Press Release

June 9, 2016
Cardin, Mikulski Praise Rules Committee’s Approval Of Nominee Dr. Carla Hayden For Librarian Of Congress

WASHINGTONU.S. Senators Ben Cardin and Barbara A. Mikulski (both D-Md.) today praised the Senate Committee on Rules & Administration’s unanimous vote to approve Dr. Carla Hayden to fill the vacancy of Librarian of Congress. If confirmed, Dr. Hayden will be the 14th Librarian of Congress, and the first woman and first African-American to hold the position.

 

“For more than two decades, Dr. Carla Hayden has overseen one of the crown jewels of Baltimore, the Enoch Pratt Free Library. Dr. Hayden has been a cultural treasure to our city and a long-time, passionate defender of America’s libraries, ensuring access for all through her work to protect the free flow of information, civil rights and privacy protections,” said Senator Cardin. “I was proud to recommend her to President Obama for a groundbreaking nomination to become our nation’s top librarian.”

 

“I was proud to recommend Dr. Carla Hayden to President Obama and am so pleased that she has been nominated as the next Librarian of Congress,” Senator Mikulski said. “When I consider nominees for the executive branch, I have three criteria: competence, commitment to the mission of the agency, and integrity. Dr. Hayden not only meets these standards, she exceeds them. While it will be a loss for Baltimore and the Enoch Pratt Free Library, it will be America’s gain.”

 

DR. CARLA HAYDEN

Dr. Carla Hayden, of Baltimore, Maryland, has been the Director and CEO of the Enoch Pratt Free Library since 1993. Previously, she worked as a library service coordinator for the Museum of Science & Industry in Chicago and taught as an assistant professor at the University of Pittsburgh. Dr. Hayden returned to the Chicago Public Library, where she became the deputy commissioner and chief librarian before joining the Enoch Pratt Free Library as CEO.  She received the Lippincott Award in 2013, and is the first African American to receive the Librarian of the Year award in 1995. In 2010, she was nominated by President Obama and confirmed by the Senate to serve on the National Museum and Library Services Board and National Foundation on the Arts and Humanities. She received her B.A. from Roosevelt University and her Masters and PhD from the University of Chicago Graduate Library School.

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