Hayden will be sworn in Wednesday at noon as the 14th librarian of Congress, in a ceremony that will be broadcast live on YouTube. In Baltimore, Hayden was known for her ability to modernize, digitize, and introduce technology into a library without losing its integrity – all at a library with 22 branches and a staff of more than 500.
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During her time in Baltimore, the Library of Congress says Hayden won praise for her outreach to help people from all walks of life get access to library materials and technology.
Just who is Carla Hayden? The post had previously been a lifetime appointment, though Hayden can be renominated for the position.
Hayden was confirmed by the Senate on July 13 with a 74-18 vote after being nominated by President Barack Obama in February.
The magnitude of the occasion was not lost on Hayden or the audience gathered in the great hall of the library’s Thomas Jefferson Building.
“She’s a pro. She knows what she’s doing”, House Speaker Paul Ryan said at the ceremony. Mikulski and her fellow Maryland Democrat, Sen.
Mikulksi recalled that when senior Obama adviser Valerie Jarrett called to inform her the president was considering Hayden, Mikulski thought, “That’s like bringing Cal Ripken back to the Orioles!”
Hayden, 64, who was born in Tallahassee, Florida, has served as CEO of Baltimore’s Pratt Library since 1993. During the unrest in the city following the death of Freddie Gray in police custody, she kept the libraries open, including one across from the looted CVS, even as schools were shut down and the governor declared a state of emergency.
“Cars were still smoldering in the streets. But people were lined up outside the doors of the library”, Hayden recalled. “What is everyone so upset about?’ She came to the library for sanctuary and understanding”.
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The first woman, as well as the first African-American to fill the role, Ms. Hayden will be replacing retired Reagan appointee James Billington to run what has been described as the closest thing there is to a global library, which provides legal advice and research for the members of Congress. She taught as an assistant professor at the University of Pittsburgh, before returning to the Chicago Public Library.
