June 27, 2012




Library of Congress Acquires Carl Sagan Papers




The Library of Congress has acquired the personal papers of
American astronomer, astrobiologist and science communicator Carl Sagan
(1934-1996). A celebrated scientist, educator, television personality
and prolific author, Sagan was a consummate communicator who bridged the
gap between academe and popular culture.
The Sagan collection has come to the Library through the generosity
of writer, producer and director Seth MacFarlane, and is officially
designated The Seth MacFarlane Collection of the Carl Sagan and Ann
Druyan Archive.
The collection comprises approximately 800 boxes of materials that
document Sagan’s life and work and includes his extensive correspondence
with scientific colleagues and other important figures of the 20th
century. It also includes book drafts, publications files, "idea files"
on various subjects, records of various symposia, NASA files and
academic files covering the years he taught at Cornell University. Among
the personal files are his birth announcement, handwritten notebooks of
his earliest thoughts and grammar-school report cards. In addition to
manuscript materials, the collection includes photographs, audiotapes
and videocassettes. Researchers and scholars will be able to use the
collection once it has been fully processed by the Library’s archivists.
"We are honored to preserve and make accessible to researchers the
legacy of Carl Sagan, a man who devoted his life to the study of the
universe," said Librarian of Congress James H. Billington. "The Sagan
papers are a rich addition to the Library’s already-outstanding
collection of science manuscripts and other materials from such
prominent figures as Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Edison, Alexander Graham
Bell, Sigmund Freud, J. Robert Oppenheimer and E.O. Wilson."
"Carl was the exemplar of the citizen scientist," said Druyan,
Sagan’s long time professional collaborator and his widow. "For him, the
values of democracy and science were intertwined. I can think of no
more fitting home for his papers than the nation’s library. Thanks to
Seth, Carl’s prodigious life’s work will endure to awaken future
generations to the wonders of the scientific perspective."
Sagan and Druyan co-wrote several books, and the "Cosmos" television
series and were co-creators of the motion picture, "Contact." Druyan was
the creative director of NASA’s Voyager Interstellar Record Project (http://voyager.jpl.nasa.gov/spacecraft/goldenrec.html).
"The work of Carl Sagan has been a profound influence in my life, and
the life of every individual who recognizes the importance of
humanity's ongoing commitment to the exploration of our universe," said
MacFarlane. "The continuance of our journey outward into space should
always occupy some part of our collective attention, regardless of
whatever Snooki did last week."
MacFarlane is the creative force behind the television shows "Family
Guy," "American Dad!" and "The Cleveland Show." "Family Guy" has
garnered four Emmys and seven Emmy nominations, including one in the
Outstanding Comedy Series category. MacFarlane makes his directorial
feature film debut on June 29, 2012, with the live-action and
computer-generated comedy, "Ted." His orchestral/big band album, "Music
Is Better Than Words," debuted at number one on the iTunes Jazz charts
on Sept 27, 2011, and received two Grammy nominations, including Best
Traditional Pop Vocal Album.
MacFarlane has teamed up with Sagan’s original creative
collaborators—writer/producer Ann Druyan and astrophysicist Steven
Soter—to conceive a 13-part "docu-series" that will serve as a successor
to the Emmy and Peabody Award-winning original series, "Cosmos."
Produced in conjunction with FOX and the National Geographic Channel,
"Cosmos: A Space-Time Odyssey" will explore how human beings began to
comprehend the laws of nature and find their place in space and time. By
exploring never-before-told stories of the heroic quest for knowledge,
the series aims to take viewers to other worlds and travel across the
universe for a vision of the cosmos on the grandest scale.
Carl Sagan earned a Pulitzer Prize for his bestseller, "The Dragons
of Eden: Speculation on the Evolution of Human Intelligence." His
science-fiction novel, "Contact," became both a bestseller and a feature
film. It is estimated that more than a billion people around the world
have viewed his popular PBS show, "Cosmos."
Sagan specialized in planetary astronomy. His early work on planetary
surfaces and atmospheres is considered pioneering, and he made landmark
contributions to NASA’s Mariner, Pioneer, Apollo, Galileo, Viking and
Voyager space-exploration programs. For his unique contributions, he was
awarded medals for Distinguished Scientific Achievement and Public
Service from NASA, the National Science Foundation and the National
Academy of Sciences.
A staunch advocate of the scientific method, Sagan was known for his
research on the possibilities of extraterrestrial life, for his research
and campaigns of public education on the dangers of global warming and
the "nuclear winter" that could result from a nuclear war.
To examine Sagan’s legacy as a role model for future American
scientists, the Library of Congress will sponsor a "Summit on Science
Education" late next year. The event, which will bring together
scientists, educators, policy-makers and students, will underscore
Sagan’s conviction that it is critical to understand and appreciate the
centrality of science in the everyday lives of Americans and to create a
renewed national consciousness about preparing the next generation of
scientists.
The Library of Congress, the nation’s oldest federal cultural
institution and the largest library in the world, holds more than 151
million items in various languages, disciplines, and formats. The
Library seeks to spark imagination and creativity and to further human
understanding and wisdom by providing access to knowledge through its
magnificent collections, programs, publications and exhibitions. Many of
the Library’s rich resources can be accessed through its website at www.loc.gov.

- http://www.loc.gov/today/pr/2012/12-104.html