to serve as the first librarian of Congress. He was paid $2 a day and was also required to serve as clerk to the House of Representatives. It was not until 1897 that the Senate was given the power to confirm the president's nominee. This same law gave the librarian the sole power for making the institution's rules and appointing the library's staff.

Until the nomination of Herbert Putnam in 1899 under President McKinley, all previous librarians lacked any