1 00:00:01,320 --> 00:00:04,240 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff You Missed in History Class, a production 2 00:00:04,400 --> 00:00:14,440 Speaker 1: of iHeartRadio. Welcome to the Podcast. I'm Holly Frye and 3 00:00:14,520 --> 00:00:20,800 Speaker 1: I'm Tracy me Wilson. So, doctor Carla Hayden, who has 4 00:00:20,880 --> 00:00:24,919 Speaker 1: been the Librarian of Congress since twenty sixteen, was fired 5 00:00:24,920 --> 00:00:27,040 Speaker 1: by the sitting President on May eighth of this year. 6 00:00:27,560 --> 00:00:31,280 Speaker 1: The President also fired Shira Pullmutter, the Registrar of Copyrights, 7 00:00:31,320 --> 00:00:33,760 Speaker 1: which is of course very linked to the Library of Congress. 8 00:00:34,400 --> 00:00:36,600 Speaker 1: This has sparked a lot of controversy for a number 9 00:00:36,600 --> 00:00:40,280 Speaker 1: of reasons. For one, Librarian of Congress at this point 10 00:00:40,320 --> 00:00:43,720 Speaker 1: is a role that's typically appointed to ten year terms. 11 00:00:44,560 --> 00:00:48,080 Speaker 1: Many historically have served much longer than that. Doctor Hayden 12 00:00:48,200 --> 00:00:51,080 Speaker 1: had not served that period of time. And for another, 13 00:00:51,400 --> 00:00:56,120 Speaker 1: federal law outlines the process of appointing a librarian, and it, 14 00:00:56,240 --> 00:00:59,880 Speaker 1: like many other positions, is filled by the President nominating 15 00:01:00,160 --> 00:01:03,440 Speaker 1: candidate and then the Senate has to confirm that candidate. 16 00:01:03,840 --> 00:01:05,720 Speaker 1: But it was very clear in this case that the 17 00:01:05,720 --> 00:01:09,560 Speaker 1: intention was simply to replace doctor Hayden, and the President 18 00:01:09,640 --> 00:01:12,880 Speaker 1: named Deputy Attorney General Todd blanche as acting head of 19 00:01:12,880 --> 00:01:17,119 Speaker 1: the Library. He's the President's personal attorney. He absolutely does 20 00:01:17,160 --> 00:01:20,200 Speaker 1: not have a library science degree or any practical knowledge 21 00:01:20,240 --> 00:01:24,280 Speaker 1: of the field. And in addition to those reasons for 22 00:01:24,319 --> 00:01:27,319 Speaker 1: this being controversial, another one that should not be overlooked 23 00:01:27,720 --> 00:01:30,720 Speaker 1: is that doctor Hayden has long been described by her 24 00:01:30,800 --> 00:01:35,360 Speaker 1: peers and her colleagues as an exemplary librarian in every 25 00:01:35,440 --> 00:01:39,360 Speaker 1: position that she has had, without exception. And in response 26 00:01:39,400 --> 00:01:43,919 Speaker 1: to this dismissal, American Library Association President Cindy Hole issued 27 00:01:43,920 --> 00:01:47,160 Speaker 1: a statement on behalf of the organization in support of 28 00:01:47,200 --> 00:01:50,920 Speaker 1: doctor Hayden. And this is a case where even GOP 29 00:01:51,080 --> 00:01:54,360 Speaker 1: congress people have raised a red flag over this move, because, 30 00:01:54,400 --> 00:01:57,320 Speaker 1: in addition to feeling as though the power of Congress 31 00:01:57,360 --> 00:02:00,720 Speaker 1: has kind of been sidestepped, there are also so concerns 32 00:02:00,760 --> 00:02:04,800 Speaker 1: about the White House having improper access to information regarding 33 00:02:04,840 --> 00:02:09,480 Speaker 1: the Congressional Research Service, which handles confidential research requests all 34 00:02:09,520 --> 00:02:11,760 Speaker 1: the time. We're going to talk about the origin point 35 00:02:11,800 --> 00:02:15,600 Speaker 1: of that service today. When two officials from Blanche's office 36 00:02:15,720 --> 00:02:18,480 Speaker 1: arrived at the library on Monday, May twelfth, claiming to 37 00:02:18,480 --> 00:02:22,000 Speaker 1: have jurisdiction there, they were denied entry. And that move 38 00:02:22,080 --> 00:02:25,880 Speaker 1: on the part of the library was supported by congressional 39 00:02:25,960 --> 00:02:29,079 Speaker 1: leadership from both sides of the aisle, and then when 40 00:02:29,200 --> 00:02:32,480 Speaker 1: questioned about that dismissal, the president's Press secretary said that 41 00:02:32,520 --> 00:02:36,400 Speaker 1: doctor Hayden was fired because she was quote putting inappropriate 42 00:02:36,440 --> 00:02:40,440 Speaker 1: books in the library for children. Okay, that's a needle 43 00:02:40,480 --> 00:02:43,120 Speaker 1: scratch moment for me, because the Library of Congress doesn't 44 00:02:43,160 --> 00:02:46,440 Speaker 1: lend books to children. It's not a circulating library. It 45 00:02:46,440 --> 00:02:49,600 Speaker 1: doesn't lend books to anyone. It's a research library, and 46 00:02:49,600 --> 00:02:52,000 Speaker 1: that means that all of the books and other materials 47 00:02:52,000 --> 00:02:55,680 Speaker 1: stay on the premises. There is also an age limit. 48 00:02:56,200 --> 00:02:58,360 Speaker 1: No one under the age of sixteen is allowed to 49 00:02:58,360 --> 00:03:02,760 Speaker 1: do research there. Well, there are some children's programs, anyone 50 00:03:02,919 --> 00:03:05,960 Speaker 1: under the age of sixteen, even attending those has to 51 00:03:05,960 --> 00:03:09,639 Speaker 1: be accompanied by an adult, and there are children's collections, 52 00:03:09,680 --> 00:03:12,280 Speaker 1: but most of that material is held as part of 53 00:03:12,320 --> 00:03:17,040 Speaker 1: the library's responsibility as the nation's center for copyright. So 54 00:03:17,120 --> 00:03:19,840 Speaker 1: that excuse didn't really hold water. And it also evidence 55 00:03:19,919 --> 00:03:21,600 Speaker 1: the fact that there are people that do not know 56 00:03:21,639 --> 00:03:24,880 Speaker 1: what the Library of Congress is or does. So today 57 00:03:24,919 --> 00:03:27,440 Speaker 1: we are going to talk about its history, how it 58 00:03:27,480 --> 00:03:30,520 Speaker 1: came to have some of the responsibilities it does. I'm 59 00:03:30,600 --> 00:03:33,520 Speaker 1: qualifying that by saying some of the responsibilities because the 60 00:03:33,560 --> 00:03:37,320 Speaker 1: Library of Congress has a lot of responsibilities. It is 61 00:03:37,400 --> 00:03:40,800 Speaker 1: a massive place in both physical scale and in the 62 00:03:40,880 --> 00:03:45,320 Speaker 1: scale of its services. We're going to start in eighteen hundred, 63 00:03:45,480 --> 00:03:48,840 Speaker 1: which was an important year in US history. Up to 64 00:03:48,880 --> 00:03:51,880 Speaker 1: that point, as we've mentioned at various times on the show, 65 00:03:51,920 --> 00:03:56,160 Speaker 1: the US government was operating out of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, but 66 00:03:56,280 --> 00:04:00,200 Speaker 1: that year the government moved to Washington, d C. The 67 00:04:00,320 --> 00:04:03,840 Speaker 1: move to DC had been planned for a decade. In 68 00:04:03,880 --> 00:04:07,800 Speaker 1: the Residents Act of seventeen ninety, Washington had been selected 69 00:04:07,920 --> 00:04:11,080 Speaker 1: as the new capital in an effort to find a 70 00:04:11,240 --> 00:04:15,040 Speaker 1: neutral spot that was not considered either north or south. 71 00:04:16,040 --> 00:04:19,320 Speaker 1: This is part of a compromise over the issue of slavery. 72 00:04:19,760 --> 00:04:23,719 Speaker 1: Pro slavery southern states were concerned that a capital in 73 00:04:23,760 --> 00:04:28,839 Speaker 1: an abolitionist state would automatically be slanted against their interests, 74 00:04:30,040 --> 00:04:32,960 Speaker 1: which meant that the other states are willing to kind 75 00:04:32,960 --> 00:04:35,800 Speaker 1: of appease the South on this. There were other factors 76 00:04:35,800 --> 00:04:39,279 Speaker 1: in the mix as well, but this decision was made 77 00:04:39,320 --> 00:04:41,560 Speaker 1: that a new city would be developed on at tract 78 00:04:41,640 --> 00:04:46,120 Speaker 1: of land that straddled Virginia and Maryland, and in the meantime, 79 00:04:46,160 --> 00:04:49,480 Speaker 1: Philadelphia would continue to serve as the capital for another 80 00:04:49,560 --> 00:04:54,280 Speaker 1: decade while this new municipality was being planned and built. 81 00:04:54,400 --> 00:04:55,800 Speaker 2: That's a whole separate story. 82 00:04:57,440 --> 00:05:01,320 Speaker 1: Yeah. One of the elements that was on the wish list, 83 00:05:01,360 --> 00:05:04,480 Speaker 1: of course, for the new federal city was a library. 84 00:05:05,279 --> 00:05:07,440 Speaker 1: And this may not have been as much of a 85 00:05:07,520 --> 00:05:10,719 Speaker 1: concern if the capital had stayed in Philadelphia, where there 86 00:05:10,760 --> 00:05:13,960 Speaker 1: were established library resources, or if it had been in 87 00:05:14,040 --> 00:05:16,280 Speaker 1: New York, which had been another option and also had 88 00:05:16,360 --> 00:05:20,000 Speaker 1: library resources. But because the new capital was also a 89 00:05:20,040 --> 00:05:22,600 Speaker 1: new city, a library was going to have to be created. 90 00:05:23,160 --> 00:05:25,720 Speaker 1: On April twenty fourth, eighteen hundred, as part of a 91 00:05:25,839 --> 00:05:29,880 Speaker 1: larger congressional Act that officially moved the government to Washington, 92 00:05:29,960 --> 00:05:34,160 Speaker 1: d C. Five thousand dollars was allocated for books, and 93 00:05:34,160 --> 00:05:36,560 Speaker 1: that made it the first budget of what would become 94 00:05:36,640 --> 00:05:40,359 Speaker 1: the Library of Congress. A committee was also formed to 95 00:05:40,400 --> 00:05:43,680 Speaker 1: administer those funds and oversee the day to day functions 96 00:05:44,000 --> 00:05:46,360 Speaker 1: of this new library, which was going to be housed 97 00:05:46,360 --> 00:05:50,239 Speaker 1: in the Capitol building. The first iteration of the collection 98 00:05:50,720 --> 00:05:53,080 Speaker 1: was just one hundred and fifty two items, and it 99 00:05:53,160 --> 00:05:57,239 Speaker 1: was kept in the Secretary of Senate's office. An order 100 00:05:57,320 --> 00:05:59,880 Speaker 1: was placed in spring of eighteen hundred with a bookseller 101 00:05:59,880 --> 00:06:03,800 Speaker 1: in London to purchase seven hundred and forty more items 102 00:06:03,839 --> 00:06:08,039 Speaker 1: to expand the library's holdings. In eighteen oh two, during 103 00:06:08,120 --> 00:06:12,000 Speaker 1: Thomas Jefferson's presidency, the library was moved to its own 104 00:06:12,080 --> 00:06:15,760 Speaker 1: room in the capital's North Wing. That same year, the 105 00:06:15,800 --> 00:06:21,120 Speaker 1: position of Librarian of Congress was established as a presidential appointment. 106 00:06:21,680 --> 00:06:24,880 Speaker 1: So let's clarify this a little bit. This library is 107 00:06:24,920 --> 00:06:29,080 Speaker 1: a legislative office. It's not a lending library like a 108 00:06:29,080 --> 00:06:33,680 Speaker 1: local library branch. The Library of Congress was always intended 109 00:06:33,720 --> 00:06:38,479 Speaker 1: to serve Congress research materials. There were consulted when legislation 110 00:06:38,720 --> 00:06:41,680 Speaker 1: was being drafted or when Congressmen wanted to study up 111 00:06:41,680 --> 00:06:45,320 Speaker 1: on a topic that was being discussed. In addition to books, 112 00:06:45,360 --> 00:06:48,720 Speaker 1: that meant research materials like maps and surveys that could 113 00:06:48,800 --> 00:06:53,400 Speaker 1: inform the way the country would grow. In that initial period, 114 00:06:53,560 --> 00:06:56,680 Speaker 1: when the Librarian of Congress was paid two dollars a day, 115 00:06:57,320 --> 00:07:00,760 Speaker 1: only members of Congress, the President, and vice president could 116 00:07:00,839 --> 00:07:01,960 Speaker 1: access this collection. 117 00:07:03,560 --> 00:07:05,200 Speaker 2: The first Librarian. 118 00:07:04,680 --> 00:07:08,159 Speaker 1: Of Congress was John James Beckley. Beckley was born in 119 00:07:08,200 --> 00:07:10,880 Speaker 1: England in seventeen fifty seven, and he had moved to 120 00:07:10,880 --> 00:07:13,680 Speaker 1: the Virginia Colony in the late seventeen sixties when he 121 00:07:13,760 --> 00:07:17,240 Speaker 1: was still a boy to work there as an office scribe, 122 00:07:17,880 --> 00:07:20,640 Speaker 1: and as he grew into adulthood he moved into politics. 123 00:07:20,680 --> 00:07:24,120 Speaker 1: He actually became one of the first city councilmen of Richmond, Virginia, 124 00:07:24,880 --> 00:07:27,520 Speaker 1: and as he rose through the ranks politically, he moved 125 00:07:27,520 --> 00:07:30,400 Speaker 1: first to New York and then to Philadelphia, and along 126 00:07:30,480 --> 00:07:33,560 Speaker 1: the way he became a close ally of Thomas Jefferson. 127 00:07:34,200 --> 00:07:38,880 Speaker 1: He actually campaigned for Jefferson and against Federalist politicians, often 128 00:07:38,960 --> 00:07:43,080 Speaker 1: writing political commentaries in various papers under pseudonyms. 129 00:07:43,800 --> 00:07:44,520 Speaker 2: When it came. 130 00:07:44,400 --> 00:07:47,840 Speaker 1: Time to appoint a librarian in eighteen oh two, Jefferson 131 00:07:48,040 --> 00:07:53,240 Speaker 1: immediately picked Beckley. In those early days of the institution, 132 00:07:53,640 --> 00:07:57,280 Speaker 1: the Congressional Committee was making most of the decisions regarding 133 00:07:57,280 --> 00:08:01,240 Speaker 1: the library, but one of Beckley's importants was creating the 134 00:08:01,280 --> 00:08:05,680 Speaker 1: library's first catalog, which was printed just months after he 135 00:08:05,760 --> 00:08:09,440 Speaker 1: was selected for the job. That's an impressive feat because 136 00:08:09,480 --> 00:08:12,360 Speaker 1: the librarianship was not his only job. He was also 137 00:08:12,560 --> 00:08:17,160 Speaker 1: Clerk of the House of Representatives. The catalog of the books, maps, 138 00:08:17,200 --> 00:08:20,320 Speaker 1: and charts belonging to the Library of the two Houses 139 00:08:20,360 --> 00:08:23,720 Speaker 1: of Congress was a guide to the initial collection of 140 00:08:23,840 --> 00:08:27,720 Speaker 1: nine hundred and sixty four items in that initial small offering. 141 00:08:28,560 --> 00:08:31,480 Speaker 1: Beckley held the library in office until eighteen oh seven, 142 00:08:31,520 --> 00:08:35,280 Speaker 1: when he died. During the later part of his tenure, 143 00:08:35,360 --> 00:08:39,000 Speaker 1: the collection moved from its dedicated space as that area 144 00:08:39,160 --> 00:08:42,720 Speaker 1: was reallocated to use for the House of Representatives, and 145 00:08:42,760 --> 00:08:46,439 Speaker 1: the library was temporarily kind of nomadic. It moved from 146 00:08:46,520 --> 00:08:49,960 Speaker 1: room to room while a more permanent solution was sought after. 147 00:08:51,160 --> 00:08:53,480 Speaker 1: I don't know why that tickles me, knowing it literally 148 00:08:53,559 --> 00:08:56,400 Speaker 1: was getting shuffled around from like conference room to coucy. 149 00:08:56,440 --> 00:08:58,679 Speaker 1: We need this one for a meeting. Yeah, you got 150 00:08:58,720 --> 00:09:02,400 Speaker 1: to move the Library of Congress out of it before 151 00:09:02,440 --> 00:09:06,080 Speaker 1: a permanent space was found. Though. In eighteen fourteen, during 152 00:09:06,120 --> 00:09:09,320 Speaker 1: the War of eighteen twelve, Washington, d c. Was burned 153 00:09:09,320 --> 00:09:12,560 Speaker 1: down by British forces, and this destroyed the Library of 154 00:09:12,600 --> 00:09:17,640 Speaker 1: Congress in its entirety. Thomas Jefferson, who had steered the 155 00:09:17,679 --> 00:09:20,800 Speaker 1: early years of the library as we've discussed, had retired 156 00:09:20,800 --> 00:09:24,000 Speaker 1: to his home Monticello at this point, and he read 157 00:09:24,040 --> 00:09:27,760 Speaker 1: about the fire in the paper. He almost immediately wrote 158 00:09:27,760 --> 00:09:30,440 Speaker 1: to a friend quote, I learned from the newspapers that 159 00:09:30,480 --> 00:09:33,840 Speaker 1: the vandalism of our enemy has triumphed at Washington over 160 00:09:33,920 --> 00:09:36,960 Speaker 1: science as well as the arts, by the destruction of 161 00:09:36,960 --> 00:09:39,840 Speaker 1: the Public Library with the Noble edifice in which it 162 00:09:39,920 --> 00:09:45,360 Speaker 1: was deposited. Jefferson had himself amassed a pretty impressive library 163 00:09:45,400 --> 00:09:48,199 Speaker 1: with a lot of rare volumes collected from Europe over 164 00:09:48,240 --> 00:09:51,160 Speaker 1: the years, and he had always intended that he was 165 00:09:51,200 --> 00:09:53,600 Speaker 1: going to leave the collection to the Library of Congress 166 00:09:53,600 --> 00:09:56,600 Speaker 1: when he died, although he wanted the government to pay 167 00:09:56,600 --> 00:09:58,640 Speaker 1: his estate for it. This is a thing that I 168 00:09:58,720 --> 00:10:01,320 Speaker 1: find kind of funny. There are write ups about this 169 00:10:01,480 --> 00:10:04,120 Speaker 1: that are like, he donated his No, he didn't donate, 170 00:10:04,200 --> 00:10:08,760 Speaker 1: he sold it. Let's be clear. There was a transaction involved. 171 00:10:09,320 --> 00:10:11,440 Speaker 1: But in light of the fire, he just sped up 172 00:10:11,440 --> 00:10:14,719 Speaker 1: his plan and he offered his full collection, which was 173 00:10:14,760 --> 00:10:17,720 Speaker 1: believed to be six four hundred eighty seven books, to 174 00:10:17,840 --> 00:10:21,280 Speaker 1: replace that lost Library of Congress collection, which had at 175 00:10:21,320 --> 00:10:24,080 Speaker 1: that point been less than half that size, and he 176 00:10:24,280 --> 00:10:27,800 Speaker 1: was paid twenty three, nine hundred and fifty dollars for 177 00:10:27,840 --> 00:10:30,400 Speaker 1: the entirety of it, which it actually turned out was 178 00:10:30,520 --> 00:10:33,360 Speaker 1: larger than he had realized when he started really going 179 00:10:33,400 --> 00:10:36,400 Speaker 1: through it and prepping it. It was six thousand, seven 180 00:10:36,480 --> 00:10:39,439 Speaker 1: hundred seven books total. He did not ask for any 181 00:10:39,440 --> 00:10:43,320 Speaker 1: additional money for the extra books. This was actually kind 182 00:10:43,320 --> 00:10:45,760 Speaker 1: of controversial in a variety of ways. Some people thought 183 00:10:46,160 --> 00:10:48,760 Speaker 1: volumes in his collection were not appropriate for the government 184 00:10:48,800 --> 00:10:51,360 Speaker 1: to own and that he was making a cash grab. 185 00:10:51,880 --> 00:10:54,840 Speaker 1: But in any case, it did replenish the library, and 186 00:10:54,920 --> 00:10:57,760 Speaker 1: Jefferson used the money to settle a number of debts, 187 00:10:58,240 --> 00:11:01,840 Speaker 1: and he sent the collection, including its bookcases, to Washington. 188 00:11:02,520 --> 00:11:04,800 Speaker 1: The last wagon load was sent to the Capitol on 189 00:11:04,920 --> 00:11:09,199 Speaker 1: May eighth, eighteen fifteen. Coming up, we'll talk about the 190 00:11:09,240 --> 00:11:12,640 Speaker 1: newly replenished library collection and where it was stored, but 191 00:11:12,720 --> 00:11:15,240 Speaker 1: first we will hear from the sponsors that keep the 192 00:11:15,280 --> 00:11:29,120 Speaker 1: show going. Initially, the new Library of Congress collection acquired 193 00:11:29,120 --> 00:11:32,080 Speaker 1: from Thomas Jefferson, as well as new volumes as they 194 00:11:32,120 --> 00:11:35,120 Speaker 1: were added, lived in the hotel that served as the 195 00:11:35,160 --> 00:11:38,440 Speaker 1: temporary home of the Capitol post fire, and then in 196 00:11:38,520 --> 00:11:41,959 Speaker 1: eighteen eighteen it moved back into the rebuilt Capitol building, 197 00:11:42,080 --> 00:11:44,920 Speaker 1: where it was stored in the attic as a temporary option. 198 00:11:45,480 --> 00:11:48,080 Speaker 1: This was like an attic that had functional use, It 199 00:11:48,120 --> 00:11:51,520 Speaker 1: wasn't just like shoved up there. It took six years, though, 200 00:11:51,559 --> 00:11:54,080 Speaker 1: for a purpose built room in the building to be 201 00:11:54,120 --> 00:11:58,640 Speaker 1: created by architect Charles Bullfinch. On December twenty second, eighteen 202 00:11:58,720 --> 00:12:01,720 Speaker 1: twenty five, just a year after that new room was ready, 203 00:12:02,520 --> 00:12:05,520 Speaker 1: there was another fire. This one was an accident. It 204 00:12:05,559 --> 00:12:08,560 Speaker 1: was started by a candle, and the fire was caught 205 00:12:08,720 --> 00:12:13,880 Speaker 1: relatively early and extinguished, but it instigated discussions about fireproofing 206 00:12:14,240 --> 00:12:17,520 Speaker 1: to prevent this growing collection from being lost as the 207 00:12:17,559 --> 00:12:21,680 Speaker 1: first one was. But nothing came of these discussions, and 208 00:12:21,720 --> 00:12:25,000 Speaker 1: on December twenty fourth, eighteen fifty one, there was another 209 00:12:25,160 --> 00:12:28,640 Speaker 1: fire at the Library of Congress. This one also an accident. 210 00:12:29,400 --> 00:12:33,120 Speaker 1: Thirty five thousand books were destroyed, including more than half 211 00:12:33,160 --> 00:12:36,320 Speaker 1: of the books that had come from Jefferson's collection. The 212 00:12:36,360 --> 00:12:39,520 Speaker 1: eighteen fifty one fire made it apparent that the Library 213 00:12:39,559 --> 00:12:43,360 Speaker 1: of Congress would always be vulnerable unless steps were taken 214 00:12:43,400 --> 00:12:45,760 Speaker 1: to help ensure the safety of the collection. 215 00:12:46,760 --> 00:12:47,400 Speaker 2: Thomas U. 216 00:12:47,640 --> 00:12:51,080 Speaker 1: Walter was hired for another project, which was designing a 217 00:12:51,240 --> 00:12:56,320 Speaker 1: fireproof room for the library. That new room, which was 218 00:12:56,360 --> 00:12:58,840 Speaker 1: made of iron and ran along the west front of 219 00:12:58,840 --> 00:13:02,240 Speaker 1: the Capitol, was officially opened on August twenty third, eighteen 220 00:13:02,320 --> 00:13:07,000 Speaker 1: fifty three. Two additional wings, which were also fireproof, were 221 00:13:07,040 --> 00:13:11,160 Speaker 1: added in eighteen sixty six. Those wings, which had been 222 00:13:11,160 --> 00:13:14,280 Speaker 1: built with a budget of one hundred sixty thousand dollars, 223 00:13:14,480 --> 00:13:18,000 Speaker 1: filled up very quickly. One of the big space fillers 224 00:13:18,040 --> 00:13:22,200 Speaker 1: was the newly acquired Library of the Smithsonian Institution. That 225 00:13:22,360 --> 00:13:26,240 Speaker 1: new material on its own totaled about forty thousand volumes. 226 00:13:26,720 --> 00:13:29,480 Speaker 1: It really was starting to seem like the library's physical 227 00:13:29,480 --> 00:13:33,120 Speaker 1: home could just never keep up with its very rapid expansion. 228 00:13:33,720 --> 00:13:36,440 Speaker 1: But things were actually about to get much more intense 229 00:13:36,600 --> 00:13:40,400 Speaker 1: in terms of collection growth. In eighteen seventy, the Library 230 00:13:40,480 --> 00:13:43,800 Speaker 1: of Congress became the center of copyright in the US. 231 00:13:44,559 --> 00:13:47,800 Speaker 1: This happened as part of the Copyright Law of eighteen seventy, 232 00:13:47,960 --> 00:13:51,679 Speaker 1: which began as an act to revise, consolidate, and amend 233 00:13:51,760 --> 00:13:56,160 Speaker 1: the statutes relating to patents and copyrights. By making the 234 00:13:56,200 --> 00:14:00,079 Speaker 1: Library of Congress so central to copyright claims, Congress U 235 00:14:00,280 --> 00:14:04,800 Speaker 1: and President Grant had inadvertently created a new problem. As 236 00:14:04,920 --> 00:14:08,280 Speaker 1: part of the law, the library was given two copies 237 00:14:08,320 --> 00:14:12,400 Speaker 1: of all copyrighted items. Soon that meant it was under 238 00:14:12,440 --> 00:14:16,400 Speaker 1: an avalanche of copyright deposits and it ran out of room. 239 00:14:16,520 --> 00:14:18,280 Speaker 2: That happened really quickly. 240 00:14:19,080 --> 00:14:22,200 Speaker 1: Really quickly, because by the end of eighteen seventy one, 241 00:14:22,400 --> 00:14:25,640 Speaker 1: just eighteen months after the library was made the Copyright 242 00:14:25,680 --> 00:14:30,800 Speaker 1: Deposit Center, Congress received word from Ainsworth Rand Spofford, the librarian, 243 00:14:30,960 --> 00:14:34,920 Speaker 1: that a new building was absolutely necessary. He had campaigned 244 00:14:34,920 --> 00:14:37,400 Speaker 1: for the library to become the hub of copyright in 245 00:14:37,440 --> 00:14:40,600 Speaker 1: the US, but he had created a massive job for 246 00:14:40,680 --> 00:14:42,560 Speaker 1: himself in terms of its management. 247 00:14:43,480 --> 00:14:44,280 Speaker 2: He mentioned in an. 248 00:14:44,280 --> 00:14:47,400 Speaker 1: Update the following year that library staff had resorted to 249 00:14:47,560 --> 00:14:50,640 Speaker 1: piling books all over the floor because there was nowhere 250 00:14:50,680 --> 00:14:54,320 Speaker 1: else to put them. Among other issues, the library had 251 00:14:54,320 --> 00:14:57,880 Speaker 1: also continued to take in large collection editions, often in 252 00:14:57,920 --> 00:15:02,000 Speaker 1: the form of gifts. Teen sixty nine, for example, nearly 253 00:15:02,040 --> 00:15:04,600 Speaker 1: one thousand books were sent as a gift from the 254 00:15:04,640 --> 00:15:08,280 Speaker 1: Emperor of China. Although there was an acute need for 255 00:15:08,320 --> 00:15:11,520 Speaker 1: a new building, it took years for one to be built. 256 00:15:11,920 --> 00:15:15,080 Speaker 1: It wasn't until eighteen eighty six that Congress authorized the 257 00:15:15,160 --> 00:15:19,800 Speaker 1: construction of a purpose built building for the library. Yet 258 00:15:19,840 --> 00:15:23,800 Speaker 1: another decade passed before that got built. Although Spofford made 259 00:15:23,840 --> 00:15:26,560 Speaker 1: it clear that the crowding problems were just making it 260 00:15:26,720 --> 00:15:30,040 Speaker 1: unfit for use in a lot of cases, he also 261 00:15:30,120 --> 00:15:33,440 Speaker 1: made growth predictions to make it clear that Congress needed 262 00:15:33,440 --> 00:15:37,240 Speaker 1: to be thinking long term about this collection. He said 263 00:15:37,240 --> 00:15:40,200 Speaker 1: that he expected that by the nineteen seventies there would 264 00:15:40,200 --> 00:15:45,080 Speaker 1: be two point five million items in the collection. Yeah, 265 00:15:45,120 --> 00:15:48,120 Speaker 1: that was an underestimation, but at the time it was 266 00:15:48,160 --> 00:15:51,680 Speaker 1: a pretty good guess. The new building, though, did open 267 00:15:51,760 --> 00:15:55,640 Speaker 1: on November first, eighteen ninety seven, just sixteen years from 268 00:15:55,640 --> 00:15:59,600 Speaker 1: when Spofford notified Congress of the space issues. By that point, 269 00:15:59,720 --> 00:16:02,600 Speaker 1: rush full forty percent of the library collection had been 270 00:16:02,640 --> 00:16:06,680 Speaker 1: acquired through copyright deposits, and along the way, Spofford had 271 00:16:06,760 --> 00:16:10,560 Speaker 1: continued to write updated reports, noting in early eighteen ninety 272 00:16:10,560 --> 00:16:13,360 Speaker 1: one that the collection had swelled to six hundred and 273 00:16:13,360 --> 00:16:17,040 Speaker 1: fifty thousand books and more than two hundred thousand pamphlets. 274 00:16:17,640 --> 00:16:20,960 Speaker 1: But the completed library, long though its gestation had been, 275 00:16:21,320 --> 00:16:24,840 Speaker 1: was a marvel. It was touted as the largest and 276 00:16:24,920 --> 00:16:27,520 Speaker 1: the safest library in the world, and it had also 277 00:16:27,600 --> 00:16:31,120 Speaker 1: come with a very high price tag. It had taken 278 00:16:31,240 --> 00:16:35,680 Speaker 1: years of process, arguments, debate, and setbacks. There had been 279 00:16:35,680 --> 00:16:38,680 Speaker 1: two architects on it initially, although each of them had 280 00:16:38,680 --> 00:16:41,960 Speaker 1: been dismissed along the way, and ultimately the second one 281 00:16:42,000 --> 00:16:44,840 Speaker 1: was replaced in eighteen ninety two by Edward Pierce Casey. 282 00:16:45,440 --> 00:16:48,120 Speaker 1: But then when Casey's father died in eighteen ninety six, 283 00:16:48,160 --> 00:16:51,640 Speaker 1: Bernard R. Green stepped in to finish the building, and 284 00:16:51,640 --> 00:16:55,560 Speaker 1: this building featured not only a beautiful Italian Renaissance exterior, 285 00:16:55,600 --> 00:16:58,600 Speaker 1: but an interior that was filled with art and sculpture 286 00:16:58,720 --> 00:17:02,080 Speaker 1: commissioned from USR artists, and it was nicknamed the Temple 287 00:17:02,120 --> 00:17:06,560 Speaker 1: of the Arts. Also in eighteen ninety eight, the process 288 00:17:06,560 --> 00:17:10,480 Speaker 1: for appointing a Librarian of Congress changed under the presidency 289 00:17:10,480 --> 00:17:14,200 Speaker 1: of Grover Cleveland. From then on, the President has been 290 00:17:14,240 --> 00:17:17,040 Speaker 1: able to select a candidate, but the Senate has to 291 00:17:17,080 --> 00:17:21,520 Speaker 1: approve that candidate. The eighteen ninety seven legislation also changed 292 00:17:21,560 --> 00:17:24,719 Speaker 1: the role of the library and officially. While it was 293 00:17:24,760 --> 00:17:28,320 Speaker 1: initially a position that had less authority to make decisions 294 00:17:28,359 --> 00:17:32,280 Speaker 1: about the collection than Congress did, Ainsworth Spofford had taken 295 00:17:32,440 --> 00:17:35,359 Speaker 1: on a lot more responsibility in that role as the 296 00:17:35,400 --> 00:17:39,240 Speaker 1: library had grown far beyond anything that could be managed 297 00:17:39,240 --> 00:17:41,880 Speaker 1: as kind of a side job or part time project. 298 00:17:42,640 --> 00:17:45,240 Speaker 1: So by the end of the nineteenth century, the role 299 00:17:45,359 --> 00:17:48,680 Speaker 1: came with an established salary of five thousand dollars a 300 00:17:48,760 --> 00:17:52,040 Speaker 1: year and a lot more autonomy about how the library 301 00:17:52,119 --> 00:17:56,399 Speaker 1: was staffed and run. A separate role of Superintendent of 302 00:17:56,520 --> 00:17:59,840 Speaker 1: Grounds was also created, for the library, which also came 303 00:18:00,080 --> 00:18:04,439 Speaker 1: with a five thousand dollars salary and perhaps most important 304 00:18:04,560 --> 00:18:06,119 Speaker 1: at least to me, and we could talk about this 305 00:18:06,160 --> 00:18:09,879 Speaker 1: on Friday. In eighteen ninety eight, catalogers were added to 306 00:18:09,920 --> 00:18:13,199 Speaker 1: the library staff to review the collection catalog and to 307 00:18:13,320 --> 00:18:17,720 Speaker 1: create a new classification system that could more effectively encompass 308 00:18:17,760 --> 00:18:20,760 Speaker 1: the existing holdings and those that would be acquired in 309 00:18:20,800 --> 00:18:23,840 Speaker 1: the future. And this was the beginning of the Library 310 00:18:23,840 --> 00:18:27,880 Speaker 1: of Congress Classification System or LCC that's used in many 311 00:18:27,920 --> 00:18:32,320 Speaker 1: academic libraries today. Starting in nineteen oh two, the Library 312 00:18:32,359 --> 00:18:37,439 Speaker 1: of Congress started selling pre printed catalog cards to other libraries. 313 00:18:38,200 --> 00:18:41,440 Speaker 1: That meant that if a library was using the LCC system, 314 00:18:41,520 --> 00:18:44,160 Speaker 1: when it acquired a new volume for its own collection, 315 00:18:44,280 --> 00:18:47,800 Speaker 1: it could just purchase the already cataloged record for it 316 00:18:47,880 --> 00:18:51,440 Speaker 1: and add that card to the card catalog. That would 317 00:18:51,440 --> 00:18:55,200 Speaker 1: save cataloging time for anybody young enough to have never 318 00:18:55,280 --> 00:18:59,600 Speaker 1: used a card catalog. These cards were inserted into drawers 319 00:18:59,680 --> 00:19:04,360 Speaker 1: in a specialty catalog cabinet. They were alphabetical, and users 320 00:19:04,400 --> 00:19:08,080 Speaker 1: could search the catalog by looking for a subject, an author, 321 00:19:08,240 --> 00:19:13,080 Speaker 1: or a title. So every volume typically had three cards, 322 00:19:13,320 --> 00:19:17,840 Speaker 1: one with each possible search approach headlined on it. Every 323 00:19:17,880 --> 00:19:21,520 Speaker 1: one of a volume's associated cards would contain the volume's 324 00:19:21,600 --> 00:19:25,080 Speaker 1: catalog number, so the user could jot that down and 325 00:19:25,200 --> 00:19:29,400 Speaker 1: then go find the book or other material in the stacks. 326 00:19:30,040 --> 00:19:33,560 Speaker 1: The money made from card sales went to the US Treasury. 327 00:19:34,160 --> 00:19:39,120 Speaker 1: The card business grew rapidly as public and educational libraries 328 00:19:39,240 --> 00:19:43,600 Speaker 1: signed on as subscribers. Soon it needed its own staff. 329 00:19:44,880 --> 00:19:49,240 Speaker 1: My local library branch uses an old card catalog cabinet 330 00:19:49,280 --> 00:19:53,480 Speaker 1: as a seed library. Yeah. They've been repurposed in a 331 00:19:53,480 --> 00:19:57,680 Speaker 1: lot of fun ways. I found myself so nostalgic trying 332 00:19:57,680 --> 00:20:01,720 Speaker 1: to write out how a card catalog carn I was like, 333 00:20:02,600 --> 00:20:05,080 Speaker 1: oh my gosh, we had to write down the call number. 334 00:20:05,280 --> 00:20:05,639 Speaker 2: Yeah. 335 00:20:05,960 --> 00:20:10,040 Speaker 1: I remember in elementary school being taken to the library 336 00:20:10,200 --> 00:20:12,840 Speaker 1: and shown how the card catalog works and how to 337 00:20:12,920 --> 00:20:14,760 Speaker 1: lift things up in it. And there was like a 338 00:20:14,840 --> 00:20:18,840 Speaker 1: little stack of little papers on top of it with 339 00:20:18,880 --> 00:20:23,160 Speaker 1: little short pencils where you could write down the call number. Oh, yeah, 340 00:20:23,240 --> 00:20:28,000 Speaker 1: that's like a dopamine hit. In the early twentieth century, 341 00:20:28,080 --> 00:20:31,400 Speaker 1: the identity of the library evolved once more when President 342 00:20:31,400 --> 00:20:35,200 Speaker 1: Theodore Roosevelt signed an executive order that made the library 343 00:20:35,280 --> 00:20:39,280 Speaker 1: the home of a great many important documents. That executive 344 00:20:39,359 --> 00:20:41,879 Speaker 1: order was dated March ninth, nineteen oh three, and it 345 00:20:41,960 --> 00:20:46,120 Speaker 1: made the personal papers of multiple founding fathers and records 346 00:20:46,119 --> 00:20:50,000 Speaker 1: of the Continental Congress part of the Library's collection. And 347 00:20:50,080 --> 00:20:52,400 Speaker 1: this was the beginning of a lot of growth under 348 00:20:52,400 --> 00:20:56,480 Speaker 1: library and Herbert Putnam, who not only enlarged the library's holdings, 349 00:20:56,840 --> 00:21:00,720 Speaker 1: but also expanded the services that the library offered, creating 350 00:21:00,800 --> 00:21:05,160 Speaker 1: more accessible research options for patrons, including a reference service 351 00:21:05,240 --> 00:21:09,520 Speaker 1: with library staff available to assist with research requests. There 352 00:21:09,520 --> 00:21:12,560 Speaker 1: were also new cultural programs like concerts added to the 353 00:21:12,600 --> 00:21:16,639 Speaker 1: library schedule. When World War One began, Putnam, at the 354 00:21:16,680 --> 00:21:20,400 Speaker 1: request of the American Library Association, headed up a project 355 00:21:20,400 --> 00:21:22,120 Speaker 1: to send books, periodicals, etc. 356 00:21:22,520 --> 00:21:23,719 Speaker 2: To US soldiers. 357 00:21:24,680 --> 00:21:28,000 Speaker 1: In nineteen twenty one, the two foundational documents of the 358 00:21:28,080 --> 00:21:31,280 Speaker 1: United States, that's the Declaration of Independence in the US 359 00:21:31,400 --> 00:21:35,200 Speaker 1: Constitution were both added to the Library of Congress collection. 360 00:21:36,119 --> 00:21:39,159 Speaker 1: Before this move, these two documents had been maintained by 361 00:21:39,200 --> 00:21:43,640 Speaker 1: the State Department. The National Archives had not been established yet, 362 00:21:43,680 --> 00:21:48,119 Speaker 1: so the library offered the best environment for preservation and care. 363 00:21:48,840 --> 00:21:52,280 Speaker 1: The documents got a dedicated shrine on February twenty eighth, 364 00:21:52,359 --> 00:21:56,240 Speaker 1: nineteen twenty four, so not only were they carefully preserved, 365 00:21:56,600 --> 00:22:00,119 Speaker 1: but visitors could also see them. They stayed in the 366 00:22:00,160 --> 00:22:03,520 Speaker 1: library until nineteen fifty two, when they were transferred to 367 00:22:03,560 --> 00:22:07,000 Speaker 1: the National Archive. Yeah, there's a little side trip that 368 00:22:07,040 --> 00:22:09,159 Speaker 1: they took that we'll talk about in a minute. In 369 00:22:09,240 --> 00:22:12,760 Speaker 1: nineteen thirty nine, the library got yet another building, designed 370 00:22:12,760 --> 00:22:16,680 Speaker 1: by the architecture firm of Pearson and Wilson. This building 371 00:22:16,760 --> 00:22:21,200 Speaker 1: was simple in its layout, prioritizing workspaces for library visitors 372 00:22:21,280 --> 00:22:24,320 Speaker 1: in addition to the book stacks, but simple did not 373 00:22:24,440 --> 00:22:29,840 Speaker 1: mean small. This building was designed to hold ten million volumes. 374 00:22:30,440 --> 00:22:33,160 Speaker 1: This building was originally called the Annex, and it retained 375 00:22:33,160 --> 00:22:36,000 Speaker 1: that name until it was renamed the Library of Congress 376 00:22:36,040 --> 00:22:40,560 Speaker 1: Thomas Jefferson Building in nineteen seventy six under President Gerald Ford. 377 00:22:41,000 --> 00:22:43,080 Speaker 1: If you're familiar with the Library of Congress, you're like, 378 00:22:43,160 --> 00:22:46,159 Speaker 1: that's not the Thomas Jefferson Building. That's because that was 379 00:22:46,200 --> 00:22:49,320 Speaker 1: its name for only four years. In nineteen eighty, when 380 00:22:49,359 --> 00:22:52,400 Speaker 1: another new library building was open, that's the James Madison 381 00:22:52,440 --> 00:22:56,680 Speaker 1: Memorial Building. When that happened, the main library was renamed 382 00:22:56,680 --> 00:23:00,440 Speaker 1: the Thomas Jefferson Building. The former Annex slash Thomas Jefferson 383 00:23:00,520 --> 00:23:04,679 Speaker 1: Building became the John Adams Building. The nineteen forties were 384 00:23:04,720 --> 00:23:07,879 Speaker 1: an interesting time for the library. For one, there was 385 00:23:07,920 --> 00:23:11,320 Speaker 1: a recognition that some of the collection needed to be 386 00:23:11,400 --> 00:23:16,280 Speaker 1: preserved in new ways. Things like archival newspapers, which had 387 00:23:16,320 --> 00:23:19,159 Speaker 1: not been intended to last long term when they were 388 00:23:19,200 --> 00:23:24,000 Speaker 1: initially printed, were literally falling apart. The Library requested a 389 00:23:24,000 --> 00:23:26,920 Speaker 1: small budget to commit some of the more important journals 390 00:23:26,960 --> 00:23:30,240 Speaker 1: to microfilm for long term access that would not further 391 00:23:30,440 --> 00:23:35,919 Speaker 1: degrade the collection, and of course their microfilm procedures and 392 00:23:36,000 --> 00:23:40,960 Speaker 1: program grew a huge amount from there. For another thing, 393 00:23:41,119 --> 00:23:45,000 Speaker 1: World War II was deeply impactful for the library. Just 394 00:23:45,040 --> 00:23:47,720 Speaker 1: as the fires of the earlier years had given rise 395 00:23:47,760 --> 00:23:51,399 Speaker 1: to considerations as to how the collection might be protected, 396 00:23:51,920 --> 00:23:55,639 Speaker 1: the war made Congress, then Library and Archibald MacLeish and 397 00:23:55,840 --> 00:23:59,439 Speaker 1: President Franklin D. Roosevelt aware of the vulnerability of the 398 00:23:59,520 --> 00:24:04,040 Speaker 1: nation's important documents and collections should an enemy power choose 399 00:24:04,080 --> 00:24:07,520 Speaker 1: to attack them. For this reason, during World War II, 400 00:24:07,680 --> 00:24:10,720 Speaker 1: the Constitution and Declaration of Independence, as well as the 401 00:24:10,760 --> 00:24:14,440 Speaker 1: Library's Gutenberg Bible were all moved to Fort Knox, although 402 00:24:14,440 --> 00:24:17,960 Speaker 1: that was not public knowledge at the time. Other valuable 403 00:24:18,000 --> 00:24:22,200 Speaker 1: items were also moved to secret locations. This also included 404 00:24:22,280 --> 00:24:25,119 Speaker 1: the Lincoln Cathedral copy of the Magna Carta, which the 405 00:24:25,160 --> 00:24:29,320 Speaker 1: British had brought to the US for safekeeping. The library 406 00:24:29,440 --> 00:24:32,080 Speaker 1: also changed its hours and it was opened twenty four 407 00:24:32,119 --> 00:24:35,360 Speaker 1: to seven for government officials during the war, while public 408 00:24:35,480 --> 00:24:38,760 Speaker 1: use hours were cut down. The items that had been 409 00:24:38,800 --> 00:24:41,439 Speaker 1: moved out for safety were returned to the library in 410 00:24:41,480 --> 00:24:44,879 Speaker 1: the autumn of nineteen forty four. In nineteen forty four, 411 00:24:44,960 --> 00:24:48,640 Speaker 1: the library was also the debut location for a ballet 412 00:24:48,720 --> 00:24:52,560 Speaker 1: called Appalachian Spring, one of my favorite pieces of music. 413 00:24:52,600 --> 00:24:54,560 Speaker 1: Please don't come at me for how I just said 414 00:24:54,560 --> 00:24:59,560 Speaker 1: the word Appalachian. The music was composed by Aaron Copeland 415 00:24:59,640 --> 00:25:03,040 Speaker 1: and Arthur Graham choreographed it. The story of the ballet, 416 00:25:03,119 --> 00:25:07,239 Speaker 1: which was commissioned by arts benefactor Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge, was 417 00:25:07,320 --> 00:25:10,320 Speaker 1: intended to capture a moment in the history of the US. 418 00:25:10,840 --> 00:25:14,919 Speaker 1: It's about a couple in a Pennsylvania Shakertown during westward expansion. 419 00:25:15,480 --> 00:25:18,120 Speaker 1: It starts with their wedding and follows them through their 420 00:25:18,119 --> 00:25:21,919 Speaker 1: lives in a small town that's just getting established. Graham 421 00:25:22,000 --> 00:25:24,840 Speaker 1: named the ballet after a line in a poem by 422 00:25:24,880 --> 00:25:28,600 Speaker 1: Hart Crane called the Bridge. When Copeland asked her if 423 00:25:28,600 --> 00:25:30,679 Speaker 1: the poem had anything to do with the ballet, she 424 00:25:30,760 --> 00:25:34,280 Speaker 1: told him quote, no, I just liked the title and 425 00:25:34,320 --> 00:25:37,879 Speaker 1: I took it. It premiered in the library as Elizabeth 426 00:25:37,920 --> 00:25:41,040 Speaker 1: Sprague Coolidge Auditorium, which had been added to the Thomas 427 00:25:41,119 --> 00:25:45,359 Speaker 1: Jefferson Library building in the nineteen twenties. Story of that 428 00:25:45,480 --> 00:25:50,360 Speaker 1: ballet and Copeland and Graham's collaboration and sometimes lack thereof, 429 00:25:51,040 --> 00:25:53,879 Speaker 1: is its own fascinating story. I highly recommend if you 430 00:25:54,040 --> 00:25:57,239 Speaker 1: like a little arts drama. Yeah, many years ago I 431 00:25:57,280 --> 00:25:59,600 Speaker 1: almost sit an Aeron Copeland episode and I got like 432 00:25:59,680 --> 00:26:02,520 Speaker 1: over wound, and I put it to the side and 433 00:26:02,600 --> 00:26:06,280 Speaker 1: haven't returned to it. Every quote he has given about 434 00:26:06,280 --> 00:26:09,000 Speaker 1: Martha Graham tickles the pants off me. It's so funny. 435 00:26:09,240 --> 00:26:13,159 Speaker 1: It's very like, well, we were working on that. She 436 00:26:13,280 --> 00:26:15,760 Speaker 1: didn't want him to see any of the ballet. He 437 00:26:15,840 --> 00:26:19,480 Speaker 1: didn't see anything until the day before it debuted. He 438 00:26:19,600 --> 00:26:22,200 Speaker 1: was still sending over music very late in the game, 439 00:26:22,280 --> 00:26:24,440 Speaker 1: like there was just a lot of back and forth. 440 00:26:24,440 --> 00:26:26,879 Speaker 1: They were in the same place. So it was a 441 00:26:27,080 --> 00:26:31,359 Speaker 1: very a huge achievement in terms of two artists that 442 00:26:31,400 --> 00:26:35,960 Speaker 1: are maybe struggling to connect creating something that's really unique, 443 00:26:36,359 --> 00:26:39,000 Speaker 1: but it also sounds like a wild ride. I can't 444 00:26:39,000 --> 00:26:42,359 Speaker 1: imagine being one of the performers trying to like, Okay, 445 00:26:42,400 --> 00:26:45,160 Speaker 1: we don't have what now? How soon do we open? 446 00:26:47,520 --> 00:26:49,560 Speaker 1: In just a moment, we are going to talk about 447 00:26:49,560 --> 00:26:52,600 Speaker 1: some of the services that formally became part of the 448 00:26:52,600 --> 00:26:55,439 Speaker 1: Library's offerings after World War Two, but first we are 449 00:26:55,440 --> 00:27:08,000 Speaker 1: going to pause for a sponsor break. In nineteen forty six, 450 00:27:08,160 --> 00:27:12,080 Speaker 1: a specialized research department was created for the Library through 451 00:27:12,119 --> 00:27:16,560 Speaker 1: the Legislative Reorganization Act of nineteen forty six. This was 452 00:27:16,600 --> 00:27:20,160 Speaker 1: the Library Reference Service, which had already existed to assist 453 00:27:20,200 --> 00:27:23,400 Speaker 1: Congress with research needs, but this Act made it its 454 00:27:23,480 --> 00:27:26,399 Speaker 1: own department with a budget so that specialists could be 455 00:27:26,480 --> 00:27:30,560 Speaker 1: hired to make its offerings more robust. In nineteen seventy, 456 00:27:30,720 --> 00:27:34,960 Speaker 1: the LRS was renamed the Congressional Research Service or CRS. 457 00:27:35,240 --> 00:27:37,639 Speaker 1: We referenced that at the very beginning of the episode, 458 00:27:37,960 --> 00:27:40,600 Speaker 1: and it was restructured at that time with an expanded 459 00:27:40,600 --> 00:27:45,840 Speaker 1: list of responsibilities, including assisting individual congress people and committees 460 00:27:45,880 --> 00:27:50,639 Speaker 1: with policy research. In nineteen fifty eight, Librarian of Congress 461 00:27:50,640 --> 00:27:56,000 Speaker 1: el Quincy Mumford established an entered Apartmental Committee on Mechanized 462 00:27:56,160 --> 00:28:00,680 Speaker 1: Information Retrieval. That committee was tasked with figure out if 463 00:28:00,680 --> 00:28:04,560 Speaker 1: there was a way to mechanize the catalog. We mentioned 464 00:28:04,640 --> 00:28:08,520 Speaker 1: the card cataloging system earlier. Over the years since the 465 00:28:08,520 --> 00:28:11,399 Speaker 1: turn of the century, when the card catalog first started 466 00:28:11,440 --> 00:28:14,960 Speaker 1: to be used to the Library of Congress's own card 467 00:28:15,040 --> 00:28:19,680 Speaker 1: catalog had become so huge as to be unwieldy. There 468 00:28:19,680 --> 00:28:24,280 Speaker 1: were more than nine million cards in the catalog in 469 00:28:24,320 --> 00:28:28,040 Speaker 1: the nineteen fifties. In the autumn of nineteen fifty eight, 470 00:28:28,119 --> 00:28:31,760 Speaker 1: an amendment to the Agricultural Trade, Development and Assistance Act 471 00:28:31,800 --> 00:28:35,840 Speaker 1: of nineteen fifty four made overseas acquisitions for the library 472 00:28:35,880 --> 00:28:40,080 Speaker 1: more robust. The collection of foreign publications and materials was 473 00:28:40,120 --> 00:28:44,400 Speaker 1: further bolstered in nineteen sixty five. The Higher Education Act 474 00:28:44,440 --> 00:28:47,480 Speaker 1: of nineteen sixty five, as the name States, mandated that 475 00:28:47,520 --> 00:28:52,240 Speaker 1: the library provide more services to academic libraries, but it 476 00:28:52,320 --> 00:28:56,040 Speaker 1: also enabled the library to use funds for collecting materials 477 00:28:56,040 --> 00:28:59,160 Speaker 1: from around the world under the guiding principle that those 478 00:28:59,200 --> 00:29:03,400 Speaker 1: materials had to be quote of value to scholarship. That 479 00:29:03,640 --> 00:29:06,800 Speaker 1: also meant that those materials needed to be cataloged, and 480 00:29:06,840 --> 00:29:10,120 Speaker 1: for those cataloging records to be offered to other libraries 481 00:29:10,200 --> 00:29:14,840 Speaker 1: quickly through their cataloging distribution program. This can be a 482 00:29:14,960 --> 00:29:19,959 Speaker 1: huge challenge. Cataloging foreign language volumes requires a degree of 483 00:29:20,040 --> 00:29:23,960 Speaker 1: linguistic proficiency on the part of the cataloger, so multi 484 00:29:24,040 --> 00:29:27,680 Speaker 1: lingual specialists became an important part of the cataloging staff 485 00:29:28,320 --> 00:29:31,080 Speaker 1: within a short period of time. The library had office 486 00:29:31,120 --> 00:29:34,480 Speaker 1: presences in both London and Rio de Janeiro to acquire 487 00:29:34,520 --> 00:29:38,800 Speaker 1: books from abroad. During the nineteen sixties, the library also 488 00:29:38,960 --> 00:29:45,200 Speaker 1: spearheaded research into book preservation, focusing not on its oldest volumes, 489 00:29:45,520 --> 00:29:49,520 Speaker 1: but books printed in the late nineteenth century. That's because 490 00:29:49,680 --> 00:29:53,080 Speaker 1: changes in paper production actually made a lot of those 491 00:29:53,120 --> 00:29:56,560 Speaker 1: books more susceptible to paper breakdown than a lot of 492 00:29:56,720 --> 00:30:00,600 Speaker 1: older pieces in the collection. This was the the beginning 493 00:30:00,680 --> 00:30:05,000 Speaker 1: of the development of standards of preservation practices and ongoing 494 00:30:05,120 --> 00:30:09,960 Speaker 1: research in preservation science that continues today under the Library's 495 00:30:10,080 --> 00:30:14,760 Speaker 1: Preservation Directorate. In nineteen sixty six, the committee that we 496 00:30:14,840 --> 00:30:17,920 Speaker 1: mentioned earlier that was formed to explore ways to automate 497 00:30:17,960 --> 00:30:20,800 Speaker 1: search in the catalog came up with a system that 498 00:30:20,920 --> 00:30:25,880 Speaker 1: was called machine readable Cataloging. Mark records as they were called, 499 00:30:25,920 --> 00:30:28,840 Speaker 1: still included all of the information that would normally be 500 00:30:28,880 --> 00:30:31,560 Speaker 1: found on a catalog card, but they were the first 501 00:30:31,640 --> 00:30:37,200 Speaker 1: digital cataloging records, searchable through a terminal. Soon, subscribers could 502 00:30:37,200 --> 00:30:40,719 Speaker 1: also get these digital files just as they had catalog cards. 503 00:30:40,720 --> 00:30:44,760 Speaker 1: Although they were initially shipped on magnetic tapes, there were 504 00:30:44,840 --> 00:30:48,320 Speaker 1: still physical cards going into the Library of Congress's catalog 505 00:30:48,440 --> 00:30:51,520 Speaker 1: and being shipped to libraries that had not transitioned to 506 00:30:51,640 --> 00:30:55,640 Speaker 1: electronic data use. But the intention was to move everyone 507 00:30:55,680 --> 00:30:58,840 Speaker 1: away from physical cards. I kind of marveled that this 508 00:30:58,920 --> 00:31:02,080 Speaker 1: started in nineteen six It seems so much earlier than 509 00:31:02,120 --> 00:31:05,200 Speaker 1: I remembered, even from when I was learning about it 510 00:31:05,280 --> 00:31:09,400 Speaker 1: on the job, I had the same response, which led 511 00:31:09,440 --> 00:31:13,480 Speaker 1: me to google it to check, which led me to 512 00:31:13,800 --> 00:31:16,840 Speaker 1: lead to me learning that the person who was really 513 00:31:16,920 --> 00:31:21,120 Speaker 1: the key in the development of this was named Henriette Abraham, 514 00:31:21,240 --> 00:31:22,959 Speaker 1: which is I was like, is this somebody we need 515 00:31:23,000 --> 00:31:26,320 Speaker 1: to talk about on the show. Maybe I looked at 516 00:31:26,320 --> 00:31:28,880 Speaker 1: her and I felt like I didn't have enough handy 517 00:31:28,960 --> 00:31:32,680 Speaker 1: material for an expansion, that she would be awesome if 518 00:31:32,680 --> 00:31:36,120 Speaker 1: we had some time to really dig in. So the 519 00:31:36,240 --> 00:31:39,520 Speaker 1: last day of nineteen eighty, so December thirty first, was 520 00:31:39,600 --> 00:31:43,040 Speaker 1: also the last day that any physical cards went into 521 00:31:43,040 --> 00:31:46,840 Speaker 1: the Library of Congress catalog. Starting in nineteen eighty one, 522 00:31:47,160 --> 00:31:51,880 Speaker 1: Mark supplanted physical cards completely and cataloging new items moved 523 00:31:52,040 --> 00:31:56,360 Speaker 1: entirely online. Older items, though, were still represented in the 524 00:31:56,400 --> 00:32:00,560 Speaker 1: collection by catalog cards. This is all so why I 525 00:32:00,680 --> 00:32:04,000 Speaker 1: remember in my youth there were some things that we 526 00:32:04,040 --> 00:32:06,760 Speaker 1: would look up in the physical card catalog, and some 527 00:32:06,840 --> 00:32:09,880 Speaker 1: things that we would look up in this terminal thing 528 00:32:10,200 --> 00:32:11,160 Speaker 1: that also. 529 00:32:10,960 --> 00:32:12,160 Speaker 2: Exists in the library. 530 00:32:13,240 --> 00:32:16,880 Speaker 1: In nineteen eighty the James Madison Memorial Building was opened 531 00:32:16,880 --> 00:32:20,360 Speaker 1: as the newest edition to the Library of Congress. This 532 00:32:20,440 --> 00:32:23,440 Speaker 1: project had been in the works for more than twenty years. 533 00:32:23,720 --> 00:32:26,959 Speaker 1: The first architectural proposal for it had been submitted in 534 00:32:27,040 --> 00:32:32,040 Speaker 1: nineteen fifty eight. It eventually became a combination project as 535 00:32:32,040 --> 00:32:35,160 Speaker 1: a memorial to the fourth President of the United States 536 00:32:35,440 --> 00:32:39,760 Speaker 1: and a much needed expansion of library space. The two 537 00:32:39,800 --> 00:32:43,080 Speaker 1: point one million square foot building was one of the 538 00:32:43,240 --> 00:32:47,160 Speaker 1: largest in Washington, d C. And, among other services, the 539 00:32:47,240 --> 00:32:51,320 Speaker 1: Copyright Office was moved there. One of the Madison quotes 540 00:32:51,360 --> 00:32:55,160 Speaker 1: on the exterior of the building reads quote Knowledge will 541 00:32:55,200 --> 00:32:58,760 Speaker 1: forever govern ignorance, and a people who mean to be 542 00:32:58,840 --> 00:33:02,960 Speaker 1: their own governor must arm themselves with the power that 543 00:33:03,120 --> 00:33:07,120 Speaker 1: knowledge gives. I'm sure glad it fell to Tracy to 544 00:33:07,160 --> 00:33:10,200 Speaker 1: read that, because I can't get through that sentence without crying. 545 00:33:10,440 --> 00:33:13,280 Speaker 1: I was thinking this too, because we were discussing that 546 00:33:13,400 --> 00:33:17,720 Speaker 1: quote yesterday. I did not do that on purpose. It 547 00:33:17,840 --> 00:33:21,000 Speaker 1: just I lucked out. In June of nineteen ninety four, 548 00:33:21,080 --> 00:33:24,360 Speaker 1: the Library of Congress launched its website. That too, seems 549 00:33:24,400 --> 00:33:28,400 Speaker 1: earlier than my brain can handle. This site, over the years, 550 00:33:28,440 --> 00:33:31,840 Speaker 1: has become a valuable tool for online research through the 551 00:33:31,960 --> 00:33:35,920 Speaker 1: National Digital Library Program, which also launched in nineteen ninety four, 552 00:33:36,280 --> 00:33:39,080 Speaker 1: although work did not officially begin on that program until 553 00:33:39,160 --> 00:33:43,160 Speaker 1: nineteen ninety five. The official mission of the program, per 554 00:33:43,200 --> 00:33:46,520 Speaker 1: the Library of Congress website, is quote assembling a digital 555 00:33:46,560 --> 00:33:50,840 Speaker 1: library of reproductions of primary source materials to support the 556 00:33:50,880 --> 00:33:54,040 Speaker 1: study of the history and culture of the United States. 557 00:33:54,920 --> 00:33:58,200 Speaker 1: This project was only launched after a pilot program had 558 00:33:58,240 --> 00:34:01,280 Speaker 1: been tested for five years, and it began with a 559 00:34:01,440 --> 00:34:05,000 Speaker 1: really robust effort to use the best possible means available 560 00:34:05,320 --> 00:34:09,440 Speaker 1: to accurately reproduce items digitally, ensuring that the results were 561 00:34:09,480 --> 00:34:13,200 Speaker 1: functional research materials. So that meant that, in addition to 562 00:34:13,239 --> 00:34:18,040 Speaker 1: implementing processes for scanning and digitally photographing things like books 563 00:34:18,040 --> 00:34:21,720 Speaker 1: and journals, and photographs and manuscripts. They also had human 564 00:34:21,800 --> 00:34:25,319 Speaker 1: beings working to review that material and create records that 565 00:34:25,360 --> 00:34:30,040 Speaker 1: would make those newly digitized items findable. This program also 566 00:34:30,200 --> 00:34:33,840 Speaker 1: worked with K through twelve teachers and librarians to examine 567 00:34:33,840 --> 00:34:37,160 Speaker 1: the ways that the digitized collections could be used by 568 00:34:37,400 --> 00:34:41,040 Speaker 1: educators and what gaps existed in the system that were 569 00:34:41,080 --> 00:34:45,600 Speaker 1: preventing educators and students from really being able to use 570 00:34:45,840 --> 00:34:49,839 Speaker 1: digital collections effectively. As a result of this work, the 571 00:34:49,880 --> 00:34:53,680 Speaker 1: Library of Congress launched a learning portal that offers things 572 00:34:53,719 --> 00:34:58,879 Speaker 1: like lesson plans, study guides, and context for where digitized 573 00:34:58,920 --> 00:35:04,360 Speaker 1: primary sources fit into history and culture. A related program, 574 00:35:04,480 --> 00:35:07,400 Speaker 1: the World Digital Library, launched in two thousand and nine. 575 00:35:08,040 --> 00:35:11,120 Speaker 1: For this project, the Library joined forces with UNESCO and 576 00:35:11,239 --> 00:35:15,319 Speaker 1: other organizations to digitize and share primary sources related to 577 00:35:15,360 --> 00:35:18,640 Speaker 1: world cultures in a variety of languages, all of which 578 00:35:18,680 --> 00:35:23,440 Speaker 1: is freely available online. On September fourteenth, twenty sixteen, the 579 00:35:23,520 --> 00:35:27,520 Speaker 1: first woman and first black Librarian of Congress was sworn in, 580 00:35:27,640 --> 00:35:30,960 Speaker 1: and that was doctor Carla D. Hayden, who was recently 581 00:35:31,080 --> 00:35:35,640 Speaker 1: terminated from that position. She was the fourteenth Librarian of Congress. 582 00:35:36,320 --> 00:35:39,400 Speaker 1: In her speech at her swearing in, she noted the 583 00:35:39,640 --> 00:35:43,640 Speaker 1: vast distance between times when a person who looked like 584 00:35:43,719 --> 00:35:47,120 Speaker 1: her was not allowed to learn to read and write 585 00:35:47,640 --> 00:35:52,600 Speaker 1: and the moment she was experiencing. Hayden's library background, which 586 00:35:52,640 --> 00:35:55,080 Speaker 1: is impressive, as we mentioned at the top of the show, 587 00:35:55,440 --> 00:35:59,520 Speaker 1: has always been hailed as exemplary by her peers. This 588 00:35:59,680 --> 00:36:03,600 Speaker 1: inc training as a children's librarian, and she sought during 589 00:36:03,600 --> 00:36:06,279 Speaker 1: her tenure as head of the nation's library to make 590 00:36:06,320 --> 00:36:10,760 Speaker 1: its incredible collection accessible to all and to bring history 591 00:36:10,800 --> 00:36:14,880 Speaker 1: alive to children and adults alike through the collection. In 592 00:36:14,920 --> 00:36:17,960 Speaker 1: twenty twenty three, she gave an interview to the University 593 00:36:18,040 --> 00:36:21,200 Speaker 1: of Chicago News in which she said, quote, history is. 594 00:36:21,239 --> 00:36:22,200 Speaker 2: A long haul. 595 00:36:22,960 --> 00:36:25,880 Speaker 1: Times we're going through now, yes they're kind of rough, 596 00:36:25,920 --> 00:36:29,240 Speaker 1: but there have been other rough times, and look what's 597 00:36:29,360 --> 00:36:32,960 Speaker 1: happened and where we've come. Once again, I'm so glad 598 00:36:32,960 --> 00:36:36,600 Speaker 1: you had to read that today. The Library of Congress 599 00:36:36,719 --> 00:36:39,640 Speaker 1: is the world's largest library. There are more than one 600 00:36:39,760 --> 00:36:42,920 Speaker 1: hundred and eighty one million pieces in the collection, and 601 00:36:43,040 --> 00:36:47,000 Speaker 1: four hundred and seventy different languages are represented. These items 602 00:36:47,040 --> 00:36:51,480 Speaker 1: include books, of course, but also manuscripts and as we've mentioned, photographs, newspapers, 603 00:36:51,480 --> 00:36:55,920 Speaker 1: et cetera. Twelve thousand items are added to the library 604 00:36:56,120 --> 00:37:00,360 Speaker 1: each day, so about two million items each year. In 605 00:37:00,400 --> 00:37:02,600 Speaker 1: a statement that doctor Hayden gave to the Committee on 606 00:37:02,640 --> 00:37:06,440 Speaker 1: House Administration two days before she was fired, the librarian 607 00:37:06,480 --> 00:37:10,120 Speaker 1: noted that in fiscal year twenty twenty four, quote CRS 608 00:37:10,200 --> 00:37:14,400 Speaker 1: that's at Research Service CRS handled over seventy five thousand 609 00:37:14,520 --> 00:37:19,120 Speaker 1: congressional requests, published over one thousand new products, and updated 610 00:37:19,200 --> 00:37:24,320 Speaker 1: over seventeen hundred existing projects. The Law Library fielded almost 611 00:37:24,320 --> 00:37:27,640 Speaker 1: one thousand reference requests that year, and quote the library 612 00:37:27,680 --> 00:37:30,640 Speaker 1: welcomed more than eight hundred eighty million, one hundred thousand 613 00:37:30,760 --> 00:37:34,680 Speaker 1: visitors to its historic Thomas Jefferson Building, a twenty two 614 00:37:34,719 --> 00:37:39,480 Speaker 1: percent increase from fiscal twenty twenty three. Ninety eight million 615 00:37:39,600 --> 00:37:43,320 Speaker 1: unique visitors made use of the library's websites, totaling half 616 00:37:43,360 --> 00:37:47,719 Speaker 1: a billion page views. Additionally, doctor Hayden added quote, the 617 00:37:47,840 --> 00:37:51,880 Speaker 1: National Library Service for the Blind and print Disabled circulated 618 00:37:51,920 --> 00:37:55,120 Speaker 1: more than twenty two million copies of braille, audio and 619 00:37:55,200 --> 00:37:59,160 Speaker 1: large print material. Those are all things that were cited 620 00:37:59,280 --> 00:38:02,319 Speaker 1: in this, but those were really just a handful of 621 00:38:02,360 --> 00:38:06,800 Speaker 1: the institution's accomplishments under her leadership. I have very strong 622 00:38:06,800 --> 00:38:11,120 Speaker 1: feelings about the library. I have very strong feelings about Kidties. 623 00:38:11,360 --> 00:38:13,680 Speaker 1: Do you want to hear the funniest email of all time? 624 00:38:13,960 --> 00:38:14,840 Speaker 2: I sure do. 625 00:38:15,560 --> 00:38:18,520 Speaker 1: I'm not gonna read the subject line because it gives 626 00:38:18,520 --> 00:38:20,960 Speaker 1: it away, and I was gonna say, is it a spoiler? 627 00:38:21,840 --> 00:38:22,239 Speaker 2: It is? 628 00:38:22,520 --> 00:38:25,640 Speaker 1: This is from our listener Carrie Okay, who I adore 629 00:38:25,640 --> 00:38:29,759 Speaker 1: for this email, especially because I'm like so choked up 630 00:38:29,760 --> 00:38:32,720 Speaker 1: over this episode that now I need this. Carrie writes, 631 00:38:32,880 --> 00:38:34,959 Speaker 1: Oh my gosh, you guys, I am laughing so hard 632 00:38:35,000 --> 00:38:38,000 Speaker 1: right now. I just finished listening to the Altina Shanazi 633 00:38:38,040 --> 00:38:41,759 Speaker 1: episode followed by its behind the scenes episode. When I 634 00:38:41,800 --> 00:38:44,600 Speaker 1: read the description before listening, I saw that it mentioned 635 00:38:44,680 --> 00:38:47,799 Speaker 1: cat eye glasses. I know the hyphen is in the 636 00:38:47,840 --> 00:38:51,680 Speaker 1: correct spot, so the following misunderstanding is completely my fault. 637 00:38:52,239 --> 00:38:54,920 Speaker 1: For some reason in my head, when I read the description, 638 00:38:55,080 --> 00:38:59,920 Speaker 1: I read cat eyeglasses as in eyeglasses for cats. Now, 639 00:39:00,320 --> 00:39:03,120 Speaker 1: an unfamiliar listener of the podcast may stop and think, 640 00:39:03,160 --> 00:39:05,200 Speaker 1: why in the world would they do an episode about 641 00:39:05,200 --> 00:39:07,200 Speaker 1: the inventor of eyeglasses for cats. 642 00:39:07,520 --> 00:39:09,040 Speaker 2: It clearly didn't work since I had. 643 00:39:09,000 --> 00:39:12,200 Speaker 1: Never seen a cat wearing glasses before, but I a 644 00:39:12,239 --> 00:39:14,759 Speaker 1: seasoned listener of many years who knows your love of 645 00:39:14,840 --> 00:39:17,440 Speaker 1: cats and also knows that there have been several cat 646 00:39:17,560 --> 00:39:20,040 Speaker 1: art themed episodes in the past, just rolled with it. 647 00:39:20,320 --> 00:39:22,520 Speaker 1: I kept waiting for it to come up. When you 648 00:39:22,560 --> 00:39:24,960 Speaker 1: were talking about her art, I thought, Oh, she probably 649 00:39:25,000 --> 00:39:28,840 Speaker 1: painted or sculpted cats wearing glasses, but that didn't happen. 650 00:39:30,040 --> 00:39:31,799 Speaker 2: Then, when you were actually. 651 00:39:31,480 --> 00:39:34,280 Speaker 1: Talking about the cat eyeglasses, I thought, oh, the person 652 00:39:34,360 --> 00:39:37,200 Speaker 1: probably turned her away with her glasses designed because they 653 00:39:37,239 --> 00:39:40,799 Speaker 1: saw that it was a ridiculous idea. And then when 654 00:39:40,800 --> 00:39:43,160 Speaker 1: the designer saw the glasses and said he wanted to 655 00:39:43,160 --> 00:39:45,719 Speaker 1: put them into production, I thought, ha, I wonder if 656 00:39:45,719 --> 00:39:48,840 Speaker 1: he thought the glasses design was for people instead of cats, 657 00:39:49,040 --> 00:39:50,600 Speaker 1: and Altina just went with it. 658 00:39:51,080 --> 00:39:52,160 Speaker 2: I wish I was kidding. 659 00:39:52,200 --> 00:39:54,480 Speaker 1: I really do. By the end of the show, I 660 00:39:54,520 --> 00:39:56,480 Speaker 1: had kind of forgotten about it because I got so 661 00:39:56,600 --> 00:39:59,760 Speaker 1: caught up in Altina's life. It wasn't until the behind 662 00:39:59,800 --> 00:40:03,319 Speaker 1: this SCE's episode when Holly said cat eye glasses with 663 00:40:03,400 --> 00:40:05,760 Speaker 1: the stress slightly different on the words, that it clicked 664 00:40:05,800 --> 00:40:08,520 Speaker 1: into place in the world made sense again. I had 665 00:40:08,520 --> 00:40:10,879 Speaker 1: a good laugh about it after all was said and done, 666 00:40:11,239 --> 00:40:14,480 Speaker 1: and it taught me something about myself. If mobsters came 667 00:40:14,520 --> 00:40:17,040 Speaker 1: into my place of business trying to intimidate me, I 668 00:40:17,040 --> 00:40:20,279 Speaker 1: would also completely misread the situation and probably offer them 669 00:40:20,320 --> 00:40:23,280 Speaker 1: a snack for pet tax. I am attaching a photo 670 00:40:23,360 --> 00:40:26,840 Speaker 1: of my Australian Labradoudal Cocoa. She is a pretty princess 671 00:40:26,840 --> 00:40:29,720 Speaker 1: who loves to steal our food, cuddle, and PLoP herself 672 00:40:29,800 --> 00:40:32,880 Speaker 1: wherever she pleases. She has a crush on my fiance 673 00:40:33,040 --> 00:40:35,640 Speaker 1: and always squeezes herself right between us when he is 674 00:40:35,719 --> 00:40:38,600 Speaker 1: over and demands pets from him, and of course he 675 00:40:38,680 --> 00:40:41,120 Speaker 1: obliges because she'll look at him with her golden eyes 676 00:40:41,160 --> 00:40:44,720 Speaker 1: and some kind of enchantment takes over. She is irresistible. 677 00:40:45,160 --> 00:40:47,319 Speaker 1: Thanks to the podcast, it really is one of a 678 00:40:47,400 --> 00:40:49,839 Speaker 1: kind and I enjoy listening to it so much, even 679 00:40:49,920 --> 00:40:52,959 Speaker 1: if sometimes I have a misunderstanding. This is the best 680 00:40:53,000 --> 00:40:58,239 Speaker 1: email of read in one hundred years. I love the 681 00:40:58,360 --> 00:41:00,400 Speaker 1: trust Carrie that you were like, I'm just get a 682 00:41:00,440 --> 00:41:02,400 Speaker 1: roll with this. They're going to explain this eventually, and 683 00:41:02,440 --> 00:41:07,080 Speaker 1: we never did. Also, Coco, I get it. I too 684 00:41:07,160 --> 00:41:09,759 Speaker 1: would fall under her spell in a minute, but that 685 00:41:09,840 --> 00:41:11,520 Speaker 1: did crack me up. And then I thought about what 686 00:41:11,560 --> 00:41:13,600 Speaker 1: it would take to try to put glasses on cats, 687 00:41:14,200 --> 00:41:17,839 Speaker 1: and how much I enjoy, you know, retaining my limbs 688 00:41:17,440 --> 00:41:20,799 Speaker 1: as unmarred by cat scratches as I possibly can, and 689 00:41:20,800 --> 00:41:23,799 Speaker 1: how that would not play out at our house. I 690 00:41:23,840 --> 00:41:26,000 Speaker 1: have had two cats that would have worn glasses. I'm 691 00:41:26,000 --> 00:41:28,239 Speaker 1: pretty sure that were just chill about having things put 692 00:41:28,280 --> 00:41:31,040 Speaker 1: on them, but most of them would not be. But also, 693 00:41:31,080 --> 00:41:34,200 Speaker 1: how would you test does this look better? Does this 694 00:41:34,239 --> 00:41:36,560 Speaker 1: look better? I don't know. 695 00:41:36,120 --> 00:41:40,120 Speaker 2: I love everything about this. 696 00:41:40,440 --> 00:41:44,680 Speaker 1: Yeah, I never know which email you have selected, except 697 00:41:44,680 --> 00:41:46,759 Speaker 1: on a rare occasion when it comes up before we 698 00:41:46,800 --> 00:41:49,400 Speaker 1: actually start reading. But you were a little ways into 699 00:41:49,440 --> 00:41:52,880 Speaker 1: that when I remembered the email clearly and had to 700 00:41:53,040 --> 00:41:56,279 Speaker 1: go move away from my mic so I didn't start 701 00:41:56,360 --> 00:42:00,000 Speaker 1: laughing all the way through it. It's so good, It's so good, 702 00:41:59,640 --> 00:42:01,719 Speaker 1: so good us just the best. And also I just 703 00:42:01,760 --> 00:42:05,280 Speaker 1: appreciate your candor in explaining how you got confused, because 704 00:42:05,280 --> 00:42:08,399 Speaker 1: we have all been there, and not everybody will talk 705 00:42:08,440 --> 00:42:10,879 Speaker 1: about these moments, but it's important because we all have them. 706 00:42:11,520 --> 00:42:13,320 Speaker 1: If you would like to write to us and explain 707 00:42:13,400 --> 00:42:16,840 Speaker 1: something that was very confusing and became comedic, or something 708 00:42:16,840 --> 00:42:17,480 Speaker 1: else completely. 709 00:42:17,520 --> 00:42:18,759 Speaker 2: You can do that at History. 710 00:42:18,560 --> 00:42:23,120 Speaker 1: Podcast at iHeartRadio dot com. We are also very easy 711 00:42:23,120 --> 00:42:25,160 Speaker 1: to subscribe to you. You can do that on the iHeartRadio 712 00:42:25,200 --> 00:42:27,799 Speaker 1: app or anywhere you listen to your favorite shows. We 713 00:42:27,920 --> 00:42:30,759 Speaker 1: will be right back here again with more stories soon. 714 00:42:36,120 --> 00:42:39,240 Speaker 1: Stuff you missed in History Class is a production of iHeartRadio. 715 00:42:39,600 --> 00:42:44,200 Speaker 1: For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, 716 00:42:44,320 --> 00:42:46,640 Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.