This week’s Pic of the Week is a portrait of John T. Vance found inside our small conference room. The portrait was donated to the Law Library by his family. According to the note by the portrait, he was the Law Librarian of Congress from 1924 until his death in 1943. Archibald MacLeish, poet, scholar, statesman, and Librarian of Congress, stated the following about him:
In the nineteen years of his service in this important position, he doubled the collection in his charged and expanded its service and usefulness. But the significance of John Vance reaches far beyond these bare facts. He was a man of vision who saw the future needs of the Library; he was a scholar who brought men lacking in scholarly tastes and habits to see the values of scholarship and the immediate practical usefulness of a great collection of books.
