helped systemize American scholarship and librarianship through the widespread sharing of its bibliographic apparatus, thus encouraging a national view of scholarship and research collections and establishing pioneering partnerships between the federal government and the private sector.

[8] Balancing its legislative, national, and, after World War II, international roles, the Library of Congress has grown steadily. Historically, its major problem has been lack of space, not lack of support. Librarian of Congress Archibald MacLeish (1939–1944) stressed the Library’s roles as a symbol of democracy and a cultural institution. Luther H. Evans (1945–1953) pushed forward the Library’s bibliographic and international activities. L. Quincy Mumford (1954–1974) greatly expanded all the Library’s roles, but particularly its bibliographic activities and foreign acquisitions.

[7]普特南是首位有工作經驗的館長，他認為，一個國家性質的圖書館應當積極為其他圖書館服務，并就此即刻開展工作。通過出售和發行印制目錄卡片，制作合作圖書館聯合圖書目錄，開展館際互借和實施其他創新舉措，他使該館藏品“國有化”，并建立起沿用至今的服務方式。在其任期內，該館通過書目系統的廣泛分享，使美國的學術和館藏事業系統化，從而促進了國家層面上的學術研究與館藏研究，并在聯邦政府和私人機構間建立了開創性的合作關系。

[8]通過平衡其立法職能、國家職能和二戰后的國際作用，國會圖書館穩步發展。過去，它的主要問題是缺乏空間而非缺少支持。館長阿奇博爾德·麥克利什 （1939－1944）強調，該館是民主的象征，也是一個文化機構。盧瑟·H.埃文斯（1945－1953）推動發展了該館的書目和國際活動。L.昆西·芒福德（1954－1974）極大擴展了該館的所有職能，尤其是在書目活動和采購外國出版物方面。

[9] A new public role for the Library began to emerge under the leadership of historian Daniel J. Boorstin, Librarian of Congress, 1975–1987. Emphasizing the Library’s role as a national cultural resource, he greatly increased the institution’s visibility. Boorstin’s successor, historian James H. Billington (1987–2015 ), has vigorously pursued a similar course. He also has established private sector support groups and an educational role for the Library, using new technologies to share the Library’s collections with the nation. Now, the Library of Congress is still guided by Thomas Jefferson’s belief that information and knowledge about all subjects are essential in a democracy—for legislators and citizens alike. ■

[9]歷史學家丹尼爾· J.布爾斯廷于1975至1987年擔任館長，在他的帶領下，該館具有了新的社會作用。他突出了國會圖書館的國家文化資源作用，極大提高了該館的關注程度。其繼任者詹姆士· H.比林頓 （1987－2015）大力推進了這一發展，不僅建立起私人機構支持團隊，還采用新技術讓全國共享該館藏品，充分發揮了國會圖書館的教育職能。時至今日，該館仍然遵從托馬斯·杰斐遜的信條——對于民主國家的立法者和公民而言，所有學科的信息和知識都是必要的。 □

美國國會圖書館簡史

文/約翰·Y.科爾 譯/鄧夢寒

（譯者單位：上海交通大學）