Reps. Sak, Accavitti, Spade, Sheltrown, Byrum, O'Neil, Rivet, Minore, Voorhees, Plakas, Kooiman, Stahl, DeRossett, Milosch, Mortimer, Ehardt, Pastor, Julian, Anderson, Adamini, Bieda, Brandenburg, Brown, Caswell, Caul, Dennis, DeRoche, Elkins, Emmons, Farhat, Farrah, Garfield, Gieleghem, Gillard, Gleason, Hardman, Hoogendyk, Hopgood, Jamnick, Koetje, Kolb, LaJoy, Law, Lipsey, McConico, Meyer, Newell, Paletko, Reeves, Rocca, Shackleton, Shaffer, Shulman, Stallworth, Stewart, Tobocman, Waters, Wojno, Woodward and Zelenko offered the following resolution:

            House Resolution No. 156.

            A resolution recognizing the 175^th anniversary of the Library of Michigan as Michigan’s official state library agency.

            Whereas, The State Law Library’s collection dates back to 1828, when the Territorial Council Library began purchasing legal materials for the use of the territorial governor and legislators.  Then located in Detroit, the library owned 131 titles covering state session laws, state reports and other legal documents; and

            Whereas, When the Capital of Michigan was relocated to Lansing in 1847, the state library secured space in the first Capitol Building and eventually moved to the new Capitol Building in 1879; and

            Whereas, The State Law Library served the legislature, the judiciary, the governor and state agencies and began a legal collection designed to meet the research needs of the judges, attorneys and state employees who used their services; and

            Whereas, By 1896, a complete catalog of the law collection had been compiled by Mr. S. A. Tomlinson, clerk of the “law department” and the catalog is a 685-page listing of every volume of every title owned by the State Law Library; and

            Whereas, In 2003, the Library of Michigan celebrates 175 years as Michigan’s official state library agency, evolving from its pre-statehood days as a collector of laws and government documents including state reports, federal reports and volumes of the National Reporter System, case digests, encyclopedias, textbooks, periodicals and foreign law materials to the extensive information resource it is today; and

            Whereas, Since territorial days, through wars and fire, reorganization and relocation, incredible growth and amazing technological advancements, the Library of Michigan’s chief commitment has not changed:  to ensure the best possible library service to Michigan’s citizens; and,

            Whereas, Serving the needs of the legislature and state government, our residents, and its partner libraries statewide, the Library of Michigan remains an irreplaceable part of Michigan’s landscape after 175 years; now, therefore, be it

            Resolved by the House of Representatives, That the members of this legislative body honor the 175^th anniversary of the Library of Michigan, and applaud those who have contributed to this institution for the community service that it provides for every resident of our Great Lakes State.