A shortage of office space has resulted in the closing of the only branch of the Library of Congress located in the U.S. Capitol. When the new Congress goes into session this month, interns of Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D- Calif.) will move into the tiny, two-room basement facility, which was shut December 31.
Although a December 27 New York Post article (headlined “Pelosi Closes the Books”) blamed the move on the new House Democratic leader, LC spokesperson Helen Dalrymple told American Libraries that the decision to convert the library into much-needed office space was made before it was assigned to Pelosi, who is losing several rooms from her office suite because of construction on an adjacent visitor center set for completion in 2005.
“It’s really too bad this is closing,” Sen Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), a member of the Joint Committee on the Library, told the Post. “It would have been nice if they could have found a way to keep it open.”
The facility offered a small reference collection with a couple of terminals, magazines, and newspapers, said Dalrymple. Its two employees will be assigned elsewhere within LC’s Collection, Access, Loan, and Management division.
Posted January 6, 2003.