This is the accessible text file for the semiannual report issued by the Library of Congress Office of the Inspector General (OIG) March 2022.


This semiannual report highlights images from Not an Ostrich & Other Images from America's Library, one of the first exhibits open to the public since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.  The images drawn from the photography collections of the Library of Congress date from 1839 to present day and trace the evolution of photography from daguerreotypes to digital technology. Not an Ostrich offers visitors a new perspective on celebrated places, iconic images, famous photographers, and powerful moments in American culture and history.   This exhibit is made possible by Wallis Annenberg and the Annenberg Space for Photography in Los Angeles. Captions are from the exhibit, copyrights are used by permission, and all featured works are from the collections of the Prints and Photographs Division. Not an Ostrich & Other Images from America's Library can also be viewed online at: www.loc.gov/exhibitions/images-from-americas-library/about-this-exhibition.




Office of the Inspector General Semiannual Report to Congress March 2022 

March 31, 2022

Message from the Inspector General
It was a great honor to be appointed Inspector General this past February by Librarian of Congress Dr. Carla Hayden after serving as Acting Inspector General since August 2021. I succeed Mr. Kurt Hyde, who retired as Inspector General after seven years of dedicated service.  Prior to the Library, I served in several senior executive positions at the Social Security Administration (SSA) and in SSA�s Office of the Inspector General. I am excited to be at the Library and share in its goal to engage, inspire, and inform Congress and the American people.
This is an exciting time for the Library as it prepares for customers to return to its reading rooms in greater numbers than it has seen since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Even during our recent difficult times, the Library has maintained its commitment to making its unique collections, experts, and services available when, where, and how users need them. Of note, the Library has created a web archive collection for use by future scientists, researchers, historians, and average Americans to help them convey the full impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and to understand how people coped with it. The Librarian has also expressed her support for the librarians across Ukraine who are still working, when possible, and conveyed the Library�s commitment to work with its partners in the Ukrainian government. The Library has assisted national libraries in other nations after man-made and natural disasters, most recently in Afghanistan and Haiti.
I am grateful for the opportunity to guide our office in recommending positive changes to Library operations in support of the Library�s ongoing successes. Under my leadership, our focus will remain steady on improving economy, efficiency, and effectiveness and preventing and detecting fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement by conducting independent and objective audits, investigations, and other reviews. We will endeavor to keep the Librarian and Congress fully and currently informed of these activities.
During this semiannual period, we issued several information technology (IT)- related reports. We continued to focus on the Library�s IT modernization activities, which we have identified as one of the Library�s top management challenges. We issued separate reports in which we evaluated activities related to replacing the legacy Merged Audio-Visual Information System, the United States Copyright Office�s IT modernization effort, the Library�s controls related to cloud services, the management and protection of network files that store sensitive data (e.g., personally identifiable information(PII)), and the controls supporting the Legislative Branch Financial Management System environment. We discuss IT modernization in our section on the Library�s top management challenges and highlight how our audit work this semiannual period provided insight into the Library�s challenges associated with refining its IT modernization cost and schedule estimation processes.
The Library implemented 30 of our recommendations from prior semiannual periods.  Ten of the recommendations are not identified here because they were in reports that were not released publicly.


Kimberly Byrd 
Inspector General 

Profiles
Library of Congress


Profiles

Library of Congress

The Library is the research and information arm of the United States� national legislature and the world�s largest knowledge reserve. The Library�s mission is to engage, inspire, and inform Congress and the American people with a universal and enduring source of knowledge and creativity. This mission is accomplished through the work of approximately 3,200 permanent employees.
Founded in 1800, the Library is also the nation�s first federal cultural institution, holding more than 171 million physical items on approximately 838 miles of bookshelves. These items include books and other print materials, recordings, photographs, maps, sheet music, and manuscripts. The Library occupies three buildings on Capitol Hill and the Taylor Street Annex in Washington, DC, and the Packard Campus of the National Audio-Visual Conservation Center in Culpeper, Virginia. In addition, the Library operates six overseas offices and stores collections material in several other purpose- built facilities in Maryland. [footnote 1]



The Library has six primary components:

Office of the Librarian
Chief Operating Officer Service Unit
Office of the Chief Information Officer

Library Collections and Services Group, which manages traditional library operations:

Law Library
Researcher and Collections Services
Discovery and Preservation Services
National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled
U.S. Copyright Office
Congressional Research Service 


The Office of the Librarian provides leadership and executive management to the Library, overseeing the implementation of the Library�s mission. It includes the Principal Deputy Librarian, the Office of Communications and External Relations, the Office of the Chief of Staff, and two centers that focus on user engagement and fostering access to the Library�s collections for research, teaching, and visitor education: the Center for Exhibits and Interpretation and the Center for Learning, Literacy, and Engagement.

The Chief Operating Officer Service Unit manages and administers the Library�s non-IT infrastructure functions and daily operations�including oversight of the Human Capital Directorate (HCD), the Financial Services Directorate (FSD), the Contracts and Grants Directorate (CGD), the Integrated Support Services Directorate, the Security and Emergency Preparedness Directorate, and Library Enterprises that operate on a cost recovery basis.

The Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO) has agency-wide responsibility over all aspects of managing Library digital strategy and IT strategies and resources. This includes development and implementation of the Library of Congress IT strategic plan, guiding Library leadership on digital futures, advising on the technology market, and serving as a solution broker for the agency. It also includes assessing, designing, developing, maintaining, standardizing, optimizing, and protecting the Library�s IT resources. IT resources include all Library budgetary, personnel, equipment, and facilities resources and services that are primarily used for the management, operation, acquisition, disposition and transformation or other activity related to the lifecycle of IT. The Library�s digital collections content is managed by the appropriate service unit with statutory or curatorial responsibilities for a given collection.

The Library Collections and Services Group (LCSG) oversees units responsible for acquiring, stewarding, describing, and serving Library collections and manages fellow- ships and internships. The LCSG is comprised of:

Law Library, which assists Congress and the legislative process by pro- viding comprehensive research on foreign, comparative, international, and U.S. law and other legal reference services;

Researcher and Collections Services (RCS), as one of two new divisions in LCSG, links more closely the Library's researcher, reference, and public service work as well as collection development, processing, and selected preservation activities. RCS includes the John W. Kluge Center, which brings together the world's best thinkers to contribute to the conversation about the challenges facing democracies in the 21st century through residential fellowships, lectures, and other research opportunities; and the National Audio-Visual Conservation Center (NAVCC) and the American Folklife Center, among other programs;

Discovery and Preservation Services, as the other new division in LCSG, aligns with the Library's collection acquisition, description, and stewardship activities; and

National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled (NLS) is a national program that circulates books and magazines in braille and audio formats to people with temporary or permanent low vision, blindness, or a physical disability that prevents them from reading or holding the printed page.

The U.S. Copyright Office (USCO) administers the nation�s copyright laws for the advancement of the public good, offers services and support to authors and users of creative works, and provides expert impartial assistance to Congress, the courts, and Executive Branch agencies on questions of copyright law and policy.

The Congressional Research Service (CRS) supports the legislative process by pro- viding, exclusively to Congress, objective, confidential, and nonpartisan assessments of public policy issues and legislative options for addressing those issues.



Office of the Inspector General 

The Library�s Office of the Inspector General (OIG) was established in 1988 as a non-statutory office deriving its authority from the Librarian of Congress. OIG became statutory with the passage of the Library of Congress Inspector General Act of 2005 (2 U.S.C. 185), with a mandate to independently:

conduct and supervise audits and investigations of fraud, waste, and abuse relating to the Library;

lead, coordinate, and recommend policies to promote economy, efficiency, 

and effectiveness; and keep the Librarian of Congress and the Congress fully and currently informed about problems and deficiencies relating to the administration and operations of the Library. 

At the end of 2019, the Library of Congress Inspector General Act was amended for the first time since its enactment, giving the office increased parity with Executive Branch IGs, statutory law enforcement authority, and defined independence with respect to 
budget and hiring. 

Through the Council of Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency (CIGIE), we are part of a community of Inspectors General, who collectively oversee operations with the Executive and Legislative Branches.  In the years to come, we look forward to continuing our efforts to provide independent and effective oversight, such as through our Semiannual Reports to Congress as required by the Inspector General Act. 
Every six months we provide Congress with this report detailing our independent oversight of the Library.  The semiannual report presents information on:

the Library�s top management challenges;

significant audits, investigations, and other activities of the OIG;

OIG�s review of legislation and regulations affecting the Library; and

Library decisions on OIG recommendations and the status of implementation, along with any resulting monetary benefits. 

The Audits Division conducts in-depth reviews that address the efficiency, effectiv�ness, and economy of the Library�s programs, activities, and functions; provides information to responsible parties to improve public accountability; facilitates oversight and decision-making; and initiates corrective action as needed. 

The Audits Division also contracts with an independent public accounting firm that examines whether financial statements fairly present financial positions, results of operations, and budgetary resources. The firm also assesses whether the Library and other entities have adequate financial reporting internal control systems that comply with applicable laws and regulations.  OIG reports are available at www.loc.gov/about/oig. 

The Investigations Division addresses alleged or suspected wrongdoing by agency employees, contractors, or others responsible for handling federal resources.  Violations of Library regulations or fraud committed against the Library can result in administrative sanctions and criminal or civil prosecution.  Contact information for the OIG Hotline is located on the inside back cover of this report. 


Top Management Challenges

We highlight certain top management challenges in each semiannual report. This report highlights IT Modernization. We have identified five other top management challenges:

Strategic Planning and Performance Management. Many of the Library�s management challenges over the years have flowed from a historic lack of proper strategic planning and performance management.

Digital Strategic Planning and Execution. A more strategic approach to digital services and collections is necessary because of the pace of digital innovation and the need for the Library to act on many fronts to execute a timely and cost-effective digital transformation.

Collection Services Workflow. The Library needs to broaden its capability to perform end-to-end monitoring of its collections services workflow in order to better manage its arrearage and number of items collected and stored. Library Services' collections storage activities are part of a supply chain of processes that include selection, digitization, preservation, and storage services, among other processes.

U.S. Copyright Office's Modernization Program. In fiscal year (FY) 2018, OCIO and USCO initiated a joint effort to develop a future-state version of USCO's IT system as part of USCO's larger modernization program. The program poses a top management challenge because of the complexity, magnitude, and importance of the program to fulfilling USCO's mission. During this semiannual period OIG issued the USCO � Public Records Systems Development Audit, [footnote 2], summarized in the following section.

Financial Management and Reporting. A reliable system of internal controls over financial reporting is vital for an agency to accurately and reliably report on its financial transactions and position. We continue to monitor FSD's progress in strengthening its financial management and reporting processes.

IT Modernization
Issues Associated with the Library�s Cost and Schedule Estimation Processes
For this semiannual report�s discussion of the Library�s top management challenges, we focus on the Library�s IT cost estimating and scheduling practices as part of its IT modernization activities. Our assessment is based on our overview of the issues we observed pertaining to IT cost estimating and scheduling practices in five reports completed over the past couple of years that focused on particular IT projects.

Background
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) originally identified the importance of cost estimating and scheduling practices at the Library in its March 2015 report [footnote 3].  As stated by GAO, reliable cost estimates are critical for successfully delivering IT investments. Such estimates provide the basis for informed investment decision making, realistic budget formulation, meaningful progress measurement, and accountability for results. GAO observed that the Library did not have an organization-wide policy for cost estimating and concluded that the Library had not developed cost estimates to the extent needed to ensure that all costs were included [footnote 4].. GAO also stated that the success of an IT investment depends, in part, on having an integrated and reliable master schedule that defines when the investment�s set of work activities and milestone events are to occur, how long they will take, and how they are related to one another. Among other things, a reliable schedule provides a road map for systemic execution of an IT investment and the means by which to gauge progress, identify and address potential problems, and promote accountability. [footnote 5].
GAO�s report had 31 recommendations. The Library has addressed and GAO has closed all but two of them, a significant feat for the Library. The remaining two recommendations relate to the implementation of cost estimating and scheduling practices.  According to GAO, to effectively plan and manage its acquisitions of IT systems and increase the likelihood of delivering promised system capabilities on time and within budget, the Library should establish and implement an organization-wide policy for developing cost estimates that includes key practices. Further, according to GAO, to effectively plan and manage acquisitions of IT systems and increase the likelihood of delivering promised system capabilities on time and within budget, the Library should establish an organization-wide policy for developing and maintaining project schedules that includes key practices, and then finalize and implement the policy.
In February 2021, we conducted our own analysis of the Library�s IT modernization efforts. [footnote 6]. Our report leveraged prior OIG work, GAO�s guidance on best practices for cost estimating and scheduling, and its March 2015 report. The report identified gaps the Library needed to address to achieve GAO�s approval to close the outstanding GAO recommendations. Library management disagreed with five of our recommendations.
However, shortly after the report�s issuance, we signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Library management, which resulted from constructive collaboration during the audit resolution process. Our recommendations and items in the MOU underscored the need for the Library to strengthen its IT cost estimating and scheduling practices, among other things, and the Library demonstrated its commitment to do so by agreeing to the items in the MOU. The Library has estimated that it will complete the necessary work to close the recommendations and the MOU items during this fiscal year and next.
OIG�s Reports Since February 2021
Since our February 2021 IT modernization report, we have observed various issues pertaining to IT cost estimating and scheduling practices in five reports that focused on particular projects. We summarize the reports, and relevant information from them, below:

Data Center Transformation Project Evaluation (non-public report), Report No. 2019-IT-103, May 2021�Our report identified various issues associated with the Library�s cost estimating and scheduling practices associated with migrating critical IT systems out of the Library�s outdated primary computing facility into a more secure and modern facility as well as other new target hosting environments. To accomplish the project, Congress provided the Library a total of $57.7 million from FY 2017�2020. We noted that the Library has made strides in its project development, investment, implementation, and management practices.
Specifically, we observed that OCIO was better aligning its operations with project management best practices. However, the evaluation concluded that further improvement was needed. Most notably, the evaluation found that because OCIO used unconventional planning and investment processes, the Library purchased more equipment and services than required. Additionally, the Library expended all of the funds Congress provided for the Data Center Transformation project, and the transformation had yet to be completed. As such, the Library had to fund additional project activities with its annual Operations and Maintenance budgets. The evaluation concluded that the Library�s lack of a comprehensive plan prevented OCIO from employing a well- designed IT infrastructure modernization initiative. Additionally, the absence of a comprehensive plan encumbered the ability of Library management to assess whether the project was on schedule and within budget. Library management agreed with all of the report�s recommendations.

National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled�s Information Technology Modernization Evaluation, Report No. 2020-IT-105, September 2021.  Our report evaluated whether the Library was executing the initiative on schedule, within budget, and in accordance with technical requirements and best practices. With the assistance of OCIO, NLS is working to modernize its technical infra- structure associated with its mission. The initiative includes projects to expand service offerings through five individual projects, including the Braille and Audio Reading Download, Braille eReader, Smart Phone, Smart Speaker, and Stop Gap Player.
Our analysis determined that the projects we reviewed were not executed on schedule or within budget but were in accordance with technical requirements. We also found that the projects were not executed in accordance with key best practices for cost estimating and project scheduling. We noted that the Library plans to continue coordinating with OCIO and FSD to mature its cost estimating and project scheduling methodologies. Library management agreed with all of the report�s recommendations.
United States Copyright Office � Public Records Systems Development Audit, Report No. 2020-IT-101, November 2021. This report, completed during this semiannual period, evaluated USCO IT modernization efforts as supported by OCIO. Under the direction of the Register of Copyrights, USCO administers a complex and dynamic set of laws, including registrations, the recordation of titles and licenses, a number of statutory licensing provisions, and other aspects of the 1976 Copyright Act [footnote 7] and the 1998 Digital Millennium Copyright Act. [footnote 8]. To better serve its constituencies, USCO has dedicated itself to modernizing its systems and its administration of the nation�s copyright laws.
The audit identified issues attributable to the Library�s IT cost estimating and scheduling practices. For example, we found that the Library had neither a comprehensive cost estimate for the Public Records project nor a sufficiently integrated management schedule (IMS). The USCO Copyright Management Office hired a professional services firm to assist with completing an IMS, which cost almost $530,000. Using what the contractor deemed to be an industry average to develop a cost estimate for the Public Records initiative, the contractor�s estimate for the project was more than double the Library�s initial estimate ($15.3 million estimated by the contractor vs. $7.5 million estimated by the Library). We note that the Library did not agree with the contractor�s conclusions. Library management agreed with all of the report�s recommendations.
Library Services � Audio-Visual Collection Management System Audit, Report No. 2020-IT-104, December 2021. This report, completed during this semiannual period, analyzed Library Ser- vices and OCIO�s efforts to develop a new Library Services IT business application. Within Library Services, the National Audio-Visual Conservation Center (NAVCC) provides access and information services for the motion picture and television collections to an international community of film and television professionals, archivists, scholars, and researchers. Library Services� Merged Audio-Visual Information System (MAVIS) holds all descriptive, holdings, technical, and rights- related metadata associated with the collection of audiovisual items within NAVCC. The Library is replacing MAVIS because the vendor for the system will no longer support it after 2021.
We found that the Library complied with many of GAO�s best practices but that improvements were needed that relate, in part, to the Library�s IT cost estimating and scheduling practices. For example, required project management cost and risk documentation was not adequately completed. We also noted that OCIO had not developed adequate mechanisms for tracking the status of project completion. For example, actual project costs were not documented, nor can they be retrieved for the period of April 2020 through August 2020. Library management agreed with all of the report�s recommendations.

Cloud Service Provider Governance Performance Audit, Report No. 2020-IT-103, January 2022. This report, completed this semiannual period, examined the Library's cloud computing practices. Cloud computing refers to an emerging IT delivery model in which computing resources (e.g., networks, servers, storage, applications, services) are accessible over the Internet. Through this model, a provider of these computing services�called a cloud service provider�allows customers to rent its computing resources and increase or decrease their usage as needed with minimal effort. This differs significantly from the traditional on-premises model, in which an organization is fully responsible for planning and implementing its own computing infrastructure. Over the last decade, federal government agencies have increasingly adopted cloud computing technology, moving their applications from on-premises data centers to the cloud.  In response to this trend, components of the federal government have attempted to standardize the cloud adoption process. Consistent with the government-wide trend, the Library has migrated systems from its on- premises data center to a new computing architecture. This process included establishing a new data center and network infrastructure and increasing cloud utilization.
As part of the audit, we determined that the Library did not consistently implement its cost estimation and monitoring requirements for cloud migrations. The Library did not perform an independent analysis to compare the estimated cost of transitioning 10 of its applications to the cloud to the cost of continuing to host the applications on-premises, based on the cost the Library incurred to host the applications prior to transitioning them to the cloud. Additionally, the Library does not have mechanisms in place to track cost savings and cost avoidances for its cloud implementations that have on-premises hosting alternatives. Library management agreed with all of the report�s recommendations.

Conclusion
Cost estimating and scheduling practices have been identified as issues since March 2015, when GAO originally reported them as significant [footnote 9]. Our reports since then have underscored the importance of the Library maintaining its focus on these practices. We recognize the Library's ongoing progress in strengthening such practices and look forward to the results of its efforts for the betterment of the Library�s IT modernization activities.


Audits, Evaluations, and Reviews

Results of the FY 2021 Audit of the Legislative Branch Financial Management System General IT Controls
Report No. 2021-FN-102 March 2022

We contracted with the independent public accounting firm KPMG to perform the audit of the Library�s FY 2021 financial statements and to provide a report on the design, implementation, and operating effectiveness of relevant general information technology controls supporting the Legislative Branch Financial Management System (LBFMS) environment.
The contract required that KPMG perform the audit in accordance with U.S. generally accepted government auditing standards; GAO's Financial Audit Manual; GAO�s Federal Information Systems Controls Audit Manual; National Institute of Standards and Technology Special Publication 800-53, Recommended Security Controls for Federal Information Systems; and Library IT security standards.
KPMG�s audit did not identify any material weaknesses or significant deficiencies for LBFMS. During its audit, KPMG identified and conveyed to Library management certain deficiencies in internal controls it did not deem significant. We are not providing specific information about the weaknesses because of the sensitive nature of the information contained in the report. The report was not issued for public release.

Network File Shares Security Evaluation
Report No. 2020-IT -102 February 2022

We contracted with SysAudits LLC to perform an evaluation of the management and protection of network file shares that store sensitive data such as personally identifiable information (PII).
Library information stored and shared on file shares may contain PII or other types of sensitive information specific to the Library. To effectively protect this information from improper disclosure, owners of such data should identify the data by type, and categorize it, thereby enabling the assignment of consistent systems security category controls.
We made eight recommendations to improve the Library�s security and monitoring controls for sensitive information data used by its service unit business offices. The Library agreed with all of the report's recommendations. We are not providing specific information about the findings because of the sensitive nature of the information contained in the report. The report was not issued for public release.


Cloud Service Provider Governance Performance Audit
Report No. 2020-IT-103 January 2022

As discussed more fully in our Top Management Challenges section, during this semi- annual period, we contracted with an independent audit firm, Cotton and Company LLP (Cotton), to conduct a performance audit to determine whether the Library has implemented adequate governance controls to ensure that its cloud services are secure, operationally suitable, and cost-beneficial.
Consistent with the government-wide trend toward cloud technology, the Library has migrated systems in its inventory from its legacy, primary, on-premises data center to a new computing architecture. This process included establishing a new data center and network infrastructure and increasing its cloud utilization.
According to the Cloud Smart federal strategy, Government agencies should create cloud adoption strategies that are founded on an interdisciplinary approach that considers three key pillars: security, procurement, and workforce. The audit considered these pillars and made recommendations for improvements to the Library's cloud strategy, inventory of cloud assets, controls, and specific procedural operations of cloud assets.
We made 21 recommendations intended to improve management and operational efficiencies, in addition to managing risks at acceptable levels, as the Library continues to integrate cloud infrastructure and services. The Library agreed with all of the report's recommendations.

United States Copyright Office � Public Records Systems Development Audit
Report No. 2020-IT-103 November 2021

As discussed more fully in our Top Management Challenges section, during this semiannual period, we contracted with Cotton to evaluate USCO's IT Modernization efforts as supported by OCIO. Cotton conducted a performance audit of USCO and OCIO�s efforts to develop the new USCO IT environment and business applications, particularly with regard to the current development work related to the USCO Public Records System Development Project.
We made nine recommendations intended to improve management and minimize operational and cost inefficiencies for the Public Records systems development effort, as well as future IT projects. The recommendations included actions necessary to improve cost estimations and project management. The Library agreed with all of the report's recommendations.
Additionally, Cotton reviewed and recommended to the OIG the closing of seven of the 12 recommendations from the OIG�s August 2019 report entitled, Library Working Through Agile Delivery Method Challenges for Copyright IT Modernization Project. [footnote 10]

Library Services � Audio Visual Collection Management System Audit
Report No. 2020-IT-104 December 2021

As discussed more fully in our Top Management Challenges section, during this semiannual period, we contracted with Cotton to conduct a performance audit of the Library Services and OCIO efforts to develop the AVCMS system, which will replace the legacy MAVIS system.
The audit evaluated project management and software development practices using GAO�s Schedule Assessment Guide, Cost Estimating and Assessment Guide, and Software Development: Effective Practices and Federal Challenges in Applying Agile Methodologies.[footnote 11] The audit further examined the sufficiency of scheduling Library Services staff activities to support the implementation.
Although the Library complied with many of GAO�s best practices, improvements are needed in some key policies and practices. Audit recommendations were made due to the lack of a comprehensive cost estimate, incomplete risk identification and documentation, and insufficient project monitoring of costs and progress. The audit also noted the implementation of procedural processes prior to the approval of a corresponding Library policy.
We made seven recommendations intended to improve management and minimize operational and cost inefficiencies for the AVCMS systems development effort. The Library agreed with all of the report's recommendations.


Other Audits Division Activities

Significant Management Decisions with which OIG Disagrees
None.


Table 1: Review of Legislation
No legislation was reviewed.

Review of Legislation and Regulations

Table 2: Review of Library of Congress Regulations (LCRs) and Directives (LCDs) 

LCR 1-220, Office of the Chief Information Officer (revision).  OIG asked questions of a clarifying nature.
LCR 1-301, Insider Threat Working Group (INTWG) (new).  OIG made comments regarding consistency in the development   of Library charters, including the development, clarity, and content of elements; how Executive Branch authorities are cited; cross- referencing; and level of detail.
LCR 7-220, Purchase Card Program (new).  OIG made comments to ensure clear guidance and other suggestions of a clarifying/editing nature.
LCD 5-110.4, Procurement of Cloud Computing Services (new). OIG made substantive comments and suggested edits regarding application of the LCD, approvals, responsibilities, static references, positions, and exceptions.

OIG reviewed the following LCRs developed and/or updated as part of the Library's preparation to return to onsite operations
LCR 8-230, Parking (revision). OIG made comments and posed questions of a clarifying nature.
LCR 9-910, Work Schedules (revision). OIG asked a question of a clarifying nature.
LCR 9-930, Telework Policy (revision). OIG asked a question of a clarifying nature.
LCR 9-931, Regular Telework (new). OIG asked a question of a clarifying nature.
LCR 9-932, Additional Forms of Telework (new). OIG had no substantive comments.
LCR 9-933, Telework Site (new). OIG made comments and asked questions of a clarifying nature.


Investigations Division

As shown in Table 3, [footnote 12] during this reporting period our Investigations Division completed three investigative reports. We opened five investigations, closed three, and forwarded one investigation to Library management for administrative action. Five complaints were opened and nine closed. With regard to the OIG Hotline, we received 42 hotline communications, converted three hotlines to investigations, and referred 21 to management.

Table 3: Investigative Data. [footnote 12]
Activity: Investigative Reports Issued (summarized in this report). [footnote 13].  Total: 3  
Activity: Referrals to the Department of Justice.  Total: 1 
Activity: Referrals to State and Local Authorities. Total: 0
Activity: Indictments/Criminal Informations Resulting from Prior Referral to Prosecuting Authorities. Total: 1
Activity: Investigations Opened. Total: 5
Activity: Investigations Closed. Total: 3 
Activity: Investigations Forwarded to Library Management for Administrative Action. Total: 1  
Activity: Complaints Opened. Total: 5
Activity: Complaints Closed. Total: 9
Activity: Complaints Converted to Investigations. Total: 2  
Activity: Hotline Communications Received. Total: 42
Activity: Hotline Communications Converted to Investigations. Total: 3 
Activity: Hotline Referrals to Management. [footnote 14] Total: 21  


Other Investigations Division Activities 
Significant Investigations

Employee Misconduct, Possession and Use of a Controlled Substance
We received a hotline notification that United States Capitol Police (USCP) officers stationed at the Madison Building�s parking garage entry check-point observed that a Library employee's car smelled of marijuana. Further, USCP officers posted at the garage's (sub-basement) building entrance reported on several occasions that the same employee smelled of marijuana.
OIG Agents conducted surveillance, reviewed numerous documents, and interviewed key witnesses. OIG Agents also interviewed the employee, who presented an expired medical marijuana card, denied using marijuana recently�including on Library grounds�and relayed that they tried to consent to a search of their vehicle by the USCP Officer who smelled marijuana. The employee related that the last time they used marijuana was a year ago. The investigation was referred to the Department of Justice (DOJ) and subsequently declined for prosecution. We issued an investigative report and referred the matter to Library management for action.

Personally Identifiable Information Spillage Investigation
We received a hotline notification of a possible loss of PII. Production data containing PII was provided to a Library contractor for conversion in a non-Library system to a format that could be loaded into a new collections application. The incident occurred when production PII was delivered to a development contractor for use in a staging environment. The data included donor and patron names, telephone numbers, and email and physical addresses. OIG�s investigation revealed no evidence to substantiate a violation of LCRs. As such, we made recommendations to the Library and closed the investigation.

Employee Misconduct, Possession of firearms and dangerous weapons in Federal facilities
As reported in a previous semiannual report, we received a hotline notification that a Library employee brought a firearm into NAVCC, which went undetected by the Library�s security contractor.
OIG Agents reviewed security footage and related documents that revealed the employee entered/exited Packard Campus without incident. Agents interviewed key witnesses who related that they have no reason to believe that the employee is a threat to themselves or others. Agents also interviewed the employee in question who maintained that the firearm was brought on the campus accidentally without realizing the weapon was in their bag. The investigation was referred to the DOJ and subsequently declined for prosecution. As such, we issued an investigative report and referred the matter to management for any further action. The employee entered into a Positive Action Contract (PAC) with the Library.

Other Investigations Activity
We received a hotline complaint related to a number of different management issues in CRS. We undertook a limited, administrative review in order to identify prominent issues and propose next steps. During this period, we forwarded a Management Impact Report to Library management summarizing the issues and identifying two areas that deserved further attention. Those areas coincided with management's internal assessments conducted during the regular course of business and Library management responded that they intended to pursue action in each area. In recognition of CRS's statutory mission and corollary requirements, we note that our review was limited to a degree by the constitutional Speech or Debate privilege, which protects communications between CRS and members of Congress and their staffs.

Investigations Involving a Senior Government Employee Where Allegations of Misconduct were Substantiated
None.

Instances of Whistleblower Retaliation
There were no instances of whistleblower retaliation during this reporting period.

Closed, Undisclosed Investigations Involving Senior Level Employees
None.

Semiannual Law Enforcement Certification
In accordance with the requirements of the Library of Congress Inspector General Act of 2005, as amended [footnote 15] the Inspector General hereby certifies that OIG has adequate internal safeguards and management procedures that comply with CIGIE's standards. All supporting documentation is maintained in our office.


Unimplemented Recommendations
We obtained comments from Library management on the status of all open recommendations. We summarized the comments provided for recommendations made in our publicly released reports and provide them in tables 4A and 4B. Responses to recommendations are the representations of Library management, not the OIG, although OIG may summarize the updates. The status of recommendation updates have not been audited. We periodically perform follow-up audits, inspections and evaluations, and reviews to verify implementation of our recommendations.

Table 4A: Significant Recommendations from Previous Semiannual Reports for which Corrective Action Has Not Been Completed

Office of the Librarian / Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO) 
Subject: Maturity of System Development Life Cycle Processes
Report Number: 2013-IT-105  
Issue Date: February 2015 
Office: OCIO
Recommendation Number: 4  
Summary of Recommendation and Action:Report summary: OIG evaluated the Library�s System Development Life Cycle (SDLC) methodology for acquiring, designing, implementing, and maintaining IT systems.
Establish a budget methodology to track project development costs and measure variances against approved costs�The Library continues to mature the IT investment cost estimation process that will enable Library IT planning, budget, and execution processes to align with Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circular A-11 guidance. The Library recently implemented the WebTA Project Tracking System to capture staff actual labor hours working on IT projects, which provides the ability to track cost variance during project execution. The Library is now working on methods to track contract actuals based on invoices and/ or agreed payment schedules. The estimated date of completion is the fourth quarter of FY 2022.


Subject: Design of Library-wide Internal Controls for Tracking IT Investments
Report Number: 2014-IT-101
Issue Date: March 2015
Office: OCIO
Recommendation Number: V.1.A  
Summary of Recommendation and Action: Report summary: OIG reviewed the Library's internal controls for tracking IT investments.
Align current cost development processes for IT investments to coincide with requirements for OMB reporting, such as the use of an earned value management system to track costs on high-risk projects, as discussed in Capital Programming Guide, V.3.0, Supplement to OMB Circular A-11: Planning, Budgeting, and Acquisition of Capital Assets�As noted above, the Library continues to mature the IT investment cost estimation process that will enable Library IT planning, budget, and execution processes to align with OMB's Circular A-11 guidance. The Library recently implemented the WebTA Project Tracking System to capture staff's actual labor hours working on IT projects, which provides the ability to track cost variance during project execution. In October 2021, OCIO began analyzing the actual hours reported for each IT Project by non-OCIO employees via the WebTA Project Tracking System and will provide average labor rates by Service Unit for cost estimating purposes. The estimated date of completion is the fourth quarter of FY 2022.


Subject: Library Working through Agile Delivery Method Challenges for Copyright IT Modernization Project
Report Number: 2018-IT-107 August 2019
Issue Date: August 2019
Office: OCIO
Recommendation Number: 1 
Summary of Recommendation and Action:Report summary: OIG reviewed the joint effort involving OCIO and the USCO to develop the future-state version of USCO�s Copyright Recordation system, which is part of the larger USCO IT modernization plan.
Develop and implement guidance on tracking and resolving project health issues, on development projects that follow an agile, hybrid, or other similar methodology.  In addition, OCIO should update its status dashboards to effectively convey project progress�The Library has developed a draft Earned Value Management (EVM) process for agile projects that follows GAO's Agile Assessment Guidelines. OCIO continues to work with the Copyright Office to define the features for the Enterprise Copyright System and is developing size and cost estimates for each feature. This will serve as the budget baseline for EVM. Leveraging the WebTA Project Tracking System, project managers will be able to capture actual labor hours, per sprint, and track an actual cost that will be used to calculate project variance. The estimated completion date is the fourth quarter of FY 2022.


Subject: Library Working through Agile Delivery Method Challenges for Copyright IT Modernization Project
Report Number: 2018-IT-107 August 2019
Issue Date: August 2019
Office: OCIO
Recommendation Number: 2 
Summary of Recommendation and Action: Ensure that all relevant stakeholders understand the development methodology used, implement a stakeholder engagement plan, assess the risks associated with the project before beginning the project, and document best practices for governance and status meetings, including best practices relating to the size and content of the meetings�OCIO developed a template for IT portfolio governance boards which is now in use for the boards currently in development. The charter template includes scope for the boards, recommended outputs, membership and their responsibilities, frequency of meetings, and guidance for status updates. As of this reporting period, the charter for the LCSG IT Governance Board has been signed; others are in draft. The estimated completion date is the fourth quarter of FY 2022.


Subject: Overseas Field Office Replacement System (OFORS)
Report Number: 2018-PA-101b 
Issue Date: April 2020
Office: OCIO
Recommendation Number:  1
Summary of Recommendation and Action: Report summary: OIG reported on OFORS, a $1.7 million custom-built, IT system originally scheduled for completion by September 2012 that was not partially installed until FY 2015.
Develop and implement policies and procedures that clearly establish service unit stakeholder accountability and define program/project and cost management responsibilities for the development and implementation of IT systems based on relevant best practices�The Library is updating LCR 5-310, Information Technology Project Management Office, to clearly establish service unit stakeholder accountability and define program/project and cost management responsibilities for the development of IT systems. The LCR is being updated using industry best practices as references. The estimated date of completion is the fourth quarter of FY 2022.


Subject: IT Modernization Evaluation Report
Report Number: 2019-IT-104 
Issue Date: February 2021
Office: OCIO
Recommendation Number: 2.1 
Summary of Recommendation and Action: Report summary: OIG reported on the Library�s IT modernization implementation plan.
Perform a gap analysis  to  determine  the  Project  Management  Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) and GAO's cost and schedule assessment principles and practices the Library still needs to implement�OCIO and FSD submitted a FY 2022 New and Expanded Program Requests (NEPR) for contractor support to assess the current state of the Library's existing cost estimation and schedule assessment principles. OCIO will leverage FSD's Cost Management Assessment Report and continue to work with FSD to develop a roadmap for implementing applicable cost estimation practices. The estimated date of completion is the fourth quarter of FY 2022.


Subject: National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled's Infor mation Technology Modernization Evaluation
Report Number: 2019-IT-105 
Issue Date: September 2021
Office: OCIO
Recommendation Number:  4.1
Summary of Recommendation and Action: Report summary: OIG reported on the NLS's IT modernization projects.
Continue efforts to implement EVM in accordance with GAO best practices and with consideration for project size requirements. Until such time that OCIO PMO can implement EVM in accordance with GAO best practices, we recommend that the OCIO implement policies and procedures to close the gap while the ideal solution is being designed. For example, the OCIO can issue policies and procedures on how to develop Work Breakdown Structures (WBSs) and take steps toward calculating EVM within a timely manner at the beginning of the project, based on project size requirements, with reassessment on a regular and recurring basis�OCIO currently documents project schedule and cost estimates through the project charter and will continue working on guidance for development of WBSs. Resolution of this recommendation is dependent on development of  the cost methodology under recommendation 1.1  of this report.  Thereafter, the Library will evaluate necessary policies and thresholds for tracking project costs and schedule and 
validation of compliance with such policies. This includes assessing costs and benefits before implementing EVM, as current research suggests federal government thresholds for adopting EVM far exceed most Library IT projects, and likely are not appropriate for NLS's IT modernization initiatives. The established date is the fourth quarter of FY 2022.


Subject: National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled's Infor mation Technology Modernization Evaluation
Report Number: 2020-IT-105 
Issue Date: September 2021
Office: OCIO and LCSG/NLS
Recommendation Number:  6.1
Summary of Recommendation and Action: Identify project dependencies within the NLS IT Modernization Initiative projects (Braille eReader, BARD, Stop Gap Player, Smart Speaker, and Smart Phone) and among any other Library-wide IT modernization efforts. If Library-wide IT modernization dependencies exist, we recommend the OCIO create a Library-wide IT modernization IMS. If no other dependencies exist outside of the NLS IT Modernization Initiative projects, we recommend NLS, with consultation with the OCIO, create an NLS IT Modernization Initiative IMS�NLS is developing an Integrated Master Schedule (IMS) for NLS IT Modernization initiatives. Resolution of this recommendation is dependent on development of the cost methodology under recommendation 1.2 of this report. Thereafter, OCIO will continue to work on developing guidance and business rules to adequately develop a program IMS. The estimated date of completion is the fourth quarter of FY 2022.


Office of the Librarian / Strategic Planning & Performance Management Office (SPPM)

Subject: Enterprise Risk Management
Report Number: 2020-PA-104 
Issue Date: June 2021
Office: SPPM and COO/FSD
Recommendation Number:  4
Summary of Recommendation and Action: Report Summary: OIG reported on the adequacy of the Library's Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) policies and procedures, including compliance with those procedures.
Incorporate risk considerations into the Library's budgeting and resource approach�SPPM and COO/FSD continue to make progress towards more effectively and consistently integrating the risk management program and budget decisions. Service units are required to include risk management considerations in NEPR submissions. In addition, completed NEPRs are provided to SPPM and the Operations Committee to review and rank prior to selection for inclusion in the budget. As part of this review, SPPM reviews whether the request aligns with 1) the Library�s Strategic Plan and 2) the Library�s Risk Register. Generally, requests that align with the unit�s stated Agency Performance Goals and reported risks will be scored higher by SPPM than NEPR requests that do not align with the any strategic or operational priorities or risks.
SPPM and COO/FSD have identified risk and budget integration as an important consideration for Enterprise Planning & Management (EPM) future state planning (the replacement for COMPASS and other Library systems). Requirements gathering is underway for the current phase of the EPM project. FSD hopes to implement the EPM solution in FY 2024 and will continue to work with SPPM to understand the current and future state requirements for the planning, performance, and risk management elements of the EPM solution. The estimated date of completion is the fourth quarter of FY 2023.

Subject: Enterprise Risk Management
Report Number: 2020-PA-104 
Issue Date: June 2021
Office: SPPM
Recommendation Number:  6
Summary of Recommendation and Action: Work with the service units to gain a further understanding of risks not being reported into COMPASS, in order to achieve a broader application of  a portfolio view of  internal and external risks�As part of  its plan  to mature into a full ERM program, the Library's Integrated Risk Management and Internal Controls (iRIC) program will expand from  the current set of Agency Performance Goals and Key Service Unit Business Processes-related risks to include risks currently addressed and reported through other structures into the central risk framework. This expansion will be enabled by the forthcoming EPM. The estimated date of completion is the fourth quarter of FY 2023.


Subject: Enterprise Risk Management
Report Number: 2020-PA-104 
Issue Date: June 2021
Office: SPPM
Recommendation Number:  7
Summary of Recommendation and Action: Revisit LCRs and LCDs to ensure that any adjustments made to risk identification in the system are captured�SPPM will review appropriate LCRs and LCDs and other guidance and supports to ensure risk identification adjustments are captured. The estimated date of completion is the first quarter of FY 2024.


Subject: Enterprise Risk Management
Report Number: 2020-PA-104 
Issue Date: June 2021
Office: SPPM
Recommendation Number:  10
Summary of Recommendation and Action: Use GAO's Fraud Risk Framework components as a guide for creating an internal fraud risk framework�SPPM will use the GAO's Fraud Risk Framework as a guide for further incorporating its fraud risk into its risk management program. The estimated date of completion is the fourth quarter of FY 2023.

 
Subject: Enterprise Risk Management
Report Number: 2020-PA-104 
Issue Date: June 2021
Office: SPPM
Recommendation Number:  11
Summary of Recommendation and Action: Incorporate a fraud risk framework into its existing iRIC program� Elements of GAO's Fraud Risk Framework will be incorporated into the existing iRIC program. There are preexisting structures and processes within the Library that satisfy many elements of the GAO's Fraud Risk Framework. These will be formally detailed in iRIC guidance and support documents, and included as part of iRIC training. The estimated date of completion is the fourth quarter of FY 2023.

Office of the Librarian / Chief Operating Officer (COO)

Subject: Comprehensive Redesign Needed of Gift Shop Financial Management and Accounting
Report Number: 2017-PA-102 
Issue Date: June 2021
Office: COO/Gift Shop and FSD
Recommendation Number:  1
Summary of Recommendation and Action: Report summary: OIG audited the internal controls of the Library's Gift Shop.
Comprehensively review and redesign the financial and accounting processes and systems. It should implement a financial reporting  system  for  Gift Shop operations that includes an automated trial balance based on double entry accounting, and one that produces a full complement of financial statements (i.e., balance sheet, profit and loss (P&L) statement, and cash flow statement) that is compliant with generally accepted  accounting  principles on a monthly, quarterly, and annual basis�The Gift Shop has partnered with COO/FSD to establish a project to integrate the Legislative Branch Financial Management System (LBFMS) and NCR's Counterpoint (Point of Sale) system. LBFMS will serve as the financial system of record for the Shop once the integration is completed. Counterpoint is currently being configured as a replacement for the retail entity within the current Enterprise Resource Planning system, Microsoft Dynamics AX. The target completion date for the Counterpoint install is June 2022. The LBFMS integration will follow and is expected to begin in late 2022. The estimated date of completion is the fourth quarter of FY 2023.


Subject: FEDLINK Hotline Complaint Regarding the Timeliness of Processing Customer Orders
Report Number: 2018-PA-104
Issue Date: May 2019
Office: COO/Gift Shop and FSD
Recommendation Number:  1
Summary of Recommendation and Action: OIG evaluated a hotline complaint regarding the Federal Library and Information Network (FEDLINK) and two of its customers. FEDLINK serves federal libraries and information centers as a purchasing, training, and resource-sharing consortium.
Create a formal process for tracking, reviewing, and resolving issues from customers and vendors. Implementing a formal process for centrally documenting customer issues could benefit FEDLINK, as it would allow FEDLINK to quickly identify and resolve systemic issues, thereby improving the services that FEDLINK provides to its customers. Implementing a formal process for tracking customer service issues related to contracts would also assist in ensuring that FEDLINK sufficiently documents issues to enable it to resolve the issues regardless of possible employee turnover. A formalized process would also assist in ensuring that all customer issues received are available to the FEDLINK personnel assigned to the relevant contract, regardless of the process by which the issue was submitted�COO/Library Enterprises (LE) contracted  for and received an analysis of its current customer experience workflow, proposals to augment its customer service approach and implementation, and market research assessment of 
applicable cloud-based CRM software for tracking, reviewing, and resolving issues from customers and vendors. LE has begun discussions on the development of the IT project plan. The estimated date of completion is the fourth quarter of FY 2022.


Subject: Library Continues to Face Challenges Ensuring Effective Financial Management and Reporting
Report Number: 2019-PA-101
Issue Date: May 2020
Office: COO/FSD
Recommendation Number:  2
Summary of Recommendation and Action: Report summary: OIG evaluated progress made by the Library in addressing the material weakness, significant deficiencies, and noncompliance with laws and regulations reported by the independent public accountants during their FY 2017 Library financial statements audit.
Take a greater leadership role with implementing Technology Business Management (TBM). In order to do so, FSD must take steps to equip itself with the required skills and resources it needs to improve and further develop TBM, such as hiring cost accountants�FSD is available to help support the TBM Program Office. FSD will be hiring a cost accountant who, among other tasks, will be responsible for ensuring that cost capture supports TBM. The estimated date of completion is the fourth quarter  of FY 2023


Subject: Library's Grants Operations, Policies, and Procedures
Report Number: 2020-PA-103
Issue Date: May 2021
Office: COO/CGD
Recommendation Number:  2
Summary of Recommendation and Action: Report summary: Report Summary: OIG evaluated the adequacy of the Library's grants operations policies and procedures and compliance with those procedures.
Require grantees to provide grant expenditure reports that detail the grantee's expenditures at the cost code and transaction level on an annual basis. These reports should come directly from the grantees accounting system. Also, require the grantee to reconcile these expenditures to the expenditures it reported by budget category in the Budget Summary Reports that it submitted to the Library. Ensure that the grantee researches and resolves any differences�The Contracts and Grants Directorate (CGD) stated that the Federal Research Division (FRD) reviewed government agencies, benchmarked CGD policies, and recommended changes to CGD policies and procedures. FRD reportedly indicated that no private foundations or federal agencies included in the study required grantees  to submit expenditure reports that detailed the grantee's expenditures at the cost code and transaction level directly from the grantees accounting system, and that the recommendation is not consistent with 2 CFR
� 200.328. Based on this update, CGD requested that we close the recommendation. In response, we requested a copy of the FRD study to help us determine whether to close the recommendation.


Subject: Library's Grants Operations, Policies, and Procedures
Report Number: 2020-PA-103
Issue Date: May 2021
Office: COO/CGD
Recommendation Number:  3
Summary of Recommendation and Action: Report summary: Require that any grantees not subject to OMB's Circular A-133 undergo an independent audit. This audit could be either a limited financial audit of just the Library grant or an entity-wide audit that is similar to a Single Audit�CGD stated that FRD reviewed practices concerning independent audits for those not subject to the Single Audit Act requirements (which replaced the A-133). FRD reportedly did not find a requirement for independent audits at thresholds less than $750,000 in total federal expenditures in a year. Based on this update, CGD requested that we close the recommendation. In response, we requested a copy of the FRD study to help us determine whether to close the recommendation.


Library Collections & Services Group (LCSG)

Subject: Library Services Needs to Strengthen Its Performance Measurement of the Collection Services Workflow
Report Number: 2018-SP-101 
Issue Date: August 2019
Office: LCSG
Recommendation Number:  1
Summary of Recommendation and Action: Report summary: OIG assessed the Library's capability to perform end-to- end monitoring of the effectiveness of its collections storage process across different collection formats through the use of performance measures. This included assessing activities in relation to performance targets for arrearage.
Develop and implement performance measures for the collection services workflow that measure desired outcomes aligned with the first goal of the Library�s new strategic plan to expand user access and the goal�s first objec- tive to increase the discoverability and availability of collection materials, including measures for analog and electronic collection materials of cycle time and the age of LS�s inventory of unprocessed materials�LCSG has included FY 2021 acquisition data on the web archive collection, eSerials and, eNewspapers in Library of Congress Annual Report tables. This in- formation is critical for LCSG to start to report on arrearage of DPS and RCS digital material. The service units will develop additional measures as progress on 2018-SP-101, recommendations 2 and 3 yield new oppor- tunities and information. The estimated date of completion is the fourth quarter of FY 2023.


Subject: Library Services Needs to Strengthen Its Performance Measurement of the Collection Services Workflow
Report Number: 2018-SP-101 
Issue Date: August 2019
Office: LCSG
Recommendation Number:  2
Summary of Recommendation and Action: Utilize baseline and trend data in measuring progress in fulfillment of the first goal of the Library�s new strategic plan to expand user access and the goal�s first objective to increase the discoverability and availability of collection materials�LCSG has made progress on establishing an initial baseline. In the coming years, LCSG will use historic arrearage data from the Library of Congress Annual Report to demonstrate reduction in its special formats and general collections arrearages.  This work will be iterative and is dependent on interim and final results from 2018-SP-101, recommendation 3. LCSG will develop or discover additional baseline or trend data as progress on recommendation 3 yields new opportunities and information. The estimated date of completion is the fourth quarter of FY 2023.


Subject: Library Services Needs to Strengthen Its Performance Measurement of the Collection Services Workflow
Report Number: 2018-SP-101 
Issue Date: August 2019
Office: LCSG
Recommendation Number:  3
Summary of Recommendation and Action: Broaden LS's capability to perform end-to-end monitoring of its collection services activities, such as by mapping business processes that are key to meeting user needs, as part of an effort to identify, analyze, and respond to risks related to achieving the Library�s strategic goals and objectives.  Mapping activities should include the use of IT systems and/or software programs�In FY 2021, LS completed three process mapping pilots to develop a consistent map structure and template.  LS documented these pilots in a report and has been creating maps for additional processes throughout the year.  We will continue to map processes in FY 2022.  LS will begin implementing our proposed process monitoring method in FY 2022.  The estimated date of completion is an, as of yet, unspecified quarter in FY 2022.


Subject: Library Services Needs to Strengthen Its Performance Measurement of the Collection Services Workflow
Report Number: 2018-SP-101 
Issue Date: August 2019
Office: LCSG
Recommendation Number:  5
Summary of Recommendation and Action: Create a complete and accurate inventory of unprocessed electronic collection materials�Framework documents developed by Collection Development Office/Digital Collections Management and Services Division (CDO/DCMS) were approved. In the coming year, LCSG will conduct a pilot for both special and general collections, and develop repeatable, auditable processes for accurate and sustained measurement.  The estimated date of completion is the fourth quarter of FY 2022.


Subject: Library Services Needs to Strengthen Its Performance Measurement of the Collection Services Workflow
Report Number: 2018-SP-101 
Issue Date: August 2019
Office: LCSG
Recommendation Number:  6
Summary of Recommendation and Action: Use complete and accurate data to establish an outcome-oriented target for reducing the size of its inventory of unprocessed analog collection materials (e.g., using a ratio of unprocessed analog materials to analog collection materials overall) and use the target to measure performance� LCSG has made progress on developing complete and accurate data.  In the coming years, LCSG will use historic arrearage data from the Library of Congress Annual Report to demonstrate reduction in its special formats and general collections arrearages.  This work will be iterative and is dependent on interim and final results from 2018-SP-101, recommendation 3. LCSG will develop or discover additional baseline or trend data as progress on recommendation 3 yields new opportunities and information. The estimated date of completion is the fourth quarter of FY 2023.


Subject: Library Services Needs to Strengthen Its Performance Measurement of the Collection Services Workflow
Report Number: 2018-SP-101 
Issue Date: August 2019
Office: LCSG
Recommendation Number:  7
Summary of Recommendation and Action: Use complete and accurate data to establish plans to set an outcome- oriented target for reducing the size of its inventory of unprocessed electronic collection materials (e.g., using a ratio of unprocessed electronic materials to electronic collection materials overall)�Once LCSG has created a complete, accurate, and maintainable inventory of unprocessed digital collection materials, it will use that data to establish plans to set an outcome-oriented target for reducing the size of that inventory of unprocessed digital collection materials. This effort will be helped by the reporting of eSerials and eNewspapers digital acquisitions received via the USCO. Counting efforts will be expanded to all born digital formats in subsequent years. The estimated date of completion is the fourth quarter of FY 2022.


Subject: Library Services Needs to Strengthen Its Performance Measurement of the Collection Services Workflow
Report Number: 2018-SP-101 
Issue Date: August 2019
Office: LCSG
Recommendation Number:  8
Summary of Recommendation and Action: Establish outcome-oriented measures focused on LS's performance related to meeting user needs associated with the collection services workflow�In development of FY 2022 performance goals, LCSG continued to implement an outcome oriented approach for performance measurement.  LCSG will continue in FY 2023 to increase the percentage of outcome and customer-need performance measures (as compared to FYs 2020, 2021, and 2022). LCSG will develop additional measures as progress on 2018-SP-101, recommendations 1, 2, and 3 yield new opportunities and information. The estimated date of completion is the fourth quarter of FY 2023.


Subject: Library Services Needs to Strengthen Its Performance Measurement of the Collection Services Workflow
Report Number: 2018-SP-101 
Issue Date: August 2019
Office: LCSG
Recommendation Number:  9
Summary of Recommendation and Action: Adopt a cross-organizational approach to performance measurement related to the collection services workflow that facilitates collaboration across LS's organizational units�See the response provided above for 2018-SP-101, recommendation 8.  The estimated date of completion is an, as of yet, unspecified quarter of FY 2023.


Subject: Library Services Needs to Strengthen Its Performance Measurement of the Collection Services Workflow
Report Number: 2018-SP-101 
Issue Date: August 2019
Office: LCSG
Recommendation Number:  10
Summary of Recommendation and Action: Track the allocation of resources associated with outcome-based performance measures for all stages of the collection services workflow for analog and electronic collection materials�No specific work done this quarter. LCSG will begin to track the allocation of resources associated with outcome-based performance measures for all stages of the collection services workflow for analog and electronic collection materials.  This work will be iterative and is dependent on interim and final results from 2018-SP-101, recommendations 1, 2, 3, and 9.  The service unit will develop additional measures as progress on recommendations 1, 2, and 3 yield new opportunities and information.  The estimated date of completion is the fourth quarter of FY 2023.


Subject: Library Services Needs to Strengthen Its Performance Measurement of the Collection Services Workflow
Report Number: 2018-SP-101 
Issue Date: August 2019
Office: LCSG
Recommendation Number:  11
Summary of Recommendation and Action: Establish capacity utilization performance measures that track the effectiveness of its collection services workflow�No specific work done this quarter.  Work will be iterative and dependent on interim and final results from OIG's audit report 2018-SP-101, recommendations 1, 2, 3, 9, and 10.  The estimated date of completion is the fourth quarter of FY 2023.


Subject: National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled's Infor mation Technology Modernization Evaluation
Report Number: 2020-IT-105 
Issue Date: September 2021
Office: LCSG/NLS, COO/FSD, and OCIO
Recommendation Number:  1.1
Summary of Recommendation and Action: FSD, in consultation with the OCIO PMO, continue efforts to align actual cost tracking practices with the GAO's Cost Estimating and Assessment Guide, as previously recommended by OIG's report 2019-IT-104, IT Modernization Evaluation Report, February 2021. Until such time that FSD can implement actual cost tracking practices that are aligned GAO's Cost Estimating and Assessment Guide Library-wide, we recommend that FSD implement cost accounting procedures to close the gap while the ideal solution is being designed�COO/FSD has worked collaboratively with OCIO to develop and pilot a template for service units' cost collection/ recording and estimating program/project costs. Estimating for project costs includes direct costs, reasonable allocation of indirect costs, and identification of costs by type of expenditures. OCIO has incorporated the interim FSD cost estimating guidance into the PMO chartering process and with the implementation of the WebTA Labor Module, labor 
costs can now be directly tied to projects. OCIO is currently manually mapping IT procurements to IT projects until a Library-wide system is in place. The estimated date of completion is the third quarter of FY 2022.


Subject: National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled's Infor mation Technology Modernization Evaluation
Report Number: 2020-IT-105 
Issue Date: September 2021
Office: LCSG/NLS, COO/FSD, and OCIO
Recommendation Number:  1.2
Summary of Recommendation and Action: NLS require the NLS IT Modernization Initiative project managers (PMs) to leverage existing actual cost tracking practices, with consultation and review by the OCIO PMO and COO/FSD, to identify and track all actual project costs and update cost trackers on all applicable NLS IT Modernization Initiative projects on a minimum standard frequency, in line with FSD�s evolving requirements�NLS project managers have been incorporated into OCIO's PMO actual cost tracking practices.  As new NLS projects are chartered through the PMO initiation and new Project Management Life Cycle (PMLC) phase gate process, OCIO ensures that all required team members are identified and allocated for actuals reporting.  OCIO will also ensure that as part of the PMO PMLC process, estimated contract costs for NLS projects are documented and tracked.  NLS has purchased licenses for their personnel to mirror the OCIO project cost, schedule and resource tracking and reporting process (weekly) with dashboards available to report and view status and linkages between projects and follow the PMLC processes outlined in LCD 5-310.1. The PMO shares these reports with stakeholders for review.  The estimated date of completion is the third quarter of FY 2022.

Subject: National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled's Infor mation Technology Modernization Evaluation
Report Number: 2020-IT-105 
Issue Date: September 2021
Office: LCSG/NLS, COO/FSD, and OCIO
Recommendation Number:  1.3
Summary of Recommendation and Action: LCSG/NLS and OCIO designate an individual to perform scheduled internal/self-assessments and compliance reviews over the actual cost trackers for each project.  Furthermore, we recommend that these reviews be approved by NLS and OCIO management for transparency of both the actual costs by project, as well as the process to track it, with evidence of the management review and approval being documented and retained�OCIO began conducting compliance reviews of all PMO-tracked IT project deliverables including project actuals reports.  Results of the NLS compliance reviews for actuals reporting will be shared with NLS and OCIO management for transparency of both the actual costs by project, as well as the process to track it.  The estimated date of completion is the third quarter of FY 2022.


Subject: National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled's Infor mation Technology Modernization Evaluation
Report Number: 2020-IT-105 
Issue Date: September 2021
Office: LCSG/NLS
Recommendation Number:  2.1
Summary of Recommendation and Action: Require NLS PMs to develop and maintain formal risk registers for each NLS IT Modernization Initiative project in accordance with LCD 5-310.1, to track identified risks with a minimum standard frequency for periodically updating identified risks and resolutions.  These risk registers should be maintained by the risk management team and reviewed by the risk manager, as detailed in the PMLC directive�With NLS's participation in the OCIO chartering process for IT related projects and their use of the Project Portfolio Management (PPM) software, this includes periodic compliance reviews by the PMO's quality assurance reviewers of these projects in accordance with LCD 5-310.1.  The estimated date of completion is the fourth quarter of FY 2022.

Subject: National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled's Infor mation Technology Modernization Evaluation
Report Number: 2020-IT-105 
Issue Date: September 2021
Office: LCSG/NLS, COO/FSD, and OCIO
Recommendation Number:  4.2
Summary of Recommendation and Action: NLS require the NLS IT Modernization Initiative PMs to leverage existing WBS/EVM procedures, with consultation and review by the OCIO PMO and COO/FSD, to create a WBS with EVM components on all applicable NLS IT Modernization Initiative projects, in line with the OCIO�s evolving requirements�OCIO currently documents project schedule and cost estimates through the project charter and will continue working on guidance for the development of a WBS.  Resolution of this recommendation is dependent on development of the cost methodology under recommendation 1.1 of this report.  As mentioned in responses to other recommendations for this report, OCIO and COO/FSD continue to work collaboratively on guidance for service units that creates a better estimate of costs at the ideation of a program/project.  Thereafter, the Library will evaluate necessary policies and thresholds for tracking project costs and schedule and validation of compliance with such policies.  This includes assessing costs and benefits before determining whether to implement EVM, as current research suggests federal government thresholds for adopting EVM far exceed most Library IT projects, and likely are not appropriate for NLS�s IT modernization initiatives.  The estimated date of completion is the fourth quarter of FY 2022.


Subject: National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled's Infor mation Technology Modernization Evaluation
Report Number: 2020-IT-105 
Issue Date: September 2021
Office: LCSG/NLS, COO/FSD, and OCIO
Recommendation Number:  4.3
Summary of Recommendation and Action: NLS/OCIO designate an individual to perform scheduled internal/self-assessments and compliance reviews over the WBS/EVM for each applicable project. Furthermore, we recommend that these reviews be approved by NLS and OCIO management for transparency of both the WBS/EVM by project, as well as the process to track it, with evidence of the management review and approval being documented and retained�See the information provided for recommendation 4.2.  



Subject: National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled's Infor mation Technology Modernization Evaluation
Report Number: 2020-IT-105 
Issue Date: September 2021
Office: LCSG/NLS, COO/FSD
Recommendation Number:  5.1
Summary of Recommendation and Action: Require NLS PMs to follow LCD 5-310.1, PMLC, and leverage OCIO PMO project status report templates for each NLS IT Modernization Initiative project in order to document the possible impacts to the project schedule, cost estimates, and performance due to items discussed during weekly status meetings/reports, as well as require PMs to update the project schedule and cost estimates based on the impacts identified in the status report�OCIO and NLS have partnered to create a more holistic approach to project and product management in the OCIO PMO's PPM system for project management. NLS has purchased licenses for their personnel to mirror the OCIO project cost, schedule and resource tracking and reporting process (weekly) with dashboards available to report and view status and linkages between projects and follow the PMLC processes outlined in LCD 5-310.1.  The PMO shares these reports with stakeholders for review.  The estimated date of completion is the fourth quarter of FY 2022.


Subject: National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled's Infor mation Technology Modernization Evaluation
Report Number: 2020-IT-105 
Issue Date: September 2021
Office: LCSG/NLS and OCIO
Recommendation Number:  6.2
Summary of Recommendation and Action: NLS require NLS PMs to follow LCD 5-310.1, to update individual project schedules on a regular and recurring basis for each NLS IT Modernization Initiative project and communicate individual project schedule changes to the owner of the applicable IMS to be created in recommendation 6.1�NLS Project Managers are following the OCIO PMLC and using existing PMO templates and tools to develop and track schedule, cost, and performance. The NLS Integrated Master Schedule (IMS) for IT Modernization will follow the OCIO PMLC and as such policies evolve, the NLS Project Managers will adapt the schedule documentation accordingly.  The estimated date of completion is the third quarter of FY 2022.


Subject: National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled's Infor mation Technology Modernization Evaluation
Report Number: 2020-IT-105 
Issue Date: September 2021
Office: LCSG/NLS, and OCIO
Recommendation Number:  6.3
Summary of Recommendation and Action: NLS monitor compliance with LCD 5-310.1, as described in recommendation 6.2, and perform scheduled internal/self-assessments and compliance reviews over the procedures�See the information provided for recommendation 6.2. The estimated date of completion is the first quarter of FY 2023.


Subject: National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled's Infor mation Technology Modernization Evaluation
Report Number: 2020-IT-105 
Issue Date: September 2021
Office: LCSG/NLS, and OCIO
Recommendation Number:  7.1
Summary of Recommendation and Action: NLS, in coordination with the OCIO PMO, implement the project schedule management processes that OCIO PMO will develop to align with PMBOK Knowledge Area � Project Time Management and the GAO's Schedule Assessment Guide, and that NLS perform scheduled internal/self-assessments and compliance reviews over the procedures� NLS Project Managers are following OCIO's PMLC and using existing PMO templates and tools to develop and track schedule, cost, and performance. With NLS's participation in the OCIO chartering process for IT related projects and use of PPM, this includes periodic compliance reviews by the PMO's quality assurance reviewers of these projects in accordance with LCD 5-310.1. The estimated date of completion is the third quarter of FY 2022.



Implemented and Closed Recommendations. [footnote 16]
Table 4B: Significant Recommendations from Previous Semiannual Reports for which were Implemented or Closed During This Period
Office of the Librarian / Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO)


Subject: Library Working through Agile Delivery Method Challenges for Copyright IT Modernization Project
Report Number: 2018-IT-107 
Issue Date: August 2019
Office: LCSG/NLS, and OCIO
Recommendation Number:  7
Summary of Recommendation and Action: Clearly define the purpose of a minimum viable product (MVP) in the Library�s instance of agile development and develop a process for ensuring that the Library incorporates the agreed-upon definition into its SDLC processes.  OCIO should coordinate with CGD for issues related to contract management and with the FSD for issues related to cost management.  The Library should then codify the process in its policies�The Library submitted the updated LCD 5-310.2, Systems Development Life Cycle  and the SDLC guidance on Agile incorporating a clear definition of MVP.  The Library also published the "Agile at the Library" portal page and finalized the Agile Contracting Guide which references guidance on how to address MVP within agile contracting and includes templates and examples to support the creation of standard contract language on the Library's Agile IT efforts. 


Subject: Library Working through Agile Delivery Method Challenges for Copyright IT Modernization Project
Report Number: 2018-IT-107 
Issue Date: August 2019
Office: LCSG/NLS, and OCIO
Recommendation Number:  8
Summary of Recommendation and Action: OCIO, in conjunction with the OGC and CGD, develop guidance to align key activities and responsibilities defined in application development contracts with Project Management Institute�s Agile Practice Guide, or develop risk mitigation strategies for instances in which the Library chooses to deviate from agile best practices.  These key activities and responsibilities may include items such as maintenance of the product roadmap�The Agile Contracts Working Group finalized the Agile Contracting Guide, which includes guidance for developing agile software development contracts in accordance with both CGD and OGC guidelines.


Subject: Library Working through Agile Delivery Method Challenges for Copyright IT Modernization Project
Report Number: 2018-IT-107 
Issue Date: August 2019
Office: LCSG/NLS, and OCIO
Recommendation Number:  12
Summary of Recommendation and Action: Develop contingency plans for each of the risks identified in the risk register and obtain appropriate management approval for the plans�OCIO developed an integral review process for ensuring project managers are in compliance with the PMLC deliverables, to include ensuring risks identified in the risk registers have corresponding contingency plans.  OCIO also updated the PMLC documentation and Project Management Office (PMO) Confluence site to reflect this new review process and established a new PMLC Quality Control program which includes the review of risk registers to confirm that a contingency plan has been included.


Subject: IT Modernization Evaluation
Report Number: 2019-IT-104 
Issue Date: February 2021
Office: OCIO
Recommendation Number:  2.3
Summary of Recommendation and Action: OCIO should develop a monitoring and quality assurance process to ensure that each IT project complies with PMBOK and GAO's cost and scheduling guidelines, as adopted by the Library�As part of the PMO support contract, PMO established a new Quality Assurance/Quality Control program in February 2022.  The program consists of PMLC phase gate reviews and ongoing monthly reviews to verify adherence to PMBOK guidance and GAO cost and scheduling guidelines throughout the lifecycle of each project.  As of this time, all active PMO projects have undergone a monthly review and all new projects are now required to undergo phase gate reviews before proceeding to the next PMLC phase.  OCIO published the relevant documentation to the PMO Confluence site. 


Subject: IT Modernization Evaluation
Report Number: 2019-IT-104 
Issue Date: February 2021
Office: OCIO
Recommendation Number:  4.1
Summary of Recommendation and Action: OCIO should undertake a dedicated effort to develop tactical project schedule management processes that align with the best practices for project schedule management as outlined in the PMBOK Knowledge Area � Project Time Management, and the GAO's Schedule Assessment Guide to determine if the IT modernization project schedules provided sufficient detail to accurately track and manage performance�The Library submitted the PMO Tactical Schedule Management Checklist to demonstrate that OCIO has developed a formal checklist that contains the GAO's Schedule Assessment Guide's best practices for project managers.  The Library also submitted the PMO Scheduling Guidance, the Tactical Project Scheduling Guidance Checklist, and the Schedule Management Quick Reference Guide to demonstrate a detailed schedule management process. 


Office of the Librarian / Strategic Planning & Performance Management Office (SPPM)

Subject: Enterprise Risk Management
Report Number: 2020-PA-104 
Issue Date: June 2021
Office: SPPM
Recommendation Number:  1
Summary of Recommendation and Action: SPPM add the establishment of an ERM governing body to its iRIC Improvement Plan and maturity model�The addition of an executive-level oversight group was included in the iRIC Improvement Plan as an improvement for FY22 � 24.


Subject: Enterprise Risk Management
Report Number: 2020-PA-104 
Issue Date: June 2021
Office: SPPM
Recommendation Number:  2
Summary of Recommendation and Action: The Library establish the ERM governing body during the integrated stage of maturity and prior to reaching enterprise-level of maturity�The Librarian authorized and announced 1) the formation of the Risk Management Council, which will serve as the ERM governing body of the Library and 2) assignment of the Library's Chief Operating Officer to the role of Chief Risk Officer.


Subject: Enterprise Risk Management
Report Number: 2020-PA-104 
Issue Date: June 2021
Office: SPPM
Recommendation Number:  3
Summary of Recommendation and Action: The Library designate a Chief Risk Officer to lead ERM efforts and to work closely with an ERM governing body to further the movement towards enterprise-level of maturity�See the update provided for recommendation 2.

Subject: Enterprise Risk Management
Report Number: 2020-PA-104 
Issue Date: June 2021
Office: SPPM
Recommendation Number:  5
Summary of Recommendation and Action: SPPM provide guidance to the service units on risk appetite and risk tolerance, as well as update the SPPM iRIC Guidance accordingly, even while SPPM�s future-state efforts regarding risk appetite and risk tolerance are developing�In the first quarter of FY 2022, the Library�s newly formed Risk Management Council finalized the Agency�s first Risk Appetite Statement. On December 29, 2022 the Librarian of Congress approved the Risk Appetite Statement for release throughout the Library. Since then, SPPM has incorporated the risk appetite, and the related concept of risk tolerance, into its guidance, training materials, and workflow communication sessions.  SPPM has and will continue to hold trainings throughout the year with service units to introduce and workshop these new concepts. 


Subject: Enterprise Risk Management
Report Number: 2020-PA-104 
Issue Date: June 2021
Office: SPPM
Recommendation Number:  8
Summary of Recommendation and Action: SPPM revisit the concept of �out-of-scope risks� in the context of the draft maturity model as of August 2020, which indicates an enterprise-level approach towards risk management as a key milestone between FYs 2020 and 2021�SPPM has removed the concept from its guidance and training. 


Subject: Enterprise Risk Management
Report Number: 2020-PA-104 
Issue Date: June 2021
Office: SPPM
Recommendation Number:  9
Summary of Recommendation and Action: SPPM define a path in its iRIC Improvement Plan regarding how to identify Library-wide risks in the context of the draft maturity model as of August 2020, which indicates an enterprise-level approach towards risk management as a key milestone between FYs 2020 and 2021�SPPM updated its iRIC Improvement Plan to include more detail about the planned work to mature to an ERM, including establishing a Risk Appetite, RMC, risk metrics, etc. 


Subject: Enterprise Risk Management
Report Number: 2020-PA-104 
Issue Date: June 2021
Office: SPPM
Recommendation Number:  12
Summary of Recommendation and Action: SPPM revisit the future-state dashboard and determine how to incorporate the dashboard�On February 16, 2022, the Risk Management Council (RMC) reviewed the proposed ERM Dashboard quarterly risk reviews. SPPM will use the dashboards to facilitate discussions with RMC members about risk trends, upcoming iRIC activities, and risks (or risk areas) that may need additional attention from Library leaders.  The dashboard is maintained by SPPM and will be provided two weeks prior to each ERM meeting.  The dashboard is considered a �living document� and will continue to evolve based upon the needs of the RMC.  SPPM will be providing the Q2 iteration of the ERM dashboard to RMC members on or before May 16 in advance of the June 1 RMC meeting.


Subject: Library Continues to Face Challenges Ensuring Effective Financial Management and Reporting
Report Number: 2019-SP-101 
Issue Date: June 2021
Office: COO
Recommendation Number:  1
Summary of Recommendation and Action:FSD should develop an integrated master schedule for identified control deficiencies relating to financial management and reporting that presents all key activities to mitigate, their appropriate timing, associated costs, milestones, and other resources�FSD implemented an integrated master schedule. 


Subject: Library Continues to Face Challenges Ensuring Effective Financial Management and Reporting
Report Number: 2019-SP-101 
Issue Date: June 2021
Office: COO/FSD and HCD OCIO
Recommendation Number:  3
Summary of Recommendation and Action: Work collaboratively with OCIO and the Human Capital Directorate (HCD) to implement a more robust solution to properly capture all internal labor costs attributed to IT capital investments for personnel involved with software development.  As part of this effort, Library-wide guidance and procedures for capturing such internal labor-costs should be developed�COO/FSD, COO/HCD, OCIO, and the Library�s service units worked collaboratively to implement a comprehensive solution in the Library�s Time and Attendance system (WebTA) that captures labor hours and costs attributed to IT capital investments for personnel involved with software development projects.  The new functionality allowed WebTA to interface the payroll transaction detail with the Library financial systems, such as the LC Budget System, LC Reporting System, and LBFMS, to ensure labor cost documentation and tracking by project.  The new solution was piloted in the fourth quarter of FY 2021 and implemented in 
production in the first quarter of FY 2022 for IT projects.


Subject: Library's Grants Operations, Policies, and Procedures
Report Number: 2020-PA-103 
Issue Date: May 2021
Office: COO
Recommendation Number:  1
Summary of Recommendation and Action:Conduct training for the CGD on how to obtain and review grantees' Single Audit reports.  The training should also include the process for identifying internal control deficiencies, performing follow-up activities, and reviewing SEFA expenditures.  In addition, the training should define audit terminology�All CGD Grants Officers and Specialists have received training, while new staff are completing their courses towards grants certification.


Subject: Library's Grants Operations, Policies, and Procedures
Report Number: 2020-PA-103 
Issue Date: May 2021
Office: COO
Recommendation Number: 4
Summary of Recommendation and Action: Include the following steps in its grantee risk assessment procedures:
a. If a Single Audit report is available for the grantee, review the report for any internal control or compliance findings that could affect the grantee�s performance under a Library award.  Determine whether the grantee has taken any corrective actions to address the audit findings. 
b. Reconcile the expenditures that the grantee reported in its Federal Financial Reports and Budget Summary Report, and drawdowns or advances to the expenditures that the grantee may have reported in its SEFA or audit report.  Research and resolve any discrepancies. 
c. Reconcile the grant expenditure reports that detail the grantee�s expenditures at the cost code and transaction level to the expenditures it reported by budget category in the Budget Summary Reports that it submitted to the Library.  Research and resolve any differences. 
d. Review the transactions in the grantee�s expenditure reports and request explanations for any large transactions, transactions that do not appear to be allowable or allocable to the grant, and unusual journal entries�The finalized CGD Grant Guidelines and Procedures include these steps in the Financial Monitoring, Risk Assessment Section.


Subject: Library's Grants Operations, Policies, and Procedures
Report Number: 2020-PA-103 
Issue Date: May 2021
Office: COO
Recommendation Number:  6
Summary of Recommendation and Action: Consider limiting the number of times the Library extends a grant's period of performance�Management completed the review of this recommendation.

Library Collections & Services Group (LC and SG)
Subject: National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled's Infor mation Technology Modernization Evaluation
Report Number: 2020-IT-105 
Issue Date: September 2021
Office: LCSG/NLS, and OCIO
Recommendation Number:  2.2
Summary of Recommendation and Action: Monitor compliance with LCD 5-310.1, as described in recommendation 2.1, and perform scheduled internal/self-assessments and compliance reviews over the procedures�NLS purchased licenses and began using the ServiceNow Project Portfolio Management software as a first step to help ensure compliance with PMO practices and LCD 5-310.1, PMLC.  NLS has also been fully incorporated into the PMO Quality Control program including phase gates and monthly review processes to ensure NLS projects follow risk management and other PMLC best practices throughout the lifecycle of each NLS project.  The NLS Warehouse on the Web 2 is the first NLS project to be initiated under OCIO oversight and is currently undergoing Phase Gate 1.




Library Collections & Services Group (LC and SG)
Subject: National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled's Infor mation Technology Modernization Evaluation
Report Number: 2020-IT-105 
Issue Date: September 2021
Office: LCSG/NLS, and OCIO
Recommendation Number:  3
Summary of Recommendation and Action: NLS IT Modernization Initiative PMs (in coordination with the OCIO PMO) implement OCIO PMO�s formal cost estimating and assessment checklist that contains the GAO's Cost Estimating and Assessment Guide�s best practices for PMs to follow when developing, executing, and maintaining project costs, once it is completed in response to OIG�s recent recommendation to the OCIO in 2019-IT-104, IT Modernization Evaluation Report, February 2021�The NLS IT Modernization Initiative Project Managers adopted the cost estimation policies used by OCIO for internal project management to align with the official PMO Cost Estimate documentation and estimation sheet that are inclusive of the GAO's Cost Estimation Guide.  The implementation of these guidelines began in FY2021.  NLS purchased licenses for the OCIO project tracking tool, ServiceNow Project and Portfolio Management Module.  In July 2021, NLS updated their internal project management policies to align with those of the PMO.  


Library Collections & Services Group (LC and SG)
Subject: National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled's Infor mation Technology Modernization Evaluation
Report Number: 2020-IT-105 
Issue Date: September 2021
Office: LCSG/NLS, and OCIO
Recommendation Number:  5.2
Summary of Recommendation and Action: Monitor compliance with LCD 5-310.1, as described in recommendation 5.1 above, and perform scheduled internal/self-assessments and compliance reviews over the procedures�NLS Project Managers are following the OCIO PMLC and using existing PMO templates and tools to develop and track schedule, cost, and performance.  With NLS's participation in the OCIO chartering process for IT related projects and their use of ServiceNow Proejct Porfolio Management software, this includes periodic compliance reviews by the PMO's quality assurance reviewers of these projects in accordance with LCD 5-310.1. 




Unimplemented Financial Statements Recommendations

The objective of the financial statements audit is to obtain reasonable assurance that the Library's financial statements are free of material misstatements. [footnote 17].  In the table below, we provide details on recommendations made by the auditor in publicly released reports and not management letter comments distributed internally to Library management.  The auditor evaluates the implementation of recommendations during the Library's financial statements audit. [footnote 18]
Table 4C: FY 2020 Financial Statements Recommendations Made by the Independent Public Accountant

Internal Control over Financial Reporting Reportable Findings

Office of the Librarian / Chief Operating Officer / Financial Services Directorate

Subject: Results of the Library of Congress� FY 2020 Financial Statements Audit
Report Number: 2020-FN-101 
Issue Date: July 2021
Recommendation Number:  I.1
Summary of Recommendation and Action: Document all steps needed to report financial transactions in desk guides or procedures documents�FSD's Financial Reporting Division (FR) documented reporting processes for the Government-wide Treasury Account Symbol Adjusted Trial Balance System, General Ledger, and Payroll as well as one section in the FR handbook.  FR will use the Integrated Master Schedule to monitor further progress with documenting other financial transactions.  The estimated date of completion is the fourth quarter of FY 2022.

Subject: Results of the Library of Congress� FY 2020 Financial Statements Audit
Report Number: 2020-FN-101 
Issue Date: July 2021
Recommendation Number:  I.2
Summary of Recommendation and Action: Perform an assessment of who should be performing the processes and when they should be performed, such that procedures are pushed down to the lowest level feasible and done when appropriate to allow for a detailed review below the management level, where possible, and take any necessary action to ensure that staffing levels and skill sets are sufficient to perform the processes and procedures�FR added a Comptroller to provide additional oversight on the accuracy of financial statements; an additional Supervisory Accountant to further support FR's Chief Officer; a Program Analyst to monitor all open audit findings; and two Audit Liaisons to manage active audits.

Subject: Results of the Library of Congress� FY 2020 Financial Statements Audit
Report Number: 2020-FN-101 
Issue Date: July 2021
Recommendation Number: I.3 
Summary of Recommendation and Action: Develop and establish high-level analytical procedures at the supervisor and manager level, as well as ensure adequate resources are available at the supervisor and manager level and trained appropriately to execute analytical procedures and ensure the identification and correction of errors in financial reporting processes�FR started its reporting activities earlier in the year to allow more time for management to review, correct, and approve financial reports.  FR continues to test its new organizational structure after the addition of extra support staff.  Activities in this area are ongoing.

Subject: Results of the Library of Congress� FY 2020 Financial Statements Audit
Report Number: 2020-FN-101 
Issue Date: July 2021
Recommendation Number:  I.4
SuSummary of Recommendation and Action: Establish and enforce a timeline to prepare and issue the annual financial statements and related notes within a reasonable period, such as two months after the close of the FY�FR continues to test, and refine as necessary, its new financial statement timeline which spaces out financial activities throughout the year to relieve and minimize the potential for a bottlenecking effect around year-end obligations.  The estimated date of completion is the fourth quarter of FY 2022.

Subject: Results of the Library of Congress� FY 2020 Financial Statements Audit
Report Number: 2020-FN-101 
Issue Date: July 2021
Recommendation Number:  I.5
Summary of Recommendation and Action: Continue to implement recommendations from the reporting process review to realign functions within the FSD and bring on the necessary staff with the knowledge and skill sets needed to complete the financial reporting task�The Library considers this completed.

Subject: Results of the Library of Congress� FY 2020 Financial Statements Audit
Report Number: 2020-FN-101 
Issue Date: July 2021
Recommendation Number:  I.6
Summary of Recommendation and Action: Establish and document procedures to perform a quarterly reconciliation of non-Treasury investments, to include reconciling all general ledger accounts related to investments and realized and unrealized gains and losses� FR continues to work with the Federal Research Division (FRD) to document the current end-to-end investment process to include the new reconciliation process.  FR will use its IMS to monitor FRD's progress.  The estimated date of completion is the fourth quarter of FY 2022.

Subject: Results of the Library of Congress� FY 2020 Financial Statements Audit
Report Number: 2020-FN-101 
Issue Date: July 2021
Recommendation Number:  I.7
Summary of Recommendation and Action: Train FSD accounting staff responsible for posting investment transactions to the financial management system on how to calculate gain and loss amounts so that they can ensure gains and losses are reported accurately and in compliance with GAAP�FR continues to evaluate its processes and procedures for posting investment transactions to the financial management system. Once finalized, FR will document the procedures and train applicable staff members on the new and/or updated processes.  The estimated date of completion is the fourth quarter of FY 2022.

Subject: Results of the Library of Congress� FY 2020 Financial Statements Audit
Report Number: 2020-FN-101 
Issue Date: July 2021
Recommendation Number:  I.8
Summary of Recommendation and Action: Update the posting models in LBFMS to ensure cash transfers are properly recorded and that expenses are not recorded until the expense is incurred� FSD continues to review and document end-to-end processes for capital assets in anticipation for reviewing future models and posting models to see how each process operates.  The estimated date of completion is the fourth quarter of FY 2022.

Subject: Results of the Library of Congress� FY 2020 Financial Statements Audit
Report Number: 2020-FN-101 
Issue Date: July 2021
Recommendation Number:  I.9
Summary of Recommendation and Action: Ensure that the process to record capital expenditures, from the requisition through the life of the asset, is documented� The Comptroller drafted a proposed policy for accounting regarding the construction-work-in-progress and internal-use-software-in-development (IUS).  Highlights include guidance on the type of costs that should be capitalized as part of the project assets or expensed and guidance on accounting related to the various IUS development methodologies and phases.  The estimated date of completion is the fourth quarter of FY 2022.


Reporting Requirements
Table 5: Reporting Requirements under the Inspector General Act of 1978, as Amended, [footnote 19], and the Library of Congress Inspector General Act of 2005, as Amended.
 
IG Act Section: 4(a)(2). OIG Reporting Requirements: Review of legislation and regulations. Page Number: 19
IG Act Section: 5(a)(1). OIG Reporting Requirements: OIG Reporting Requirements: Significant problems, abuses, and deficiencies. Page Numbers: 7-23 
IG Act Section: 5(a)(2). OIG Reporting Requirements:  Recommendations for corrective action. Page Numbers: 27-40, 47-48 
IG Act Section: 5(a)(3). OIG Reporting Requirements:  Significant outstanding recommendations. Page Numbers: 27-40, 47-48  
IG Act Section: 5(a)(4). OIG Reporting Requirements:  Matters referred to prosecutive authorities.  Page Number: 21 
IG Act Section: 5(a)(5)/6(c)(2). OIG Reporting Requirements: Information or assistance unreasonably refused or not provided.  Page Number: n/a 
IG Act Section: 5(a)(6). OIG Reporting Requirements:  Listing of completed audit, inspection and evaluation, and investigative reports. Page Numbers: 7-23  
IG Act Section: 5(a)(7). OIG Reporting Requirements:  Summary of significant reports. Page Numbers: 7-23   
IG Act Section: 5(a)(8). OIG Reporting Requirements:  Statistical table pertaining to questioned costs for audits, inspections and evaluations, and investigations. Page Number: 50  
IG Act Section: 5(a)(9). OIG Reporting Requirements:  Statistical table pertaining to funds recommended to be put to better use for audits, inspections and evaluations, and investigations. Page Number: 50  
IG Act Section: 5(a)(10). OIG Reporting Requirements: Prior OIG reports unresolved, uncommented upon, desired timetable for achieving a management decision. Page Number: n/a 
IG Act Section: 5(a)(11). OIG Reporting Requirements: Significant revised management decisions. Page Number: n/a 
IG Act Section: 5(a)(12). OIG Reporting Requirements: Management decision disagreements. Page Number:  n/a 
IG Act Section: 5(a)(14). OIG Reporting Requirements: Information regarding peer reviews involving the OIG. Page Numbers: 51
IG Act Section: 5(a)(15). OIG Reporting Requirements: List of any outstanding recommendations from any peer review conducted by another OIG.  Page Number: n/a 
IG Act Section: 5(a)(16). OIG Reporting Requirements: List of any peer reviews conducted by the IG of another OIG during reporting period. Page Numbers: 51
IG Act Section: 5(a)(17). OIG Reporting Requirements: Statistical tables pertaining to OIG investigations. Page Number: 21  
IG Act Section: 5(a)(18). OIG Reporting Requirements: Description of the metrics for OIG investigative table. Page Number: 21  
IG Act Section: 5(a)(19). OIG Reporting Requirements: Reports involving senior Government employees where allegations of misconduct were substantiated, including the facts and circumstances of the investigation and status and disposition of the matter.  Page Number: n/a 
IG Act Section: 5(a)(20). OIG Reporting Requirements: Instance of whistle blower retaliation. Page Number: n/a 
IG Act Section: 5(a)(21). OIG Reporting Requirements: Attempted agency interference with OIG independence, including budget constraints designed to limit OIG capabilities; and incidents where agency has resisted, objected, or significantly delayed access to information.  Page Number: n/a 
IG Act Section: 5(a)(22). OIG Reporting Requirements: Inspections, evaluations, audits, and investigations of senior Government employees undisclosed to the public. Page Number: n/a 
Library IG Act Section: (d)(3)(C)(i). OIG Reporting Requirements: Semiannual certification of law enforcement program. Page Number: 23 

Table 6: Funds Questioned or Put to Better Use for This Period. [footnote: 20].
Reporting Area: Audits
Number of Reports: n/a
Number of Recommendations: n/a   
Questioned Costs: n/a 

Reporting Area: Inspections and Evaluations
Number of Reports: n/a
Number of Recommendations: n/a
Questioned Costs: n/a

Reporting Area: Investigations
Number of Reports: n/a
Number of Recommendations: n/a  
Questioned Costs: n/a

Table 7: FY 2021 Audits with Recommendations for Better Use of Funds
 
No management decision was made by the start of the period:
Number of Audit Reports: n/a
Total Funds Put to Better Use: n/a

Issued during the period:  
Number of Audit Reports: n/a
Total Funds Put to Better Use: n/a

In need of management decision during the period:
Number of Audit Reports: n/a
Total Funds Put to Better Use: n/a
 
Management decision made during the period: 
Value of recommendations agreed to by management: 
Number of Audit Reports: n/a
Total Funds Put to Better Use: n/a
Value of recommendations not agreed to by management:  
Number of Audit Reports: n/a
Total Funds Put to Better Use: n/a

No management decision made by the end of the period: 
Less than six months old: 
Number of Audit Reports: n/a
Total Funds Put to Better Use: n/a
More than six months old:
Number of Audit Reports: n/a
Total Funds Put to Better Use: n/a 


Table 8: FY 2021 Audits with Questioned Costs

Reporting Period Number of Audit Reports Total Questioned Costs Unsupported Costs 
No management decision made by the start of the period:  
Number of Audit Reports: n/a
Total Questioned Costs: n/a
Unsupported Costs: n/a
 
Issued during the period:  
Number of Audit Reports: n/a
Total Questioned Costs: n/a
Unsupported Costs: n/a

In need of management decision during the period:  
Number of Audit Reports: n/a
Total Questioned Costs: n/a
Unsupported Costs: n/a

Management decision made during the period: 
Value of recommendations agreed to by management: 
Number of Audit Reports: n/a
Total Questioned Costs: n/a
Unsupported Costs: n/a
Value of recommendations not agreed to by management:  
Number of Audit Reports: n/a
Total Questioned Costs: n/a
Unsupported Costs: n/a

No management decision made by the end of the period: 
Less than six months old: 
Number of Audit Reports: n/a
Total Questioned Costs: n/a
Unsupported Costs: n/a
More than six months old:  
Number of Audit Reports: n/a
Total Questioned Costs: n/a
Unsupported Costs: n/a

Peer Review Reporting
OIG's Audits Division undergoes external peer reviews at least once every three years.  As reported in out last semiannual report, we were the subject of a CIGIE peer review for compliance with audit standards by the Architect of the Capitol (AOC) OIG for the period ending March 31, 2019.  The AOC OIG concluded that OIG�s system of quality control was suitably designed and complied with to provide reasonable assurance of conforming with applicable professional standards in all material respects.  Accordingly, the AOC OIG provided a �pass� rating, and no recommendations were made; this is the highest available rating.  There were no outstanding recommendations from a previous peer review.
OIG completed its most recent audit peer review of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, Audit Division OIG in September 2019 for the period ending March 31, 2019.  OIG issued a �pass� rating, did not make any recommendations in the peer review.

OIG completed its first CIGIE peer review for compliance with standards for inspections and evaluations of the General Services Administration's Office of Inspections for the period ending June 30, 2020.  We served in the lead role for the peer review, which was conducted in collaboration with the AOC OIG.  We determined that the Office generally met the standards under review, and no recommendations were made.  
OIG also undergoes external peer reviews at least once every three years for its inspections and evaluations work.  OIG was most recently the subject of a CIGIE peer review for compliance with inspection and evaluation standards by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) OIG for the period ending March 31, 2021.  The OPM OIG concluded that OIG met the seven required standards.  The assessment included a review of our internal policies and procedures and a review of selected inspection and evaluation reports.  The OPM OIG determined that our policies and procedures generally met the standards.  They also determined that both of the reports they selected for review generally met the standards and complied with our internal policies and procedures.  OPM OIG did not make any recommendations for improvement.  There were no outstanding recommendations from the previous peer review.
We do not have any outstanding recommendations from past peer reviews conducted of other organizations. 


Office of the Inspector General Organizational Chart 
Kimberly Byrd, Inspector General
Shaneka McCray, Administrative Officer 
Deborah Lehrich, Counsel to the Inspector General 
Vacant, Deputy Inspector General 
Eric Mader, Acting Assistant Inspector General for Audits
Sarah Sullivan, Management Analyst 
Stephen Gilbride, Director for IT Audits
William Amos, IT Auditor
Eric Mader, Audit Director
Walter Obando, Audit Auditor
2 vacant auditor positions
Johnny Rivera, Assistant Inspector General for Investigations
2 vacant special agent positions


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Library of Congress Management Response:

Library of Congress
Memo
Office of the Librarian
Date: May 16, 2022
To: Kimberly Byrd, Inspector General
From: J. Mark Sweeney, Principal Deputy Librarian of Congress
Subject: Management Response to March 2022 Semiannual Report

Thank you for providing Library of Congress (Library) management with a draft of the Office of the Inspector General�s (OIG) March 2022 semiannual report.


Since the Library�s building closure in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we have conducted a phased return to the buildings that in this period has resulted in full restoration of services, including: continuation of on-site services to the public, transition of Library staff back to on-site work under newly implemented hybrid telework policies, and resumption of in-person events, such as the Gershwin Prize for Popular Song and Live! at the Library programming. As we begin to settle into a new normal, the Library seeks to build on the technological opportunities arising from the pandemic situation and further optimize operations and improve congressional and public access to collections.

Since formally establishing an IT project management office (PMO) in 2017, the Library has progressed in maturing its project management policies and practices. Although most Library programs do not reach financial thresholds adopted by executive branch agencies in applying Government Accountability Office (GAO) cost and schedule principles to their major systems, the Library continues to work with the GAO and OIG to incorporate such guidelines when beneficial and applicable to Library IT projects. The Library has elevated oversight of its IT investments to the executive level to ensure prioritization of goals, to facilitate assessment of risk, and to maintain agency-wide awareness of resources and strategic plans. Recently, the Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO) completed: an IT glossary to facilitate discussion and resolution of IT work, infrastructure, and modernization initiatives; a Core Technology Implementation Plan to aid in identifying OCIO plans for future capabilities; and a PMO 
implementation plan that establishes frameworks for quality control and compliance with PMO guidelines. The Library has submitted several requests to Congress for funding that will further support expansion of the Library�s cost estimating processes and expertise, including strengthening the Enterprise Planning and Management project already underway, project management of the Congressional Research Service's Integrated Research and Information System (IRIS), and U.S. Copyright Office�s fee and cost analyses. Recognizing the significance of cloud operations, the Library seeks to establish a Cloud Management Office within OCIO that would add specialists to facilitate integration of cloud solutions into the Library�s IT infrastructure and aid in resolving OIG recommendations regarding Library cloud policies. Because project scheduling and costing are fluid processes, which initially reflect estimates of static Library requirements at a given point in time and require refinement as projects progress, the Library continues to explore ways to economically and efficiently identify accurate costs. For each of the projects evaluated and reported on by the OIG in this semiannual report, the Library endeavored to focus planning efforts relative to the return on investment anticipated for the project. Nevertheless, as recommended by the OIG, the Library continues to assess ways to ensure comprehensive project and program planning, including validation of cost estimates and consideration of assumptions and risks that may impact schedule and price. The Library�s visitor experience project has served as a positive example of the value of such planning, which has enabled the Library to pivot in light of pandemic-related and other obstacles while continuing to track progress and maintain accountability for public and private funds supporting the initiative. We appreciate the OIG�s collaboration on the many other audits and investigations conducted during this reporting period.


Footnotes:
1. The Library has materials stored (per interagency contracts) in Cabin Branch, Maryland and Pittsfield, Massachusetts, as well as per contract in Fredericksburg, Virginia.  The Library also has materials stored in its overseas offices. 
2. United States Copyright Office � Public Records Systems Development Audit, 2020-IT-101, November 2021.
3. Library of Congress: Strong Leadership Needed to Address Serious Information Technology Management Weaknesses, GAO-15-315, March 2015.
4. GAO referenced the GAO Cost Estimating and Assessment Guide: Best Practices for Developing and Managing Capital Program Costs, GAO-09-3SP, May 2009, and Results of the Library of Congress� FY 2020 Financial Statements Audit, July 2021.
5. GAO referenced the GAO Schedule Assessment Guide: Best Practices for Project Schedules�Exposure Draft, GAO-12-120G, May 2012.
6. IT Modernization Evaluation Report, 2019-IT-104, February 2021.
7. The Copyright Act of 1976, Pub.L. No. 94�553, 90 Stat. 2541 (Oct. 19, 1976).
8. The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), Pub. L. No. 105-304, 112 Stat. 2860 (Oct. 28, 1998).
9. Library of Congress: Strong Leadership Needed to Address Serious Information Technology Management Weaknesses, GAO-15-315, March 2015.
10. Library Working Through Agile Delivery Method Challenges for Copyright IT Modernization Project, 2018-IT-107, August 2019.
11. GAO-12-681, July 2012. 
12. Data were compiled from a review of the Investigations Division's database and files.
13. Three reports were issued, one was forwarded to Library management.
14. This category includes referrals to OIG�s Audits Division, Library management, or entities outside the Library.
15. 2 U.S.C. � 185.
16. The status of recommendation updates are Library management's assertions and have not been audited.
17. OIG contracted with the independent certified public accounting firm Kearney  to complete the Library's FY 2020 financial statements audit.
18. As of the end of this reporting period, the audit of the FY 2021 financial statement was in process.  Updates to the table below will be reported in our September 2022 semiannual report.
19. Section 5 (except (a)(13)) of the Inspector General Act of 1978, as amended, 5 U.S.C. App, applies to the Library's OIG through the Library of Congress Inspector General Act of 2005, as amended, 2 U.S.C. � 185. Section 5 states, "Each Inspector General shall, not later than April 30 and October 31 of each year, prepare semiannual reports summarizing the activities of the Office during the immediately preceding six-month periods ending March 31 and September 30." 
20. Funds that 1) are questioned by OIG of an alleged violation of a provision; costs not supported by adequate documentation (unsupported costs); or a finding that the expenditure of funds for the intended purpose is unnecessary or unreasonable; or 2) could be used more efficiently if management took actions to implement and complete the recommendation.  For example, recommendations that funds be put to better use could result in reductions in spending, deobligations of funds, or avoidance of unnecessary spending.

Images featured in the report are part of the Library of Congress collections Prints and Photographs Division.
1. Highsmith, Carol M.  Carol M. Highsmith joins Sharon Tyson and visiting children as they interact with a colorful artistic illusion screen at the ArtWorks exhibit in the Museum of Fine Art.  Montgomery, Alabama, 2010.
2. A rare goose, decorated with fluffy un-gooselike feathers, being held by Miss Isla Bevan at the 41st annual Poultry Show at Madison Square Garden.  It is called the Floradora Goose, and is a prizewinner.  New York, 1930.
3. A woman speaking into a megaphone and standing on a pile of books in front of the New York Public Library is soliciting book donations for soldiers in World War I.  From 1917 to 1920 the American Library Association War Service and its affiliates distributed almost ten million books and magazines and established roughly thirty-six libraries at camps across the United States and in Europe.
Abel & Company.  New York City Book Campaign / Abel & Company, Inc.  New York, 1919.
4. Montage photograph shows gigantic man in suit and bowler hat superimposed over street scene.  Right: Phelan, A. B.  Reclining man looming over New York City subway station. New York, ca. 1910. 
5. Panoramic views were made soon after photography�s invention by taking a series of photographs and placing them edge to edge to record a sweeping landscape or a wide city view.  In the late nineteenth century, cameras were created specifically to produce seamless panoramas.  These were either swing-lens cameras, where the lens rotated while the film remained stationary, or 360-degree rotation cameras, where both the camera and the film rotated.  The Library has a significant collection of more than 6,000 panoramas primarily made between 1851 and 1991�ranging in size from 28 inches to more than 17 feet.  The panoramic above depicts a Balboa bathing parade in 1925.  Note how the shadows fall behind their feet on the left of the image and in front on the right.  Because the subjects were standing in a semicircle while the image was captured with a swing-lens panoramic camera, the women on one side faced the sun and those on the other side had the sun on their backs.Weaver, M. F., Balboa Bathing Parade.  Balboa Island, California, ca. 1925.
6. This image, above taken from the Brooklyn side of the East River, looking across the Brooklyn Bridge was captured by Irving Underhill.  He primarily photographed New York City�s architecture during the first half of the twentieth century.  The Library has 26 of Underhill�s panoramas.Underhill, Irving. New York & bridges from Brooklyn. New York, ca. 1913.  
7. One of the Library�s collecting priorities includes representing those who have contributed to t	he nation�s cultural life.  Shown above, Tina Turner on stage.  The image above was taken by Ernest C. Withers, an African-American photojournalist.  Withers is best known for capturing over 60 years of African American history in the segregated South, with iconic images of the Montgomery Bus Boycott, Emmett Till, Memphis sanitation strike, Negro league baseball, and musicians including those related to Memphis blues and Memphis soul.
Withers, Ernest C.  Tina Turner and one of the Ikettes performing at Club Paradise, Memphis / Ernest C. Withers.  Memphis, Tennessee, 1962.
8. The exuberant Beatrice Fergerson demonstrating her hula hoop prowess.  �She�d hurt her hip or she would have ridden her bicycle for me,� said Sharon Farmer of the DC grandmother.  �She was known in the neighborhood for biking and hula hooping.� Farmer, Sharon.  Beatrice Fergerson � with hula hoop around her waist.  Washington D.C., 1990.  
9. Gotfryd, Bernard. Jim Henson, full-length portrait, seated, surrounded by his Muppets, 1971.
10. Founded in the 1890s, the Detroit Publishing Company became one of the major photography publishers in the world.  Decades before there was economically feasible color film stock, the company acquired exclusive North American rights to use a photographic process called Photochrom to convert black-and-white photographs into color images.  This allowed the company to mass produce and widely distribute color postcards and prints.  The photographers recorded events and scenes that tourists would want to send home as well as daily sights, such as laundry drying on lines between apartments in New York.  The Library holds about 300 color photolithograph prints published by the Detroit Publishing Company.  Detroit Photographic Co.  Mariposa Grove of big trees.  "Three graces."  California, ca., 1900; [below]: Detroit Photographic Co.  A Monday washing.  
New York, 1898.  
11. One of the foremost American photographers of the Southwest, Laura Gilpin studied with Clarence White in New York in 1918.  She returned to her native Colorado Springs to begin her professional photography career.  Gilpin gradually began to document members of Pueblo and Navajo tribes.  Her images depict Native Americans with simplicity and grace, living in an intimate relationship with the land. Gilpin, Laura.  Mrs. Francis Nakai, New Mexico.  New Mexico, 1932; Willis, J. R.  The silversmith's daughter - Navajo Indian.  New Mexico, ca. 1920; Gilpin, Laura.  Indian Bake Ovens.  Taos Pueblo, New Mexico, 1926.
12. For decades, Camilo Jos� Vergara has photographed select American cities, focusing on inner-city life that he considers �invisible� to large segments of our population.  His thousands of images record urban decay that blights neighborhoods.  In his book Harlem: The Unmaking of a Ghetto, Vergara wrote that �Harlem was like a run-down version of Paris where life was lived on the streets. . . I felt a people�s past�their accomplishments, failures and aspirations�were not reflected in their faces but in the material world in which they lived and which they helped to shape.�
The storefront of 65 East 125th St. in Harlem, which Vergara first photographed in 1977, has changed its exterior with each new occupant�from a restaurant to a variety store to a kitchen cabinet shop, and then, to a grocery store that survived for almost a decade.  The cycle continued with a clothing store that morphed into a mattress retailer, until it recently became a church.  Vergara, Camilo J. 65 East 125th St. in Harlem, New York.
13. Daguerre announced his invention of a photographic method in August 1839.  Shortly thereafter, a young Robert Cornelius made the self-portrait below using a box fitted with a lens from an opera glass.  In this portrait, Cornelius stands slightly off-center with hair askew, peering uncertainly into the camera.  Early daguerreotypy required a long exposure time, three to fifteen minutes, making the process nearly impractical for portraiture.  Above is the earliest-known photograph of Abraham Lincoln, at age 37 when he was a lawyer and Congressman-elect from Springfield, Illinois. Cornelius, Robert.  Robert Cornelius, self-portrait; believed to be the earliest extant American portrait photo, 1839; Shepherd, Nicholas H.  Abraham Lincoln, Congressman-elect from Illinois.  Three-quarter length portrait, seated, facing front, 1846.
14. After service in World War II during which Tony Vaccaro photographed as well as fought, he worked for major magazines, including Flair and LOOK before joining Life.  He established himself as a celebrity and fashion photographer.  This photograph was part of an article in LOOK on "architectural hats," for which hats were created to match buildings, such as the Guggenheim Museum in New York. Vaccaro, Michael A.  Fashion model in front of Guggenheim Museum, New York, wearing hat that resembles the museum.  New York, 1960.
15. Reed, Charles E.  Weishaar, Winner 100 mi. Race, Norton, Kan.  Oct. 22, [19]14.  Time 2 hr. 1 1/2 min.  World record, ca. 1914;  
16. Photograph shows a man riding a bicycle down the steps of the U.S. Capitol as another man with a bicycle waits at the top.  A perilous ride / Platt Brothers, artist and photographer,12th St., N.W., Washington, D.C., 1884.
17. Krausz, Sigmund.  Nice Feather Dusters. Chicago, 1891; 
18. Unknown photographer, Norma Smallwood, Miss America 1926, seated, with hair attached to electric permanent wave equipment, with man standing beside her. 1926.
19. Carol Highsmith has photographed the American scene for more than twenty-five years.  In most of her early work, Highsmith used a large-format view camera that captured the clarity, depth, and detail of her subjects in a way that other photographic media, until recently, could not.  Highsmith has donated her work to the Library since 1992.  Her generosity in dedicating the rights to the American people for copyright free access also makes this Archive a very special visual resource.  Highsmith, Carol M.  Steam locomotives in the roundhouse of the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Scenic Railroad in Durango, Colorado, 2015.
20.  The photograph above [left] shows a photographer dangling from a rope in crevasse and photographing canyon wall as another man straddles cliff opening while holding the rope. Kolb Bros. Photographer suspended on climber's rope. Grand Canyon, Arizona. 1908; 
21. At the start of her career, Margaret Bourke-White moved to New York to become a commercial photographer and a staff photographer for Fortune Magazine in 1929.  Among her early jobs was photographing the Chrysler Building as it rose to briefly become New York�s tallest structure.  When workmen began to construct the building�s modern gargoyles off the sixty-first floor, Bourke-White decided, �here would be my new studio. . . I loved the view so much that I often crawled out on the gargoyles, which projected over the street 800 feet below, to take pictures of the changing moods of the city.�  This photograph, taken by her darkroom technician, came to epitomize Bourke-White�s fearless determination. Graubner, Oscar.  Margaret Bourke-White atop the Chrysler Building.  New York, ca. 1930.