Obama nominates Carla Hayden to be Librarian of Congress
Hayden would be the first woman and first African-American to hold the position
Above: Carla Hayden, CEO of the Pratt Library since 1993, was nominated today to be Librarian of Congress.
President Barack Obama today nominated Pratt Library CEO Carla D. Hayden to be Librarian of Congress.
If confirmed by Congress, she would be the first woman and the first African-American to hold this position.
The news hit Baltimore in the form of a press release from The White House.
“Michelle and I have known Dr. Carla Hayden for a long time, since her days working at the Chicago Public Library, and I am proud to nominate her to lead our nation’s oldest federal institution as our 14th Librarian of Congress,” the president is quoted as saying.
“Dr. Hayden has devoted her career to modernizing libraries so that everyone can participate in today’s digital culture,” Obama said.
“She has the proven experience, dedication, and deep knowledge of our nation’s libraries to serve our country well and that’s why I look forward to working with her in the months ahead.”
Hayden has headed Baltimore’s Enoch Pratt Free Library since 1993.
Included in today’s release was this exhaustive list of her accomplishments:
Dr. Carla D. Hayden is CEO of the Enoch Pratt Free Library in Baltimore, Maryland, a position she has held since 1993.
Dr. Hayden was nominated by President Obama to be a member of the National Museum and Library Services Board in January 2010 and was confirmed by the Senate in June 2010. Prior to joining the Pratt Library, Dr. Hayden was Deputy Commissioner and Chief Librarian of the Chicago Public Library from 1991 to 1993.
She was an Assistant Professor for Library and Information Science at the University of Pittsburgh from 1987 to 1991. Dr. Hayden was Library Services Coordinator for the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago from 1982 to 1987.
She began her career with the Chicago Public Library as the Young Adult Services Coordinator from 1979 to 1982 and as a Library Associate and Children’s Librarian from 1973 to 1979.
Dr. Hayden was President of the American Library Association from 2003 to 2004. In 1995, she was the first African American to receive Library Journal’s Librarian of the Year Award in recognition of her outreach services at the Pratt Library, which included an after school center for Baltimore teens offering homework assistance and college and career counseling.
Dr. Hayden received a B.A. from Roosevelt University and an M.A. and Ph.D. from the Graduate Library School of the University of Chicago.