America's Library: The Story of the Library of Congress, 1800-2000

America's Library: The Story of the Library of Congress, 1800-2000, by James Conaway. Foreword by James H. Billington. Introduction by Edmund Morris. New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 2000. ISBN 0-3000-8308-4. $39.95.

America's Library is a lively account of the Library's history, filled with an immense cast of characters, ranging from presidents, poets, journalists, and members of Congress, to collectors, artists, curators, and eccentrics. Conaway emphasizes the role of the Library of Congress in government and American culture as he traces the institution's history through the administrations of each of the 13 Librarians of Congress, from John Beckley (appointed by Thomas Jefferson in 1802) through James H. Billington (appointed by Ronald Reagan in 1987). The illustrations present the Library's wide-range of activities, from its earliest history to the present day.

For additional information on America's Library: The Story of the Library of Congress, 1800-2000, visit www.loc.gov/today/pr/2000/00-036.html.