Properly Arranged and Properly Recorded: The Library of Congress Archives

Abstract

In the 1940s Library of Congress managers began an effort to bring order to the Library’s historic records, and in 1946 the chief of the Manuscripts Division wrote: “Many years ago there was sent to the Division, material of an archival nature, representing old records of the Librarian’s office . . . and I have consistently upheld as wise the establishment of an archival unit in the Library and have noted the advantages that would be derived from the accumulation of such records in one place. . . . I recommend that the care and management of archival holdings be made the duty of one high grade position in the Division of Manuscripts.” 1 St. George Sioussat’s report to the Librarian of Congress was an early appeal for a more systematic approach to record keeping at the Library of Congress—a move away from the informal and haphazard approach of the past. This effort by Library administrators to methodically collect and preserve the Library’s organizational records is a rich tale, reflecting the growth and development of the institution. Library records were not carefully preserved until the end of the nineteenth century, and by then a large body of material had accumulated, such as nineteen volumes of Librarians’ letterbooks (official correspondence), thirteen volumes of incoming correspondence, “a volume of extracts from the minutes of the Joint Committee on the Library, 1861–98, . . . and a group of ledgers, receipts, and correspondence relating to the construction of the Main Building of the Library, 1889–97.” 2 During the administration of Librarian Herbert Putnam (1899–1939) these and other records were for the most part the responsibility of the Library’s Office of the Secretary. During this period that office “not only prepared the Librarian’s correspondence and maintained his files but also carried on much of the Library’s correspondence from memoranda written in the divisions. . . . As time went on the Librarian began more and more to communicate directly with the divisions and these offices began to receive the right to establish their own divisional files.” 3 However, it was not until