Obama Taps CEO of Baltimore's Enoch Pratt Free Library as New Librarian of Congress
President Barack Obama Wednesday nominated Carla Hayden, CEO of the Enoch Pratt Free Library in Baltimore, to be Librarian of Congress. Hayden previously was president of the American Library Association and has been a member of the federal National Museum and Library Services Board since 2010. If the Senate confirms Hayden, she would be the first woman and the first African-American to lead the Library of Congress. The White House had been searching for a permanent LOC head since Librarian of Congress James Billington announced in June that he would retire (see 1506180057). Billington ultimately left the LOC in late September. Deputy Librarian of Congress David Mao has been acting head (see 1509250052).
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Hayden “has devoted her career to modernizing libraries so that everyone can participate in today's digital culture,” Obama said in a blog post. She has “been hard at work revitalizing Baltimore's library system as the CEO of Enoch Pratt Free Library, updating its technology and raising money to fund essential improvements. Under her leadership, the Pratt library has become the largest provider of public-access computers in Maryland,” he said. Billington's departure from the LOC came amid rising criticism of the library's IT policies, which some copyright stakeholders noted as an important reason to reassess the Copyright Office's placement within LOC. GAO recommended the LOC take significant steps to improve its IT program (see 1503310046), prompting the LOC to hire a chief information officer and make tech improvements a top priority in its 2016-2020 strategic plan (see 1510230042).
Hayden's nomination “comes at an exciting time, as new technologies make it easier for [the LOC] to share its diverse resources and exhibitions with a broader audience online and beyond the Library’s doors,” said Senate Judiciary Committee ranking member Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., in a statement. Hayden “brings deep experience working with local communities to open up [the LOC] to more audiences,” Leahy said.
Several prominent copyright stakeholders welcomed Obama's selection of Hayden, in statements. MPAA Chairman Chris Dodd said he looks forward “to learning more during the confirmation process about Dr. Hayden’s vision for leading the Library and honoring the role of copyright as a driver of knowledge and creativity, as well as an engine of our nation’s economic growth and positive trade balance.” The Copyright Alliance hopes Hayden “will share our respect for the expertise of [the CO] and will continue the historic deference to the Register of Copyrights while also establishing a direct and effective relationship” with current Register Maria Pallante, CEO Keith Kupferschmid said in an email.
Hayden has helped the Pratt Library “modernize its IT and championed digital literacy,” said the Computer & Communications Industry Association in a news release. “A librarian who has experience modernizing library information technology is exactly what we need to bring the [Copyright Office] into the 21st Century,” CCIA President Ed Black said. Hayden has “consistently exhibited just the sort of priorities we would expect of the head of an institution that should be more than just a repository of culture and knowledge, but a pioneer in enabling access to these treasures,” said Public Knowledge Policy Counsel Raza Panjwani.