 The President of the United States and Mrs. Reagan Dr. Ford Chaplain of the United States Congress will give the invocation Dr. Ford Let us pray pray Amen Mr. President Mrs. Reagan Chief Justice Secretary Baker my distinguished colleagues ladies and gentlemen As chairman of the Senate the committee on rules and administration Which held hearing on hearings on dr. Billington's nomination? I'm very pleased to represent the United States Senate here this morning My colleague on the committee and chairman of the joint committee on the library Claiborne Pell Regrets that a meeting scheduled some time ago in Rhode Island Keeps him from being with us this morning On the dice with Also with us from Congress today is the distinguished majority leader of the u.s. House of Representatives Thomas Foley and the ranking minority member of the Senate rules committee my good friend Ted Stevens We come here to admire support for this institution Which represents this nation's commitment to a knowledgeable citizenry? We also want to thank Librarian of Congress emeritus Daniel Boerstein for his outstanding stewardship for the last 12 years The presence of the president here to thank you. Mr. Chairman. Mr. President chief justice members of the cabinet And the Congress distinguished cast ladies and gentlemen It's hard to imagine a more fitting place for the installation of the 13th librarian of the Congress Then under the torch of learning in this great hall itself to the American people Library has become in dr. Boerstein's words the world's greatest multimedia encyclopedia The library has been truly opened up to the American people with the Center for the book and council of scholars only two examples position of librarian Has inter-president although the House of Representatives has no constitutional role in the selection of the librarian I would like to state on behalf of the house That we are deeply grateful to you for so splendid a selection of James Billington And we congratulate our colleagues in the Senate on their wives at once has grown And it now sponsors more than 250 meetings annually in some 20 international conferences the Patan that is being passed today from dr. Boerstein to dr. Billington is The pinnacle of American intellectual life. It's an impressive transition from one gifted internationally minded scholar to another During the more than 200 years since the founding the library has taken on substantial new responsibilities It gives me great pleasure to do that to James Billington Marjorie to the family Our wishes for every success in the future and to dr. Boerstein and mrs. Boerstein The gratitude of the Congress for his past service and for every good wish we are a nation of common values and this is the center of those Values of our history and our future and we can have great confidence in the selection of the president of James Billington as the 13th librarian of the congress is a custodian of that future Ladies and gentlemen the chief justice of the united states will now administer the oath of office You raise your right hand mr. Billington And repeat after me. I james h. Billington. I james h. Billington Do solemnly swear do solemnly swear that i will support and defend That i will support and defend the constitution of the united states against all enemies foreign and domestic The constitution of the united states against all enemies foreign or domestic That i will bear true faith and allegiance to the same that i will bear true faith and allegiance to the same That i take this obligation freely that i take this obligation freely without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion Without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion and that i will well and faithfully discharge And that i will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which i am about to enter The duties of the office on which i'm about to enter. So help me god. So help me god Ladies and gentlemen the president of the united states Thank you very much. We can all be grateful for such beautiful edifices as this These buildings are treasures and each of them in its own way is a monument to freedom Certainly that's true of this building the crown jewel of the largest repository of information in the world It was my honor a few years ago to have helped dedicate the madison building This structure of course is named for thomas jefferson author of our declaration of independence champion of human freedom and third president of the united states Jefferson had an abiding faith in the people But he knew that the success of that experiment begun on july 4th 1976 Depended on an informed citizenry If a nation expects to be ignorant and free in a state of civilization It expects what never was and never will be Jefferson wrote that It's fitting then that this library of congress This great clearing house for ideas knowledge and culture Is open to every citizen Nearly two and a half million people visited this library last year It's one of the great institutions of our nation Reflecting the values and openness of a free society Today it's a pleasure to assign the stewardship of this institution To one of this nation's most respected intellectuals Dr. James billington. I am certain Will continue the magnificent job done here at the library of congress by his predecessor Dr. Daniel borstein And let me add that I think this nation owes a debt of gratitude to dr. Borstein for his hard work and dedication Dr. Borstein did much to ensure that the people as well as government officials receive full benefit of this national treasure Dr. Billington will build on this tradition Jim has had a lifelong love of books He stands here today because of Appreciation for scholarship instilled him by in him by a father who never went to college But who filled his home with books bought second hand to save the family's limited funds Much to his father's credit Jim billington received a scholarship to attend princeton university from which he holds a BA degree He went on to receive his doctorate of philosophy as a Rhodes scholar at oxford university By the way, he speaks eight languages Throughout a distinguished career dr. Billington has combined his love of scholarship With a dedication to public service because he believes that scholarship and freedom Go hand in hand In this library and throughout our country One will find books and publications on almost every subject and from almost every point of view Our founding fathers wanted it that way They trusted the ability of the people to make judgments for themselves When truth and error have fair play ben franklin once wrote the former is always an overmatch for the latter Competition then is an integral party of a or part of a free society It is not vital just for commerce and industry, but also an energizing force in the arena of ideas There's a creative genius that is unleashed when people are free Restrict information and you restrict the potential of the nation Limit public debate and you limit the dynamism of liberty Dr. Billington will now bear the responsibility of overseeing the world's largest library Which includes a collection of 84 million items 535 miles of shelves and a staff of more than 5,000 During a time of necessary budget restraint, this will not be an easy task The challenge as dr. Burstein will testify is not just administering this institution But ensuring that his vast resources are put to maximum use for the benefit of government academia business and the people themselves The library of congress was founded with a $5,000 appropriation in 1800 It has grown with the country And it is an important part of the decision-making process here in the nation's capital Dr. Billington I know you'll keep this institution the vital center of scholarship and ideas that it was intended to be We entrust you with his great national resource dr. Billington and are proud to have you As america's librarian Thank you God bless you Now ladies and gentlemen our 13th librarian of congress james hadley billington Mr. President Mrs. Reagan mr. Chief justice distinguished cabinet members congressmen And friends and guests I am very grateful deeply grateful to you mr. President Not just for the responsibility you've entrusted in me today But for the honor and the grace Which you and mrs. Reagan accord to the entire dedicated staff Of the library of congress by coming here today And affirming so eloquently as you just have The importance of its mission as a vital center of scholarship and ideas I especially like that word vital mr. President full of life For libraries are today's living link Between the record of yesterday and the possibilities of tomorrow This library is not just all these marvelous books and buildings But it's the anguish the achievements and the aspirations 74 in a building with a major library And it was institutionalized by the founding of this library in this new capital in 1800 For most of the diverse citizens everywhere who helped make democracy work here and develop on a continental scale In the beginning truly was the word The bible that guided most of them The compact signed by the first of them The constitution written by the wisest of them And of course all the songs and stories all that re-legitimate tyranny Our type of democracy has depended on knowledge and grown through books By their very nature books foster freedom with dignity Books don't coerce. They convince They speak to the active individual confronting in private the voice of reason They do not shriek to some passive crowd resources. We have here as we move ahead to the year 2000 When this library will celebrate its bicentennial just as humanity reaches its by millennium Now of course the library of congress contains the world's greatest collection of maps as of so much else But it has alas no map for the future And as a practical people didn't thank you very much Before the benediction let me thank each of us that you remain in place until the president and mrs. Reagan have left the dies It is my pleasure now to call upon the revered sanford gardener Rector christ church georgetown To deliver the benediction Blessed father and have our being We are very mindful of your abiding presence with us on this splendid and historic occasion We are grateful for the words of praise and wisdom and challenge That we have heard We are grateful for the insight of those who wisely chose thy servant james for this honored position And distinguished service to our country and to all the world Give to him every grace and strength of your spirit that he will need To fulfill his responsibilities as the librarian of congress Give him vision and courage Now and in the days You got you really got Thank you very much