Release No. 00193.00
                                                               
            Media contact: Mary Beth Schultheis, (202) 720-4623
                                  mary_beth.schultheis@usda.gov
                       Public Contact:  Len Carey, 301 504-5564
                                            lcarey@nal.usda.gov


GLICKMAN NAMES NATIONAL AGRICULTURAL LIBRARY IN HONOR OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN

     BELTSVILLE, MD, June 14, 2000 - Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman today
named the building housing the National Agricultural Library as the Abraham
Lincoln Building in honor of the president who established the U.S. Department
of Agriculture. 

     "In 1862, President Abraham Lincoln and Congress established the
Department of Agriculture with a mandate to conduct experiments, gather seeds
and plants, and collect information pertaining to agriculture," said Glickman. 
"Today, the National Agriculture Library is the public's direct link to the
world's largest collection of agriculture information."

     Lincoln proposed and signed into law an act of Congress establishing "at
the seat of Government of the United States a Department of Agriculture." 
Lincoln also signed the Homestead Act, granting Western lands for settlement
and agriculture; the Morrill Land Grant College Act, donating public land to
the States to establish colleges of agriculture and the mechanical arts; and
an act granting Western lands and making payments for construction of
railroads, opening up new areas of the West to settlement.

     The National Agricultural Library manages one of the largest and most
accessible collections of information and databases about agriculture in the
world.  The library has more than 3.3 million items on 48 miles of shelves. 
Technology-based services provide immediate digital access to scientific
literature, printed text, and images.  The's library's collection and its
leadership role in information services and technology applications combine to
make it the country's primary source for agricultural information.

     For more information visit the library's website at www.nal.usda.gov

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