A Chapter in the Unwritten History of the Library of Congress from January 17 to April 5, 1899: The Appointment of Herbert Putnam as Librarian

Abstract

T NHE tradition that the appointment of the librarian of Congress be nonpolitical and for life and that the appointee must be qualified for library service was established by the long and distinguished term of Ainsworth Rand Spofford. Mr. Spofford entered the Library of Congress in i86i and he became librarian-in-chief on December I, I 864, following the resignation of John G. Stephenson. He held this position for thirty-three years and, in the library reorganization of I897 after the congressional investigation under Representative Lemuel Ely Quigg, he was continued as assistant librarian until his death in I908. But a break in the tradition occurred when John Russell Young, a newspaperman and a politician, was appointed librarian of Congress on July I, I897. Mr. Young died on January I7, I899, and directly after his death a large number of applicants, few of whom were equipped with the desirable kind of training and experience, applied for his position. Among them was an old friend of Mr. Young, a newspaperman whom he had appointed as chief clerk of the Library. For a time he had also occupied the position of chief of the Prints Division. One day this man surprised me by coming to me in the Copyright Office and saying: Shake hands with the next librarian of This was a distinct shock. He was willing to talk freely about the matter and told me of many prominent people who, he affirmed, were pledged to support him in his proposal to secure the appointment as librarian of Congress. One was Theodore Roosevelt, then governor of New York. I was unpre-