Test fdlp-150

Brown University Celebrates 150 Years of Service as a

Federal Depository Library

150 Years as a Federal Depository Library

The Brown University Library marks July 29, 1861, as its official designation date as a Federal Depository Library. While the library received copies of federal government documents through various channels since its inception in 1764, Senator James F. Simmons designated the library in 1861 in accordance with a newly enacted law [11 Stat. 379] granting each Senator the authority to assign one depository in his state. Brown is the oldest depository library in Rhode Island and among the oldest in the nation.

This exhibit commemorates 150+ years of the library’s service in meeting the government information needs of the Brown community and the people of Rhode Island. The exhibit touches on the following themes:

• Early printed government documents• The U.S. Congressional Serial Set• The role of the U.S. Government Printing Office• Rhode Island history in U.S. government documents• Life at Brown University in 1861• About Senator James F. Simmons• Rhode Island’s congressional support of Depository Libraries• Government information in the making: Brown’s role on the national stage• The Federal Depository Library Program

Government Document No. 1The first official document produced by the government of what would become the United States of America is today known simply as “Government Document No. 1.” Dated September 22, 1774, the document was a 6¾ inch by 4¼ inch broadside, or public notice, issued by the First Continental Congress and printed in Philadelphia, where the Congress was meeting. William and Thomas Bradford, who provided all printing for the Continental Congress from 1774 to 1776, printed it. Signed by Charles Thomson, Secretary, it called for the non-importation of British goods “until the sense of Congress, on the means to be taken for preservation of the Liberties of America, is made public.”

From: Keeping America Informed The U.S . Government Printing Office 150 Years of Service to the Nation, Washington : U.S.G.P.O., 2011.The original Government Document No. 1 is housed in the Library Company of Philadelphia.

While the original (and only) copy of Government Document No. 1 is housed in the Library Company of Philadelphia, Brown University Library and the John Carter Brown Library own copies of a number of other official documents from that time period printed by the same publisher, William and Thomas Bradford.

In addition, Brown’s collections include material from the colonial period, like this 24-page pamphlet written in 1765 by Stephen Hopkins, Rhode Island’s colonial governor and chancellor of the newly created College of Rhode Island, what is today Brown University.

From: Brown University Library, Sidney S. Rider Collection on Rhode Island History, John Hay Library (photo courtesy of the Center for Digital Scholarship).

Congressional Serial SetIn the early days of the new nation, Congress developed a system for organizing its documents for posterity. Beginning in 1817, serial numbers were assigned to Senate and House documents, congressional committee reports, presidential and executive publications, treaty materials, and other selected documents. This numbering scheme proved to be an orderly and convenient way of identifying and preserving the documents and reports issued by Congress. Known today as the U.S. Congressional Serial Set, these publications have been produced continuously since that time.

The Serial Set contains innumerable unique and unusual items, including the first published work of the artist James McNeil Whistler (at right), who as a young man worked briefly as an engraver in the cartographic section of the U.S. Coast Survey. Other notable historical documents in the Serial Set include a reprint of Jefferson’s Bible, early reports from Lewis and Clark, correspondence surrounding the revolt on the ship Amistad, a description by Commodore Matthew Perry of his journeys to Japan, the records of the War of the Rebellion, the annual ethnological reports from the Smithsonian Institution, as well as reports of numerous congressional investigative committees covering topics ranging from Pearl Harbor to Iran-Contra.

The Brown University Library holds the only comprehensive print copy of the Serial Set in RI.

From: Keeping America Informed The U.S . Government Printing Office 150 Years of Service to the Nation, Washington : U.S.G.P.O., 2011.

Digital Congressional Serial SetIn commemoration of its150th year as a Federal Depository Library, the Brown University Library purchased access to the digital version of the entire U.S. Congressional Serial Set collection (produced by ProQuest). The digital collection covers al l House and Senate reports and documents from 1789 on, including, for example, the following documents:

Below at left: A letter from the Governor of Rhode Island in 1789 to George Washington, President of the United States, laying out RI’s desires to maintain friendly relations with the US government, despite the fact that RI had not yet ratified the new federal Constitution. The US Constitution was officially approved in June 1788 when nine states had ratified it. RI was the last of the original 13 states to ultimately ratify; after initially rejecting the Constitution by popular referendum in March 1788, RI finally held a ratifying convention (as specified by the Constitutional Convention) in May 1790, and passed it by the narrowest of margins (32 to 30).

Below at right: A resolution from 2001 expressing the sense of Congress that the George Washington letter to TouroSynagogue in Newport, RI, is one of the most significant early statements buttressing the American constitutional guarantee of religious freedom.

From: Keeping America Informed The U.S . Government Printing Office 150 Years of Service to the Nation, Washington : U.S.G.P.O., 2011.

Printing Government DocumentsUp through the 1850s, Congress relied exclusively on newspapers and other private printers to carry out the printing of government documents. However, perennial cost overruns and repeated instances of scandals, fraud, and corruption eventually led to public outcry and a number of major congressional investigations. Ultimately, Congress established its own Government Printing Office (GPO) with passage of Joint Resolution 25 (at left), signed by President James Buchanan on June 23, 1860.

GPO opened for business on March 4, 1861 (the same day as Abraham Lincoln’s presidential inauguration) and has occupied the corner of North Capitol Street NW and H Street NW in the District of Columbia for its entire history. The original 1861 building (below) was replaced in 1903, and in 1930 a new addition was erected that essentially doubled the size of the building.

The Emancipation Proclamation was issued in general orders format, as an order from the Commander-in-Chief to the armed forces, thus making it unnecessary to go through Congress to activate the Proclamation. GPO printed fifteen thousand copies of General Orders, Number 139, dated September 24, 1862, which included the Proclamation. Copies were distributed among the various military commanders and their troops.

The printed version of the final Emancipation Proclamation was printed by GPO and issued January 3, 1863. Well aware of its significance, Public Printer John Defrees closely followed the progress of the Proclamation, writing in December 1862 to President Lincoln’s secretary, John G. Nicolay, “Only a few events stand out prominently on the page of the history of each century… The proposed proclamation of the President will be that one of this century.”

The Emancipation ProclamationIn 1862, the young Government Printing Office undertook the most significant printing job of its day, or perhaps any since then: the production of President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation. After drafting a “Preliminary Proclamation” and previewing it with Secretary of State William Seward and Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles on July 13, Lincoln raised the matter in a Cabinet meeting on July 22, to mixed reaction. On September 22, five days after the Union army turned back the Confederate army’s advance into the North at the Battle of Antietam, Lincoln brought the document before the Cabinet again, and the proclamation was ordered to be printed.

The Brown University Library owns a copy of a rare first printing or 'trial issue’ of the Proclamation, which preceded the final form. Fifty copies are known to have been printed and signed by President Lincoln (negative photocopy shown above on left); of those, twelve are known to still exist today. At right is the image of a letter between Lincoln and Salmon P. Chase, dated September 2, 1862, which contains draft text of the Emancipation Proclamation.

Text adapted from: Keeping America Informed The U.S . Government Printing Office 150 Years of Service to the Nation, Washington : U.S.G.P.O., 2011. Photos courtesy of the Brown University Center for Digital Scholarship.

Rhode Island History in U.S. Government Documents…

Above: Front page of Senate Executive Document No. 35 (1862), in U.S. Congressional Serial Set Volume 1122. Image from ProQuest Congressional digital Serial Set collection.At right: U.S.S. Constitution off Goat Island (RI), c. 1861.Photo from Civil War Navy Sesquicentennial exhibit, U.S. Naval War College Museum, Newport, RI.

“The naval school and public property at Annapolis attracted the attention of the disloyal and disaffected about the period when the conspiracy culminated. Some demonstrations were made towards seizing the property, and also the frigate Constitution, which had been placed at Annapolis, in connexion with the school, for the benefit of the youths who were being educated for the public service. Prompt measures rescued the frigate and government property from desecration and plunder, and the young men, under the superintendence and guidance of Captain Blake, contributed in no small degree to the result. As it was impossible, in the then existing condition of affairs in Annapolis and in Maryland, to continue the school at that point, and as the valuable public property was in jeopardy, it became necessary to remove the institution elsewhere. Newport, Rhode Island presented many advantages, and the War Department tendered Fort Adams for the temporary occupation of the students, which was at once accepted, and the school, with the frigate and other public property, were removed thither.”

At the outbreak of the Civil War in April 1861, the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, MD, moved the school and its “practice ship” the USS Constitution to Newport, RI. The academy remained in Newport, based at Fort Adams and leasing the Atlantic Hotel, from May 1861 until August 1865, when it returned to Annapolis. The March 19, 1862, letter from the Secretary of the Navy (at left) detailed the events leading up the move to Newport:

Rhode Island History in U.S. Government Documents…Following devastating floods in downtown Providence caused by hurricanes in 1938 and 1954, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers developed plans to erect a hurricane barrier at the northern end of Narragansett Bay at the mouth of the Providence River.

In his testimony before the Senate Committee on Public Works, Providence Mayor Walter Reynolds described the destruction from Hurricane Carol in 1954: $40 million in commercial property loss, “telephone service was seriously disrupted and electrical power in the city was almost completely shut off,” “a depth of 4 to 5 feet of water in our high-value downtown district, thousands of parked automobiles submerged…”

The Fox Point Hurricane Barrier was the first structure of its type to be approved for construction in the United States (as part of the comprehensive Flood Control Act of 1958). The project was completed in 1966 at a cost of $16 million. At this same hearing, Senator John F. Kennedy of Massachusetts spoke in support of the New Bedford hurricane dike project. That project was completed in 1962 and is the largest stone structure in the eastern US.

Above: Front page of Senate hearing on projects included in the Flood Control Act of 1958 (from ProQuest Congressional Digital Collection).At right: Fox Point hurricane barrier, Providence, RI. Photo from Providence Department of Public Works.

Brown in 1861…

• President Barnas Sears (Brown Class of 1825) was the university’s 5th president (serving from 1855 to 1868)

• The Brown faculty consisted of 11 men (including President Sears)

• 232 men were enrolled as Brown students • Typical first-term classes were:

o Greek composition and historyo Livy, with Latin composition and the

history of Romeo Geometry

• Students lived in rooms on the upper floors of University Hall; pranks such as rolling paving stones or cannon balls down the full length of the hallways were common until the summer of 1860, when much to the dismay of students, partitions were built dividing the floors into two sections

• The university library was located on the first floor of Manning Hall and consisted of approximately 29,000 volumes and assorted pamphlets

• Rubin Guild (Brown Class of 1847) was the university librarian (serving from 1847 to 1893)

The outbreak of the Civil War in 1861 affected campus in a number of ways:• Enrollment dropped to 205 during the war• A list of 21 current students who had enlisted in the

Army since the beginning of the war was featured in the November 1861 issue of The Brunonian

• At its September 1861 meeting, the Brown Corporation conferred an honorary degree to US Army Brigadier General Ambrose E. Burnside, who commanded the 1st Rhode Island Volunteer Infantry

Image above right: Western view of Brown University, Providence, [1861], from New York Public Library’s Digital Gallery

Brown in 1861…

Major Sullivan Ballou (Brown Class of 1852) died on July 29 from wounds sustained at Bull Run. His remains are buried in Swan Point Cemetery in Providence.

A letter from Major Ballou to his wife dated a month before the battle was featured in Ken Burns’ documentary on the Civil War in 2002. The letter read in part:

“I know how strongly American Civilization now leans on the triumph of the Government and how great a debt we owe to those who went before us through the blood and suffering of the Revolution. And I am willing – perfectly willing – to lay down all my joys in this life, to help maintain this Government, and to pay that debt…”

According to Civil War Record of Brown University, compiled by Brevet Major Henry Burrage (Brown Class of 1861) and published in 1920, 417 Brown graduates and non-graduates served in military duty during the Civil War (for both the North and the South); of those, 39 died in service.

Newspapers during the week of July 29, 1861, were ablaze with news of the Battle of Bull Run (fought July 21, 1861), the first major land battle of the American Civil War. Troops from the 2d Rhode Island Volunteer Infantry, led by Colonel Ambrose E. Burnside, fought in the battle which claimed many casualties on both sides.

• Designated Brown as a Federal Depository Library in the summer of 1861

• Born near Little Compton, RI, September 10, 1795 • Moved to Providence in 1812; employed in various

manufacturing concerns in RI, MA, and NH• Moved to Johnston, RI, in 1827• Member of RI state House of Representatives 1828-

1841• Elected as a Whig to the US Senate, served from

March 4, 1841, to March 3, 1847; unsuccessful candidate in 1846 and 1850

• Again elected to the US Senate as a Republican in 1856 election; began term on March 4, 1857

• Lost reelection try in March 1862 to William Sprague IV

About Senator James Fowler Simmons…

• In 1861-62, involved in a scandal for obtaining a War Department contract for the manufacture of rifles for a Providence businessman and receiving five percent commission

• Senate committee issued report in July 1862 stating that, while no laws were violated, his actions were “indefensible”; Simmons resigned August 15 before an expulsion vote could be taken; the remainder of his term was filled by Samuel G. Arnold, Jr.

• Died in Johnston, RI, July 10, 1864 (interment in North End Cemetery, Providence, RI)

RI’s Congressional Support for Depository Libraries…

Henry Bowen Anthony (Brown Class of 1833), Senator from 1859 to 1884; a former editor of the Providence Journal, was chair of the Joint Committee on Printing (overseeing the Government Printing Office) for 25 years; bequeathed to Brown University Library the Harris Collection of American Poetry and Plays.

Adin Ballou Capron, represented RI's 2nd congressional district from 1897 until his death in 1911; designated the Westerly Public Library as a Federal Depository Library in 1909.

John E. Fogarty, represented RI's 2nd congressional district from 1941 to 1944 and again from 1945 until his death in 1967; champion of the Library Services and Construction Act; 1963 recipient of American Library Trustee Association’s Citation of Merit; 1966 Lifetime Membership honoree by American Library Association; designated the Warwick Public Library as a Federal Depository Library in 1966.

Senator James Simmons named Brown as a Federal Depository Library in 1861. Other members of Congress from Rhode Island also have been supportive of depository libraries over the years, including:

RI’s Congressional Support for Depository Libraries…

Lincoln D. Chafee (Brown Class of 1975), Senator from 1999 to 2007; designated the Newport Public Library as a Federal Depository Library in 2002.

Claiborne Pell, Senator from 1961to 1997; wrote the legislation that established the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities; sponsored a program which provided financial aid for the needy to attend college (later renamed Pell Grants in his honor); long-time member of the Joint Committee on Printing and the Joint Committee on the Library (Library of Congress); champion of the Library Services and Construction Act.

Patrick J. Kennedy, representative RI’s 1st congressional district from 1995 to 2011; member of the House Appropriations Committee from 2001 to 2011,which oversaw funding for federal programs, including library programs; designated the Roger Williams University Library as a Federal Depository Library in 2003.

Senator James Simmons named Brown as a Federal Depository Library in 1861. Other members of Congress from Rhode Island also have been supportive of depository libraries over the years, including:

RI’s Congressional Support for Depository Libraries…

James Langevin, Representative from 2001 to present; as Rhode Island Secretary of State (1994-2001), oversaw the RI State Library and the State Publications Clearinghouse Program, and established the state's Public Information Center; in 1998 published, “Access Denied,” a report based on research by Brown University students which examined compliance with RI’s Open Meetings Law.

Sheldon Whitehouse, Senator from 2007 to present; member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee which oversees programs supporting education and libraries; as successor to the Senate seat held by James Simmons in 1861, he requested that a ceremonial flag be flown above the US Capitol building on July 29, 2011, the 150th anniversary of Brown University’s Federal Depository Library designation.

Senator James Simmons named Brown as a Federal Depository Library in 1861. Other members of Congress from Rhode Island also have been supportive of depository libraries over the years, including:

Jack Reed, Representative from 1991 to 1997, Senator from 1997 to present; author of numerous bills that provided funds and support for libraries, museums, and schools; named Library Journal's 2002 Politician of the Year; 1994 recipient of Friends of Libraries USA Public Service award; named Library Champion by American Library Association; contributed Congressional Record statements honoring RI depository libraries in 1995 and 2011.

Government Documents in the Making: Brown’s Role on the National Stage…

John E. SavageAn Wang Professor of Computer Science, Brown University

Testified on April 12, 2011, at a hearing before the US Senate Committee on the Judiciary’s Subcommittee on Crime and Terrorism. The committee was investigating threats associated with cyber security and ways to respond to cyber crime and terrorism.For a copy of Professor Savage’s testimony, seehttp://judiciary.senate.gov/pdf/11-04-12%20Savage%20Testimony.pdf

Martin A. WeinstockProfessor of Dermatology and Community Health, Brown University

Testified on May 20, 2010, before the US House of Representatives Committee on Appropriations, requesting funding in the Department of Defense budget for melanoma research. For a copy of Dr. Weinstock’s testimony, seehttp://josiah.brown.edu/record=b5708380~S7 (Part 4, Page 234)

Joan M. TenoProfessor of Community Health and Medicine and Associate Director of the Center for Gerontology and Health Care Research, Brown University

Testified on September 24, 2008, before the US Senate Special Committee on Aging on “Honoring Final Wishes: How To Respect American's Choices at the End of Life.”

For a copy of Dr. Teno’s testimony, see http://josiah.brown.edu/record=b4941876~S7

Government Documents in the Making: Brown’s Role on the National Stage…

See also http://news.brown.edu/pressreleases/2011/07/hospice for recent information on Dr. Teno’sresearch on hospice care for dementia patients.

Glenn C. LouryMerton P. Stoltz Professor of Social Sciences, Department of Economics, Brown University

Testified on October 4, 2007, before the Joint Economic Committee of Congress as it examined the human, societal, and economic costs of America’s prison incarceration rates.

For a copy of Professor Loury’s testimony, see http://josiah.brown.edu/record=b4469984~S7

Government Documents in the Making: Brown’s Role on the National Stage…

James W. HeadLouis and Elizabeth Scherck Distinguished Professor, Department of Geological Sciences, Brown University

Came to Brown University in 1973, following his work with the NASA Apollo program, in which he analyzed potential landing sites, studied returned lunar samples and data, and provided training for the Apollo astronauts.For a copy of one of Professor Head’s early publications describing significant achievements in NASA’s planetary geology program, see http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19770013028_1977013028.pdf

The Federal Depository Library Program

The origins of the Federal Depository Library Program date back to 1813 when Congress first authorized legislation to send one copy of the House and Senate Journals and other congressional documents to certain universities, historical societies, state libraries, and other institutions. Congress believed that one of the most effective ways to provide the public with the information needed to hold the government accountable was to place these fundamental documents in local libraries where people would have free access to them.

In 1858-1859, Congress formalized the system and gave each Member of Congress the ability to designate a depository library is their district or state. Brown University Library was designated a depository in 1861, making it one of the oldest in the nation. The administration of the Federal Depository Library Program was transferred to the US Government Printing Office in 1895.

There are ten depository libraries in RI and 1,210 depository libraries nationwide. Together these libraries work to meet the federal government information needs of their local communities. Each library selects the material that supports their local programs and interests, and provides services to help connect users to the federal government information they need. The FDLP is one of the key building blocks of an “informed citizenry.”

Depository Library Type of Designation Date

Brown University Library Senatorial designation 1861Rhode Island State Library State library designation 1895University of Rhode Island Library Land-grant designation 1907Westerly Public Library 2nd Congressional District 1909U.S. Naval War College Library Federal agency designation 1963Rhode Island College Senatorial designation 1965Warwick Public Library 2nd Congressional District 1966Rhode Island State Law Library State court library designation 1979Newport Public Library Senatorial designation 2002Roger Williams University Library 1st Congressional District 2003

The Federal Depository Library Program in Rhode Island

The vast majority of government information today is created and produced digitally and disseminated via the web. From congressional debates to decennial census data, from public health reports to matters on foreign relations, from environmental studies on climate change to the latest change in the unemployment rate, users can identify and access government information through a variety of online channels.

Federal Government Information Today…

Staff at Federal Depository Libraries help students, researchers, and the public at large find and use the government information they need in all forms – historical and current, print and digital.

Documents to the People!

For more information on the government documents collectionsat Brown University Library and the Federal Depository LibraryProgram, please contact Dan O’Mahony at [email protected].