Descriptive Record 
Enlarge Image1941
January 8
Memorandum from Archibald MacLeish, January 8, 1941.
Library of Congress Archives, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress
The Library sends notices to members of Congress announcing orientation sessions about its services.
February 17
Using material from the collections of the Library of Congress, Alan Lomax, an assistant in charge of the Library’s Archive of American Folk Song, arranges and presents a program of folk music at the White House. The program is the Library’s response to Eleanor Roosevelt’s suggestion that folk material in the Library’s collections be made available for the recreational purposes of America’s armed forces.
March 21
Press Release No. 10, Office of the Secretary, Library of Congress, March 21, 1941.
Library of Congress Press Releases, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress
Staff of the Library’s Office of the Secretary sends out a press release detailing the actions that Library of Congress administrators plan to take to safeguard the Library’s collections during wartime: “Archibald MacLeish, the Librarian of Congress, announced today that the Library staff is beginning the listing of unique and irreplaceable books and manuscripts and that problems of packing and storage are under consideration.”
September 10
Press Release No. 30, "Democracy Alcove," Library of Congress, September 10, 1941.
Library of Congress Press Releases, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress
The Library’s Press Release No. 30 announces that it has set up a "democracy alcove" for use in the Main Reading Room. The alcove contains the classic texts of the foundations of America—the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and The Federalist. The writings of American statesmen, biographies, and analyses of the theory and practices of democracy by a variety of scholars are also included.
December 8
Following Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt requests, and receives, a declaration of war against Japan.
