Meet your new Librarian of Congress: Seven months after being nominated by the president, Carla Hayden was officially sworn in on Wednesday, September 14. She is both the first woman and the first African American to assume the title, The New York Times reports.
Another factor that makes Hayden a remarkable choice for Librarian of Congress is her experience as an actual librarian. The two men who held the job before her were historians, and before them many other Librarians of Congress had been scholars or writers.
Hayden has already racked up several impressive credentials over the course of her career, including chief librarian of the Chicago Public Library system, president of the American Library Association, and CEO of the Enoch Pratt Free Library in Baltimore. Part of what qualified her for the role in the eyes of the president, he said in a statement earlier this year, was her devotion “to modernizing libraries so that everyone can participate in today’s digital culture.” She remarked after Wednesday’s swearing-in ceremony that she’d liked to see more historical documents, like Rosa Parks’s notes and letters, reach a wider audience through the power of the internet.
The previous Librarian of Congress, James Billington, ended his 28-year tenure in 2015 following criticism for his failure to properly adapt to evolving technology. Along with his nomination of Hayden, President Obama also signed a law reducing the office from a lifetime role to a 10-year term.
As Librarian of Congress, Hayden will be responsible for handling congressional relations, appointing staff members such as the national Poet Laureate, overseeing the Copyright Office, and many other duties that come with running the world’s largest library.
[h/t The New York Times]
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September 15, 2016 – 9:45am