Grant Harris, a Legacy of Stewardship of the Albanian Collections at the Library of Congress
Rafaela Prifti
April 24 is recognized as the birthday of the Library of Congress. On April 24, 1800, President John Adams signed legislation establishing the Library of Congress, which included an appropriation to purchase books for Congress and create a suitable space for them in the US Capitol. The Library of Congress holds the largest Albanian collections in the Americas, and likely the most extensive outside of the Balkans.
Today is appropriate to recognize the immense contribution of Grant Harris, who has helped shape and elevate the Library of Congress’s collections on Albania, Kosova and ethnic Albanians everywhere. For over 36 years, Grant Harris demonstrated scholarly passion in the European Division of the Library, where he first started in early 1984 as a reference librarian for the French and Russian collections. The gentle and soft-spoken steward took the initiative to manage the Romanian collections in 1993 teaching himself the language through independent study and immersion.
Five years later, in 1997-98, after the loss of a colleague who handled Albanian and other languages, Harris took on responsibility for the Albanian collections, acquiring a basic reading knowledge of Albanian through independent study. After becoming Head of the European Reading Room in 2008, he was appointed Chief of the European Division in 2017. He balanced his leadership role with a hands-on approach to curating the collections for Albania, Kosovo, Moldova, and Romania, while maintaining a deep involvement with the French and Russian and broader European portfolios.
One of his standout contributions is the 15-minute audio recording of Faik Konica’s NBC interview from April 8, 1939 – a “co-discovery” as he describes it, alongside Etleva Domi, then Deputy Director of Albania’s National Library. Beyond adding relevant materials from Albania, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Montenegro, the U.S, the Arbëreshë in Italy, and elsewhere, Grant developed the Library’s first collection description for Albania. His speaking engagements have spanned from Washington DC and New York to Tirana and Prishtina, notably headlining Kosova’s first annual National Library Week. Through the European Division, he hosted Albania-related book discussions, both independently and in partnership with other organizations, and curated a display of Albanian treasures in the Library of Congress Members Room to commemorate Albania’s national day.
His expertise led him to develop essential online resources for researchers and global Albanian studies including the forerunners to the current Albanian Collections at the Library of Congress https://www.loc.gov/rr/european/coll/alba.html and Address/Telephone Directories from Albania at the Library of Congress https://www.loc.gov/rr/european/phonea/alpdr.html Following his retirement in April 2020, Dr. Nevila Pahumi succeeded the duties carrying forward this legacy of excellence with exceptional dedication.
From independently learning languages to curating rare historical treasures, Grant Harris significantly expanded and elevated the profile of the Library’s Albanian collections. On this Library of Congress birthday, we extend our deepest gratitude to a truly dedicated steward.
Me punën e tij Grant Harris zgjeroi dhe lartësoi ndjeshëm profilin e koleksioneve shqiptare në Bibliotekën e Kongresit. Në këtë përvjetor të institucionit të dijes i shprehim mirënjohje të thellë këtij misionari të përkushtuar të pasurisë sonë kulturore.
