Hayden, Carla (1952-…), is an American librarian and library administrator. She became the 14th librarian of Congress in 2016. Hayden is the first woman, the first African American, and only the third professional librarian to lead the Library of Congress, the nation’s library, since the institution was established in 1800.
Carla Diane Hayden was born on Aug. 10, 1952, in Tallahassee, Florida, and grew up in Chicago, Illinois. She earned a bachelor’s degree from Roosevelt University and both master’s and doctorate degrees in library science from the University of Chicago Graduate Library School. Hayden began her career as a children’s librarian and a library associate with the Chicago Public Library in 1973. She served as the library services coordinator for Chicago’s Museum of Science and Industry from 1982 to 1987. From 1987 to 1991, she taught library and information science as an assistant professor at the University of Pittsburgh. Hayden was the deputy commissioner and chief librarian of the Chicago Public Library system from 1991 to 1993.
Hayden served as the chief executive officer of the Enoch Pratt Free Library, the public library system in Baltimore, Maryland, from 1993 to 2016. During those years, she initiated the renovation, modernization, and digitization of the Pratt library system. Hayden also began a wide range of services and outreach to the neighborhoods of Baltimore, including the establishment of after-school centers and programs for homework assistance, college counseling, and job information. Hayden is credited with improving community access to technology and with bringing the respected 22-branch system into the digital age.
In 2015, Hayden won praise for her decision to keep Baltimore public libraries open as a haven for the community during the civil unrest that shut down many other community services in the city. The unrest erupted following the death of Freddie Gray, a Black man who died of injuries while in police custody.
Hayden is a champion of such causes as freedom of information and civil liberties. She, along with other librarians and civil liberties advocates, drew national attention in the early 2000’s for her support of the rights of library patrons to confidentiality and privacy. During her term as president of the American Library Association from 2003 to 2004, she fought against a provision of the Patriot Act of 2001 that permitted federal authorities to examine the borrowing records of library patrons without a subpoena. That portion of the Patriot Act expired in 2015.
Hayden was selected by President Barack Obama to serve as a member of the National Museum and Library Services Board in 2010. In February 2016, Obama nominated Hayden to succeed James H. Billington as the librarian of Congress. Billington, a former history professor appointed by President Ronald Reagan, retired in 2015 after 28 years of service. In announcing her nomination, Obama said that Hayden “has devoted her career to modernizing libraries so that everyone can participate in today’s digital culture.” The U.S. Senate confirmed Hayden’s nomination in July 2016, and she was sworn in on Sept. 14, 2016. Hayden was expected to play an integral role in modernizing and increasing public access to the Library of Congress.
