Senator Byrd’s Library Now Open for Research

by Jody Brumage
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We are excited to announce the opening of another part of Senator Byrd’s Collection for researcher access. The Library Collection is comprised of almost 800 titles, including a wide range of subjects from Ancient Greek and Roman historians and philosophers to volumes on early American history and constitutional law.
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A few months ago, we published a blog describing part of Senator Byrd’s Library Collection which was being processed and cataloged by CLS Intern Dylan Rosenlieb. These books comprise the main section of the collection,  containing over 600 individual books which Senator Byrd amassed over his 57 years in Congress. Some of these titles even pre-date his time in office, such as school books and yearbooks from Senator Byrd’s early education at Mark Twain High School. Senator Byrd also collected older books of speeches and memoirs of former members of Congress which date back to the early 19th century.

A portion of the Robert C. Byrd Library Collection shelved in the archives.

Throughout his life and career, Senator Byrd was an avid reader, conducting exhaustive studies in law and history in preparation for his actions on the floor and later for his published books. This photograph of Senator Byrd, surrounded by books in his D.C. Office was taken in the mid-1960s.

The Library Collection also includes a subseries, 181 Research Binders containing photocopied works which Senator Byrd annotated and studied while working on his landmark publications The Senate: 1789-1989 Addresses on the History of the United States Senate (1989) and The Senate of the Roman Republic (1995). These binders also contain speeches by the Senator, notes and memos from the staff, and other records which have been preserved in their original order.
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The Research Binders subseries presented a challenge for preservation. The large three-ring binders that they were originally stored in do not allow for easy access. It is very easy to rip the pages when turning through them. The pages also tend to droop towards the inside, causing further deterioration to the paper. To preserve these important records of Senator Byrd’s scholarly legacy, we removed the pages from the binders to alleviate the risk of tearing the pages when flipping through them and placed them in acid-free folders and boxes.

Senator Byrd presents a copy of his history of the U.S. Senate at a reception in the U.S. Capitol in 1989

We received the Library Collection along with Senator Byrd’s papers in 2010, but it came in several parts, spread throughout the other sections of the collection. Over the years that Senator Byrd’s congressional papers were being processed, many books were found and set aside to become the Library Collection. This unique collection is now ready for researcher access and will be an excellent tool to study the work behind some of Senator Byrd’s greatest legislative accomplishments and his numerous publications.

Click here to view the finding aid for this collection