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Former Librarian of Congress Daniel Boorstin Dies at 89Daniel Boorstin, who helmed the Library of Congress from 1975 to 1987 and spearheaded the renovation of its Thomas Jefferson building, died February 28 of pneumonia. He was 89. During his term at LC, Boorstin established the Center for the Book to encourage reading and literacy. In a March 2 eulogy for Boorstin, current Librarian of Congress James H. Billington noted that when his predecessor was sworn in during November 1975 in the Jefferson building’s Great Hall, Boorstin remarked prophetically: “The computer can help us find what we know is there. But the book remains our symbol and our resource for the unimagined question and the unwelcome answer.” Boorstin, a Pulitzer Prize–winning author and social historian, wrote more than 20 books, including a trilogy composed of The Discoverers, a 1983 history of scientific and geographic exploration; The Creators, a 1992 survey of Western art, literature, and music; and The Seekers, a 1995 overview of philosophy from the Hebrew prophets to the social sciences. The library is planning a memorial service for Boorstin to be held later in the spring. Posted March 5, 2004. |
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