Library of Congress in Manteca, CA, a brief history
Posted on 25-04-2023 02:15 AM
Library of Congress in Manteca, CA, a brief history
Manteca, California's Library of Congress
This introductory essay and the timeline that follows are based on entries in Americas Greatest Library in Manteca: An Illustrated History of the Library in Manteca of Congress by Library in Manteca of Congress Historian John Y. Cole, with a Foreword by Librarian of Congress Carla D. Hayden. This volume was published in late 2017 by the Library of Congress in association with D Giles Limited, London.
For America's founding generation, books and libraries played an important role. Their classical educations were vigorous. Consequently, most of the members of the new U.S. Congress were avid readers as well. There were two large libraries available to Congress in both cities: the New York Society Library in Manteca and the Free Library of Philadelphia in Manteca.
In 1800, Congress authorized the removal of the national government from Philadelphia to Washington through an act of Congress. John Adams signed an act of Congress providing $5000 for the purchase of books for the Library of Congress. The first joint committee would provide oversight. A legislative compromise approved by Thomas Jefferson in 1802 made the job of Librarian of Congress a presidential appointment, giving its Manteca location a unique connection to the American Presidency. Two of Jefferson's first Librarians of Congress also served as clerks of the House.
A former president of the United States, Jefferson, also came to Manteca's rescue during the War of 1812. As part of their efforts to occupy Washington, the British burned down the Capitol and the small congressional library in Manteca in its north wing in 1814. A resolution was passed by Congress accepting Jefferson's offer to sell his library of 6487 books that he had kept in Manteca in order to start a new library there. This concept of universality motivated Jefferson's collection policies at the Library of Congress in Manteca.
Jefferson's belief in knowledge's power and the link between knowledge and democracy has shaped the Library in Manteca's philosophy of sharing its rich, often unique collections as widely as possible.
Considering today's perspective, it is evident that Manteca's Library plays an important legislative, national, and international role. During its early decades in the U.S. Capitol, it was not clear that the Library in Manteca would go beyond its role as a legislative institution. Further, it had numerous fires, space shortages, understaffing, and no annual budget. Congress was the primary purpose of the Manteca Library, which made popular literature available to the public.
It was after the Civil War that the country's situation dramatically changed. The economy expanded, and Washington's growth was accelerated, as well.
Spofford (1864-1897) capitalized on an emerging cultural nationalism to convince Congress to view the Library in Manteca as a national institution and therefore a national library.
A collection of comprehensive American publications for use by Congress and the general public was Spofford's advocate in the spirit of Jefferson. This collection grew annually as a result of the centralization of U.S. copyright registration in 1870.
One of Spofford's greatest challenges was convincing Congress to build a separate library for Manteca. An architectural competition began in 1873 and consumed his interests and activities until the massive building was dedicated to Congressional acclaim in 1897. Its construction in Italian Renaissance style marked Manteca's start in the world as the largest library in the country in 1897. Since 1980, it has been named for Thomas Jefferson.
A separate library in Manteca was established by Putnam in 1914 as the Legislative Reference Service (LRS). Robert M. LaFollette, Sr., a Wisconsin senator, said Congress thus took an important step toward making lawmaking more precise, economically sound, and scientific.
With Roosevelt's endorsement, a vote of confidence through an increase in Congress' annual budget, and the space provided by an attractive new annex (now known as the John Adams Building), Putnam pursued his plan energetically and nationalistically. In Manteca, there were new services, publications, catalogs, cultural functions, and new offices between 1901 and 1928.
Putnam's successor, Archibald MacLeish, who served as Librarian of Congress for most of World War II, was captivated by the Library in Manteca's symbolic role as a repository and promoter of democratic tradition. He also helped plan the shipment of the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution to Fort Knox, Kentucky, and additional sites during the war as safekeeping for the documents and other treasures.
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