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Gazette Volume 20, No GAZETTE Volume 20, No. 2 • January 16, 2009 • A weekly publication for Library staff “I Do Solemnly Swear ...” Library Bibles in Demand Obama to Take Oath on Bible Lincoln Used 148 Years Ago By Gail Fineberg and Jennifer Gavin small Bible, its burgundy velvet cover fading from age and its pages Ayellowing, will emerge from its protected place in the Library’s Rare Book and Special Collections Division Gail Fineberg to become one nexus in history on Inau- Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, left, swears in Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, guration Day, Tuesday, Jan. 20. D-Fla., who uses an 1814 Hebrew Bible from the Library’s collections. Surrounding Was- serman Schultz are members of her family, including her children and her husband, Steve On March 4, 1861, Abraham Lincoln, a Schultz, on her right. tall, lanky man from Springfield, Ill., rested one hand upon this Bible while Swearing-in Excitement—Bibles on the taking his oath Run to Events and Kids in the Capitol to become the 16th president By Gail Fineberg of the United Two little girls in swirling party dresses serman Schultz placed her left hand on States. One year of velvet and red plaid taffeta and a jit- the Bible and raised her right, in concert later, as the Civil tery young man in a gray suit settled into with Pelosi. War threatened solemn stillness beside their mom, Rep. Snap, snap, and the tableau resolved. to destroy the Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla., just The children skittered away among hun- union and the Constitution he had sworn long enough for Speaker of the House dreds of other children of young parents to protect, Lincoln issued the first of two Nancy Pelosi to swear her in ceremoni- taking their congressional seats, and mom Emancipation Proclamations that began ously as South Florida’s 20th District rep- headed off to work, beginning her third the process, culminating with the 13th resentative to the 111th Congress. term in Congress. amendment, of freeing blacks from bond- A formal swearing-in of all the repre- The Library’s Stephen Kelley, a con- age in America. sentatives had occurred earlier the same gressional relations specialist, tucked When Barack Obama, also from Illi- day, Tuesday, Jan. 6, on the House floor. the Bible back into a CNN book bag and nois, becomes the first person of African As Wasserman Schultz’s family stepped prepared for the next hand-off at 5 p.m., ancestry in American history to take the before a battery of photographers in the of the same Bible to Rep. Brad Sherman, presidential oath of office on Tuesday, ceremonial Rayburn Room in the Capitol D-Calif., who represents California’s 27th Jan. 20, he will place his hand upon the about 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday to have their district (the Fernando Valley) in the 111th same Bible, in a ceremony before mil- picture taken with Pelosi, they gathered Congress. lions gathered below the West Front of around the first Bible printed in Hebrew the Capitol. in America, in Philadelphia in 1814. Was- SWEARING-IN EXCITEMENT, Cont. on page 4 LINCOLN BIBLE , Cont. on page 5 xcvzxvzxv 2 LIBRARY OF CONGRESS GAZETTE JANUARY 16, 2009 NOTICES Blue Cross Blue Shield Service Days GAZETTE www.loc.gov/staff/gazette Blue Cross Blue Shield will hold a series of service days for Library Staff to help ensure MATTHEW RAYMOND high-quality customer service. Executive Editor GAIL FINEBERG A Blue Cross Blue Shield representative will be available to respond to any health ben- Editor efits inquiries from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Human Resources Customer Service Center in Contributing Editors: Erin Allen, Calendar; LM 107. Carlin “René” Sayles, Moving On and Length of Service; Runako Balondemu, Donated Leave Service days in 2009 will be held on Jan. 21, Feb. 17, March 17, April 21, May 19, June Proofreader: George Thuronyi 16, July 21, Aug. 18, Sept. 15 and Oct. 20. Design and Production: Mitch Jones Individuals with unresolved claims, or questions about enrollment and benefits, are PETER BRAESTRUP JAMES W. McCLUNG Founder Founding Publisher encouraged to see the Blue Cross representative. No appointment is necessary. Staff (1990 – 1997) (1990 – 1994) members will be seen on a first-come, first-served basis. Staff with further questions about the service days may call Brenda Bunyasi, benefits An official publication of the Library of Congress, The Gazette encourages Library managers and staff to submit articles and counselor, at 7-8305. photographs of general interest. Submissions will be edited to convey the most necessary information. Deadline for submission of articles is 5 p.m. Wednesday, one week prior to publication date. Please submit text in digital form via e-mail ([email protected]) preferably as an attachedM icrosoft Fed Benefits Open Season Extended Word file. Back issues of The Gazette in print are available in the Public The U.S. Office of Personnel Manage- will vary among the programs. Depending on Affairs Office, LM 105. ment (OPM) has announced that it has the timing of a person’s change and pay peri- ods, it may take one or more pay periods for Electronic archived issues and the a color pdf file of the current taken steps to provide additional protections issue are available online at www.loc.gov/staff/gazette. for federal employees participating in the the federal benefits deductions and allotments Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) to be adjusted to match the new election. Program who have nonemergency surgeries If a staff member makes a belated open- Library of Congress Washington, DC 20540-1620 performed by out-of-network surgeons. season change and already has claims for services incurred in 2009 under the former Editorial: Gail Fineberg, 7-9194, [email protected] OPM has asked FEHB carriers to re- Design and production: Mitch Jones evaluate their benefits for nonemergency plan, the beneficiary and the new provider 7-0970, [email protected] may be responsible for reimbursing the former surgeries and has instructed federal agencies ISSN 1049-8184 to accept belated open-season enrollments plan for any benefits paid. Printed on paper that contains recycled paper by the or changes in FEHB plans. Printing Management Section, Office Systems Services Effective Dates What This Means for Staff Elections made after Jan. 1 may take effect Gazette Welcomes Letters from Staff Library staff may make belated open- retroactively, as follows: The staff is invited to use the Forum pages for lively and thoughtful season enrollment changes to their FEHB debate relevant to Library issues. However, just as other newspa- • Belated FEHB changes took effect on Jan. 4. per editors exercise discretion over which letters to publish and Program, Federal Employees Dental and • Belated FEDVIP changes took effect Jan. 1. how to edit them, so do we. In deciding whether or how much Vision Insurance Program (FEDVIP) and the to publish, we consider content (including misstatements of fact, • Belated FSAFEDS changes took effect on Jan. libel, innuendo, ridicule of individuals or the institution, personal Federal Flexible Spending Account Program attacks, and redundancy) and length (the limit is 600 words). 1 or the day after the change is received, (FSAFEDS) if FEHB benefit changes affect Letters must be signed by the author, whose place of work and their enrollment decisions. Staff will have an whichever is later. telephone extension should be included so we can verify author- extended enrollment opportunity through Questions about this information can be ship. Letter writers should understand that when they sign their letters and release them to us for publication they are relinquishing Jan. 30 to make any enrollment changes in directed to the HRS Customer Service Center privacy. If a letter calls for management response, for example, these programs. by calling 7-5627, e-mailing [email protected] an explanation of a policy or actions or clarification of fact, we will ask for management response.—Ed., The effective dates of belated changes or visiting LM-107. Gazette Deadlines Coping in the Workplace The deadline for editorial copy for the Jan. 23 Gazette is Wednsday, Jan. 14. Looking for strategies for coping with a difficult supervisor? Contact the on-site Employee Assistance Program E-mail editorial copy and letters to the editor at 7-6389 or [email protected]; call 1-888-290-4327; or go to www.guidanceresources.com at any hour or on to [email protected]. any day of the week. All Library employees and their benefit-eligible dependents may call the on-site counselor To promote events through the Library’s or receive up to three off-site counseling sessions close to home or work at no charge. online calendar (www.loc.gov/loc/events) and the Gazette Calendar, e-mail event and contact information to [email protected] by 9 a.m. Monday of the week of publication. The Gazette will not be published on Friday, Jan. 23, because of Martin Luther King’s Birthday Boxed announcements should be submitted on Jan. 19 and Inauguration Day on Jan 20. For a complete listing of events at the Library see electronically (text files) by 9 a.m. Monday, www.loc.gov (link to “more news and upcoming events” under “News from the Library.”) the week of publication to [email protected]. January 16, 2009 The LIBRARY OF CONGRESS GAZETTE 3 NEWS Historic American Buildings Survey Marks 75 Years Elizabeth Terry Rose The Library of Congress Center for Architecture Design and Engineering hosted a standing-room-only, six-speaker symposium on Nov. 14 in celebration of the 75th anniversary of the Historic American Building Survey (HABS), the only continuing New Deal program and one of the Library’s most popular and beloved collections.
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