LOC Nominee Avoids CO Independence Issue, Prioritizes IT Modernization
Librarian of Congress nominee Carla Hayden wouldn't address Wednesday whether she believes the Copyright Office should separate from the Library of Congress. Instead, she told the Senate Rules Committee Wednesday that her priority would be to “work with Congress and to examine how we can really make sure” the CO has all of the support it needs to properly function. Most of Senate Rules members' discussion on the LOC-CO relationship during Hayden's confirmation hearing centered on plans to modernize IT within the CO and the LOC, as expected (see 1604190051). Senate Rules Chairman Roy Blunt, R-Mo., and other committee members highlighted Hayden's qualifications, leading an industry lobbyist to tell us he believes Hayden's nomination is on track to “sail through” the Senate.
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Hayden said she wasn't able to say whether a proposal floated in the Copyright Office for the Digital Economy (CODE) Act (HR-4241) to make the CO a separate legislative branch agency is the best "way to accomplish” the goal of ensuring that the CO is fully functional and able to protect content creators. Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, sought Hayden's opinion on HR-4241, saying he believes the CO's current status as an LOC office “is kind of a historic artifact.” Hayden said she is aware of multiple competing proposals on CO modernization and that they all reflect a common goal of ensuring the CO “has everything it needs” to be effective in the 21st century.
Hayden said she wants to “ensure a fully functional” CO “that supports the community it serves.” She said in her opening statement her experience with family members who are musicians and artists has helped her “understand the blood, sweat and soul that goes into the creative process.” She said that a modernized LOC should be able to “balance its roles with agility and openness to continue to fulfill its mandates to operate seamlessly in a digital world.” The LOC should also continue to make itself accessible to the public without endangering its “core responsibilities” to support the copyright community and its other traditional stakeholders, Hayden said.
Ensuring the LOC continues to improve its IT program is one of Hayden's main priorities, and she said IT improvements should be aimed at aiding CO modernization and the library's other myriad roles. King, Senate Rules ranking member Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Sen. John Boozman, R-Ark., expressed interest in the need for IT modernization at the CO. The CO's IT modernization in particular will help the office become more secure and better able to aid copyright stakeholders, Hayden said. She said her conversations with LOC Chief Information Officer Bernard Barton lead her to believe that an effective LOC program to upgrade its IT systems “will not be a problem.”
The LOC has already made substantial progress in addressing IT issues that the GAO criticized in a report last year, Hayden said. The report said the LOC lacked a “clear direction” it its IT program and called for the library to develop a strategic plan for moving its IT program forward. The GAO also recommended the LOC hire a chief information officer (see 1503310046). Both the CO and LOC have since released IT modernization plans, with the CO estimating that its plan will cost $165 million to implement over five years (see 1602290071). Senate Appropriations Legislative Branch Subcommittee Chairwoman Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., said there is “a lot of support” within the subcommittee for LOC to have “the biggest and broadest IT programs that you may need.”
Blunt stopped short of endorsing Hayden, but told reporters after the hearing that he believes Hayden “has a vision for the [LOC] that would be helpful right now.” He earlier noted that although Hayden's term as librarian of Congress would last 10 years, nothing would prevent a future president from reappointing her at the end of her initial term. Senate Rules will “handle [Hayden's nomination] moving forward in a way that gives it the attention it deserves.” Other Senate Rules members praised Hayden's qualifications, with Schumer saying he believes Hayden is the “right person to pursue a bold vision for the [LOC's] future.”
Many copyright stakeholders endorsed Hayden in advance of the Senate Rules hearing. The American Library Association, Electronic Frontier Foundation and more than 140 other groups jointly urged Hayden's “earliest possible approval by [Senate Rules] and rapid confirmation by the Senate.” Hayden “is an accomplished manager, particularly of the kind of institutional technological change that the [LOC] must rapidly prioritize and achieve if it is to fully serve the nation,” the groups said in a letter to Senate Rules. The Digital Media Association also praised Hayden this week, with General Counsel Greg Barnes saying in a statement that Hayden “has demonstrated a strong commitment to modernizing public libraries in a manner that allows everyone to participate in today's burgeoning digital culture. We're confident that [Hayden] will bring this same type of dedication and commitment to her new position” at LOC.