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WASHINGTON
— On the night in April 2015 that Baltimore went up in flames, Carla D.
Hayden, the city’s chief librarian, was under pressure to board up a
neighborhood library branch and wait out the violence triggered by the
death of Freddie Gray after being injured in police custody.
But she had other ideas.
“I thought, what would that show?” Dr. Hayden said. “That we’re afraid?”
Instead,
as a CVS drugstore across the street was looted and burned, and as the
governor of Maryland declared a state of emergency, Dr. Hayden and her
staff decided they would open their doors the next morning, welcoming in
the weary public.
For
Dr. Hayden, who was sworn in on Wednesday as the 14th librarian of
Congress, the unrest was the test that clarified her values: Libraries
are about far more than books.
“The
people of that neighborhood protected that library,” Dr. Hayden said
during a recent interview in her new office overlooking Capitol Hill.
“There were young men who stood outside. It was such a symbol.”
At
64, Dr. Hayden is the first African-American and the first woman to
lead the 216-year-old library, one of the world’s largest, and the
nation’s leading repository of knowledge and culture. “To be the head of
an institution that’s associated with knowledge and reading and
scholarship when slaves were forbidden to learn how to read on
punishment of losing limbs, that’s kind of something,’’ she said.
Appointed
by President Obama, Dr. Hayden is the first new librarian of Congress
since 1987, and brings with her another generation’s ideas about
accessibility, technology and the role that libraries play in society.
Continue reading the main story
Her goal is to open to more Americans the riches of the Library of Congress,
which has always balanced mixed loyalties — to members of Congress who
look to it for impartial research, to scholars who live in its archives
and, finally, to the public.
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Showing posts with label Carla Hayden. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Carla Hayden. Show all posts
Thursday, September 15, 2016
New Librarian of Congress Offers a History Lesson in Her Own Right
by Nicholas Fandod Drpy. 25, 3026
Wednesday, May 20, 2015
Pratt Library Gets Grant After Staying Open Despite Riots « CBS Baltimore
BALTIMORE (WJZ) — Throughout the riots and looting that overtook our city during the Freddie Gray protests, several businesses
stayed open despite the danger. The PNC Foundation is now recognizing one of those businesses located in the hardest hit area.
Tracey Leong explains why they chose the Enoch Pratt Free Library.
The PNC Foundation isn’t the only one to recognize the library as a
beacon of hope. Students from out of state sent letters to show their
support.
Read more...
stayed open despite the danger. The PNC Foundation is now recognizing one of those businesses located in the hardest hit area.Tracey Leong explains why they chose the Enoch Pratt Free Library.
The PNC Foundation isn’t the only one to recognize the library as a
beacon of hope. Students from out of state sent letters to show their
support.
Libraries Respond to Community Needs in Times of Crisis | American Libraries Magazine
A patron stopped librarian Melanie Townsend Diggs on
Wednesday afternoon with good news: He had used a library computer to
apply for some jobs Tuesday morning, and before he even got home that
day, he had gotten a call for an interview.
Wednesday afternoon with good news: He had used a library computer to
apply for some jobs Tuesday morning, and before he even got home that
day, he had gotten a call for an interview.
Tuesday morning, April 28, was no typical day. Just 12 hours before,
rioting had erupted across the street from the Pennsylvania Avenue
branch of the Enoch Pratt Free Library, when protests against the
high-profile death of Baltimore resident Freddie Gray turned violent. As
a CVS drugstore burned and the turmoil played out, Diggs kept her
patrons safe, quietly locking the doors and letting them out later when
the violence subsided. Read more...
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