Ainsworth Rand Spofford: Biography, Facts and Career

Ainsworth Rand Spofford (September 12, 1825 – August 11, 1908) was the sixth librarian of Congress. He oversaw the expansion of the Library of Congress (LOC) into a national library and placed it in charge of the national copyright system, allowing it to receive a copy of all works copyrighted in the US. He also oversaw the lengthy construction and move to the Thomas Jefferson Building, allowing the LOC to leave its severely overcrowded space in the United States Capitol. Born to a Presbyterian minister in New Hampshire, he spent much of his childhood on the island of Martha's Vineyard, where he apprenticed for a local bookbinder. He was tutored at home due to poor health, and read secular books in secret from his father. He left the island in 1845, settling in Cincinnati, Ohio, and finding work as a bookstore clerk. He was inspired by the works of transcendentalists and became connected to local radicals and abolitionists, founding the Literary Club of Cincinnati in 1849. He became a business partner of the bookstore, and was able to attract Ralph Waldo Emerson and Theodore Parker as lecturers there. He wrote an anti-slavery tract and began working as a writer for the Republican-aligned Cincinnati Daily Commercial. Following the outbreak of the American Civil War in 1861, he served as a war correspondent in Washington, D.C., in July covering and fleeing the Battle of Bull Run. While in Washington, Spofford became acquainted with the librarian of Congress, physician John Gould Stephenson, who was a brother to a fellow Literary Club member. He appointed Spofford as his assistant librarian. As Stephenson spent much of his time serving as a military doctor, Spofford served as the library's de facto director for most of the war, completing a new catalog for the library and going on various book-buying trips. Stephenson resigned in 1864 and Abraham Lincoln appointed Spofford as librarian of Congress in December. He began a rapid expansion plan, tripling the library's shelf space and acquiring major collections from the Smithsonian Institution and historian Peter Force. He pushed for the LOC to take over processing of the national copyright system in 1870. Copyright duties occupied much of his work during the rest of his tenure. The growing collection acquired through copyright laws led to the library to exhaust its available shelf space by the 1870s. Spofford pushed for the construction of a new library building. Although an architectural plan was selected in 1873, debate on its location and features continued through the 1880s. Groundbreaking occurred in 1887, but construction was soon halted after a dispute between the lead architect and a supplier. Construction of the new building began in earnest in 1890, and was not finished until 1897. Congressional hearings on the reorganization of the LOC were held in conjunction with the move to the new building. The American Library Association saw Spofford as unsuitable for managing the growing national library, and he stood down for reappointment in 1897, becoming the chief assistant to his successor, John Russell Young. Focusing on book acquisitions, he continued as assistant librarian to Young's successor Herbert Putnam and served until his death in 1908.

Quick facts about Ainsworth Rand Spofford

• Full name: Ainsworth Rand Spofford
• Born: 1825-09-12
• Nationality: United States
• Known as: Author
• Wikidata ID: Q284792

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