Updated July 14, 2016
Dr. Carla Hayden, CEO of the Enoch Pratt Free Library and Goucher College Trustee, was confirmed on Wednesday as the 14th Librarian of Congress. A long-time friend of the college, she was elected to Goucher’s board in 1998. Hayden has been the CEO of Baltimore’s Enoch Pratt Free Library since 1993.
“We are so proud of Carla Hayden both for her long-standing support of Goucher as a trustee and now as the first black woman nominated to be the Librarian of Congress,” said Goucher College President José Antonio Bowen. “She has done incredible work for Baltimore and will do the same in Washington.”
Hayden also played a key role with Goucher’s own library.
“Goucher was very fortunate to have Carla Hayden on the Board at a time when we were envisioning the future of library services at Goucher,” said Goucher College Librarian Nancy Magnuson. “She has also done an extraordinary job with the Enoch Pratt Library, building on its long-term record of innovative service to the Baltimore community. The nation can only benefit from her experience and vision.”
In his statement nominating Hayden to the post, President Obama praised Hayden for her work at the Chicago Public Library and modernizing libraries to make today’s digital culture available to everyone. Citing her experience, dedication, and knowledge of the country’s libraries, Obama said he is looking forward to working with her.
The Librarian of Congress oversees the nation’s oldest federal cultural institution and the largest library in the world. It serves as a research arm of Congress and the country’s de facto national library. Hayden is the 14th Librarian of Congress since the library’s founding in 1802. The position wields substantial power over U.S. copyright laws, and has in recent years been responsible for decisions with wide-ranging effects on technological copyrights. Once a lifetime appointment, the position was limited by Congress in 2015 to a 10-year term, with the possibility of reappointment.
Dr. Hayden was previously nominated by President Obama to be a member of the National Museum and Library Services Board and confirmed by the Senate to that position in June 2010. She received a B.A. from Roosevelt University and an M.A. and Ph.D. from the Graduate Library School of the University of Chicago.