It sounds like it was at the request of IA: > "...in response to the enclosed letter I received from the Founder and Digital Librarian of the Internet Archive,

It sounds like it was at the request of IA: > "...in response to the enclosed letter I received from the Founder and Digital Librarian of the Internet Archive, Mr. Brewster Kahle, I am designating the Internet Archive as a federal depository library in California." Which seems a lot more agreeable than unilateral designation (which is also how I initially read this).