His next move: appointing Dr. Carla D. Hayden as the 14th Librarian of Congress—making her the first woman and African-American to hold this prestigious position in the library’s 214 year history.
The POTUS went on his Facebook page to deliver the good news:
“Today, I’m nominating Dr. Carla Hayden to be our 14th Librarian of Congress. Michelle and I have known Carla since her days working at the Chicago Public Library, and her dedication to learning and education is unparalleled. More recently, she’s been hard at work revitalizing Baltimore’s struggling library system as the CEO of Enoch Pratt Free Library. Last year, during the unrest in Baltimore, Dr. Hayden kept the doors of the Pratt open as a beacon for the community. Her understanding of the pivotal role that emerging technologies play in libraries will be essential in leading the Library of Congress as it continues to modernize its infrastructure and promote open access and full participation in today’s digital world. Finally, Dr. Hayden will be the first woman and the first African-American to hold this position in its 214 year history – both of which are long overdue.”
Among her many accomplishments, Dr. Hayden became the first African-American to receive Library Journal’s Librarian of the Year Award, according to a press release sent by the White House’s Office of the Press Secretary. Dr. Hayden holds a M.A. and a Ph.D from the Graduate Library School of the University of Chicago.
“We talk about libraries as being the original treasure chest, you can involve yourself in knowledge from years ago,” she said in a video posted on Obama’s Facebook.“You can tell just the way I’m talking about it that when I grew up it was that treasure chest for me. The thing that will keep me going throughout the rest of my career is that fact that in Baltimore the library mattered to people’s lives.”
Take a look at the full video below.
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