Before leaving Washington for a seven-week vacation, the U.S. Congress did something unprecedented: It approved the appointment of a professional librarian to run the Library of Congress. What a concept! Dr. Carla Hayden, head of Baltimore’s public library system and former American Library Association president, is the first woman and the first African-American to hold the post, appointed after a six-month delay, of course.
The Library of Congress is the largest library in the world, with 162 million items in its collections. Not exactly the U.S. “national library,” it was established in 1800 to help Congress in its deliberations and, even though today those are largely fact-free, the library remains. It also runs the Copyright Office, has 3,200 employees, and an annual budget of $630 million.
More:
“Senate Approves Carla Hayden As New Librarian Of Congress,” Camila Domonoske, NPR
“Can Carla Hayden Reinvent the Library of Congress?” Alex Duner, U.S. News & World Report
“The Library of Last Resort,” Kyle Chayka, N+1 Online
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