AUSTIN, Texas -- There's a new director of the LBJ Presidential Library.

Historian and author Dr. Kyle Longley was named to the position by the Archivist of the United States. Longley is just the fifth director of the library since it opened to the public in 1971.

The native Texan told Capital Tonight anchor Karina Kling he’s happy to be home in this new position.

“When they came to me about this job, it was just like a historian’s dream to be able to work in the LBJ Library,” Longley said.  

Longley’s most recent book is "LBJ's 1968: Power, Politics, and the Presidency in America's Year of Upheaval."

He said there’s a lot of resonance with what we’re seeing in the world today.

“It probably was one of the most divided times in American history,” he said. “You could probably compare it to 1861, and maybe some would argue today, how divided, how split the country is between various camps. I think that serves as a warning to us of what can happen.”

Click the video link above to watch the full interview with Longley.