§ 171. — Congressional declaration of findings and purpose as to Center for the Book.
[Laws in effect as of January 24, 2002]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
January 24, 2002 and December 19, 2002]
[CITE: 2USC171]
TITLE 2--THE CONGRESS
CHAPTER 5--LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
Sec. 171. Congressional declaration of findings and purpose as
to Center for the Book
The Congress hereby finds and declares--
(1) that the Congress of the United States on April 24, 1800,
established for itself a library of the Congress;
(2) that in 1815, the Congress purchased the personal library of
the third President of the United States which contained materials
on every science known to man and described such a collection as a
``substratum of a great national library'';
(3) that the Congress of the United States in recognition of the
importance of printing and its impact on America purchased the
Gutenberg Bible in 1930 for the Nation for placement in the Library
of Congress;
(4) that the Congress of the United States has through statute
and appropriations made this library accessible to any member of the
public;
(5) that this collection of books and other library materials
has now become one of the greatest libraries in civilization;
(6) that the book and the printed word have had the most
profound influence on American civilization and learning and have
been the very foundation on which our democratic principles have
survived through our two hundred-year history;
(7) that in the year 1977, the Congress of the United States
assembled hereby declares its reaffirmation of the importance of the
printed word and the book and recognizes the importance of a Center
for the Book to the continued study and development of written
record as central to our understanding of ourselves and our world.
It is therefore the purpose of sections 171 to 175 of this title to
establish a Center for the Book in the Library of Congress to provide a
program for the investigation of the transmission of human knowledge and
to heighten public interest in the role of books and printing in the
diffusion of this knowledge.
(Pub. L. 95-129, Sec. 1, Oct. 13, 1977, 91 Stat. 1151.)
Section Referred to in Other Sections
This section is referred to in section 172 of this title.
