Carla Hayden

In 2020 she was elected to the American Philosophical Society.

In January 2017, Hayden hosted 4-year old Daliyah Marie Arana as Librarian of Congress for the day.

During her tenure, Hayden oversaw a library co-operative with 22 locations, hundreds of employees, and an annual budget of $40 million. She also oversaw the first new branch opening in 35 years along with the renovation of the co-operative's central branch, at a cost of $112 million. During the 2015 protests of the death of Freddie Gray, Hayden kept Baltimore's libraries open, an act for which she received extensive praise. When asked about the incident in a 2016 Time Magazine interview she stated that the library became a command center of sorts as many stores in the community closed, and that "we knew that [people] would look for that place of refuge and relief and opportunity." She left this position on August 11, 2016.

On February 24, 2016, President Barack Obama nominated Hayden to serve as the next Librarian of Congress. In a press release from the White House, President Obama stated:

The nomination was received by the U.S. Senate and referred to the Committee on Rules and Administration. On April 20, 2016, the Committee on Rules and Administration, chaired by Senator Roy Blunt with Charles E. Schumer as ranking member, held the confirmation hearing. Hayden opposed the 2000 Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA), which was a sticking point in her nomination to become Librarian of Congress.

On July 13, 2016, she was confirmed as Librarian of Congress by a 74–18 vote in the United States Senate. Hayden was sworn in by Chief Justice of the United States John Roberts on September 14, 2016. Even though more than eighty percent of American librarians are women, for over two hundred years the position of Librarian of Congress was filled exclusively by white men, making Hayden the first woman and the first African American to hold the position. Notably, she is also a librarian by profession. Many past Librarians of Congress have been scholars and historians.

Libraries are a cornerstone of democracy—where information is free and equally available to everyone. People tend to take that for granted, and they don't realize what is at stake when that is put at risk.

Michelle and I have known Carla Hayden for a long time, since her days working at the Chicago Public Library, and I am proud to nominate her to lead our nation's oldest federal institution as our 14th Librarian of Congress. Hayden has devoted her career to modernizing libraries so that everyone can participate in today's digital culture. She has the proven experience, dedication, and deep knowledge of our nation's libraries to serve our country well and that's why I look forward to working with her in the months ahead. If confirmed, Hayden would be the first woman and the first African American to hold the position – both of which are long overdue.

In January 2010, President Barack Obama announced his intent to nominate Hayden as a member of the National Museum and Library Services Board and National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities.

As president of the American Library Association (ALA) from 2003 to 2004, Hayden chose the theme "Equity of Access."

As a result of her stand for the rights of every American, she became Ms. magazine's 2003 Woman of the Year. In her interview with the magazine, she stated:

In 1995, Hayden was honored with the national Librarian of the Year Award by Library Journal, becoming the first African American to receive the prestigious award. Her commitment to equity of access was central to the honor.

From 1993 until 2016, she was the CEO of Enoch Pratt Free Library in Baltimore, Maryland, and president of the American Library Association (ALA) from 2003 to 2004. During her presidency, she was the leading voice of the ALA in speaking out against the newly passed United States Patriot Act.

From 1993 to 2016, Hayden was Executive Director of Baltimore's Enoch Pratt Free Library.

On July 1, 1993, Hayden began the appointed position of Director at Enoch Pratt Free Library, the public library system in Baltimore, Maryland.

Hayden was born in Tallahassee, Florida, to Bruce Kennard Hayden, Jr., at that time Director of the String Department at Florida A&M University in Tallahassee, and Colleen Hayden (née Dowling), a social worker. Her parents met while attending Millikin University in Decatur, Illinois. Hayden grew up in Queens, New York. When she was 10 years old, her parents divorced and she moved with her mother to Chicago, Illinois. She had a younger half-brother from her father's second marriage, Bruce Kennard Hayden, III, who died in 1992.

Hayden then moved back to Chicago and became Deputy Commissioner and Chief Librarian of the Chicago Public Library, posts she held from 1991 to 1993. During her time working at the Chicago Public Library, Hayden became acquainted with Michelle Obama and Barack Obama.

Hayden moved to Pittsburgh, where she was an associate professor, teaching at the University of Pittsburgh School of Information Sciences from 1987 to 1991. At the time, well known African-American librarians, E. J. Josey and Spencer Shaw, were on the faculty there.

While she loved libraries she didn't consider it as a career until after she had graduated from Roosevelt University with majors in political science and African history in 1973. Hayden received her master's degree in Library Science in 1977, and a doctorate degree in Library Science in 1987, both from the University of Chicago Graduate Library School.

Hayden began her library career at the Chicago Public Library. From 1973 to 1979, she worked as an Associate/Children's Librarian and from 1979 to 1982, she was Young Adult Services Coordinator. From 1982 to 1987, Hayden worked as a Library Services Coordinator at Chicago's Museum of Science and Industry.

Carla Diane Hayden (born August 10, 1952) is an American librarian and the 14th Librarian of Congress. Hayden is the first woman and the first African American to hold the post. She is the first professional librarian appointed to the post in over 60 years.

Hayden said that her passion for reading was inspired by Marguerite de Angeli's Bright April, the 1946 book about a young African-American girl who was in the Brownies. At Chicago's South Shore High School, Hayden became interested in books on British history and "cozy mysteries." She attended MacMurray College in Jacksonville, Illinois, and then transferred to Roosevelt University.