U.S. Rep. Bradley Byrne (R-Fairhope) on Thursday donated his congressional records to the University of South Alabama (USA), a public university in Mobile with around 15,000 students.
Byrne made the announcement during a ceremony held at the Doy Leale McCall Rare Book and Manuscript Library.
The last four congressmen from Alabama’s First Congressional District have all donated their records to the university, beginning with Rep. Jack Edwards and continuing with Reps. Callahan, Bonner and now Byrne. Collectively, their tenures covered have covered 56 years.
“It was an honor to keep the tradition going!” tweeted Byrne on Thursday.
This carries on a tradition started by Congressman Jack Edwards. @UofSouthAlabama will now be home to records from Congressman Edwards, Congressman Callahan, Congressman Bonner, and myself. It was an honor to keep the tradition going!
— Archive: Rep. Bradley Byrne (@RepByrne) November 12, 2020
Dr. Tony Waldrop, USA president, said Thursday, “We are fortunate and thankful that more than five decades of leadership from the 1st Congressional District have chosen South to hold the documents of their time in office.”
Byrne was first elected to his seat in 2013 and mounted an unsuccessful campaign for the U.S. Senate instead of seeking reelection in 2020. The district he represented is in the Southwest corner of Alabama, and its population is dominated by residents of Mobile and Baldwin Counties.
“Our region has experienced numerous momentous events during my tenure in Congress,” remarked Byrne in a release, adding, “I hope adding my records to this historic collection will expand an already valuable resource to allow for research and study for many years to come.”
Thanks to modern technology, Byrne’s donation will be different from his predecessors.
“The Byrne Papers are McCall Library’s first born-digital congressional collection, presenting new challenges and opportunities for preservation, access, study, and research,” noted E. Lorene Flanders, executive director of libraries at USA.
According to the U.S. House of Representatives, a congressman’s papers may include “campaign files; newspaper and magazine clippings; correspondence; invitations; bill files; briefing books; staff files; memorabilia; newsletters; personal files of the Member; photographs; political files; press files; publications; reference files; scrapbooks; speech files; district files; and voting records.
“We extend our sincere thanks to Congressman Byrne and his staff for making this donation possible,” Flanders concluded.
Henry Thornton is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can contact him by email: henry@new-yhn.local or on Twitter @HenryThornton95
