"The overwhelming challenge now facing the Library in its third century is how to sort and preserve the exploding world of digital knowledge and information, and then how to integrate it into the still-expanding world of books and other traditional analog materials so that we can continue to provide Congress and the American people with the objective knowledge and dependable information that is needed, more than ever, in this information age. Everything, from security to our economic base, depends on this knowledge."
—Librarian of Congress James H. Billington
By GAIL FINEBERG
The House Administration Committee conducted an oversight hearing, "Library of Congress: Library of the 21st Century," on July 27 to learn how the Library is preparing for the future.
"One of the greatest challenges for America's librarians and archivists is responding to the changing ways in which information is being created, prepared, stored and maintained in the digital age," the committee chairman, Rep. Vernon J. Ehlers (R-Mich.), said in his opening statement.
"In order for our nation's libraries to maintain service to the public, they must look for opportunities not only to adapt to the digital age, but to embrace it," he said.
He noted that Librarian of Congress James H. Billington "is committed to leveraging advances in technology to enhance the Library's operations and to meet the evolving interests of the Congress and the public."
In 90 minutes of testimony, Library managers assured the committee that the Library's existing staff will provide ever-improving service to Congress and the public while the Library transforms itself, its workforce and its business processes to meet the technological challenges of the 21st century.
Committee members expressed enthusiasm for the Library's several major digital initiatives. They also indicated that members are working with the Library, in the words of the ranking minority member, Rep. Juanita Millender-McDonald (D-Calif.), to ensure a "safe landing" for staff whose jobs change or disappear as technologies evolve and work processes change, requiring new work assignments, knowledge and skills.
In a later discussion of redesigning cataloging practices, Ehlers, who came from a small Michigan town with a tiny public library, asked the Library not to forget the nation's small school and public libraries that depend on the Library of Congress for traditional cataloging services.
"There is no change in the Library's basic mission of acquiring, preserving and making accessible the world's knowledge and the nation's creativity," emphasized Billington.
"But," he added, "the way in which we do our work is changing radically in the face of the greatest revolution in the generation and communication of knowledge since the advent of the printing press."
Added Associate Librarian for Library Services Deanna Marcum: "The 21st century Library of Congress will enhance, not replace, the traditional Library by collecting the growing amount of information in electronic forms that will never be in print, and the Library will continue to digitize parts of the print collection—as copyright permits—to allow broader access to Congress, researchers, students and the general public."
In the testimony that followed, the Librarian and three senior managers described the purposes and progress of four major digital projects. Marcum discussed the National Audiovisual Conservation Center (NAVCC) in Culpeper, Va. Associate Librarian for Strategic Initiatives and Chief Information Officer Laura Campbell reported on the National Digital Information Infrastructure and Preservation Program (NDIIPP) and the World Digital Library. Chief of Staff Jo Ann Jenkins described the Library's plans for a new Jefferson Building visitors' experience that will use state-of-the-art technologies to celebrate the Library and its collections. (See Information Bulletin, September 2006.)
In addition to responding to Ehlers' remarks about cataloging, the Library panel also answered questions about workforce transformation, educational outreach, collections security, a pending merger of Library police with the U.S. Capitol Police, and efforts to place Congressional Research Service employees whose jobs are being eliminated.
A webcast of the hearing may be viewed from the House Administration Committee Web page, at http://cha.house.gov/hearings/default.aspx. Click on "Oversight hearing on Library of Congress" for a link to a page with the webcast link and full testimonies.
Gail Fineberg is editor of The Gazette, the Library's staff newsletter.