DISTRICT DIARIES: Dr. Carla Hayden, Librarian of Congress
Throughout the year, the Washington Spirit will celebrate 13 women creating change in the DC community through the District Diaries series. First up: Dr. Carla Hayden, Librarian of Congress.
Dr. Carla Hayden is the first female Librarian of Congress and also the first Black Librarian of Congress. With her vision of connecting all Americans to the Library of Congress, she has redefined and modernized the Library’s mission: to engage, inspire and inform Congress and the American people with a universal and enduring source of knowledge and creativity.
During her tenure, Dr. Hayden has prioritized efforts to make the Library and its unparalleled collections more accessible to the public. Through her social media presence, events and activities, she has introduced new audiences to many of the Library’s treasures – from Frederick Douglass’ papers, to the contents of President Abraham Lincoln’s pockets on the night of his assassination, to James Madison’s crystal flute made famous by Lizzo.
On what she hopes her legacy will be, Dr. Hayden said, “I would hope that people would think that I opened up—or tried to open up as much as I could—the world of wonder and information through text, books, film and all of that. It would be nice just to have people say, ‘Boy, she tried to really make things open for people.’ Let them read and watch what they want to.”
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