In 2016, President Barack Obama appointed Carla Hayden as the 14th Librarian of Congress, making her the first woman and the first African American to hold the position. But on May 8, Hayden’s tenure as Librarian of Congress ended abruptly when she was fired from the position in a two-sentence email on behalf of President Donald Trump.
Eight days before she was dismissed from her role, Hayden spoke with GBH’s Under the Radar in one of her final interview. As head of the Library of Congress, she showcased the Library’s unique artifacts, such as the contents of President Abraham Lincoln’s pockets on the night of his assassination, to new audiences through social media and digital platforms; made the Library more accessible by leading the charge on digitizing its massive collection; and created more ways for BIPOC people to engage with the Library through the “Of the People” initiative, which includes internships and fellowships.
“Libraries have been called the cornerstone of democracy,” Hayden said. “They’re free, anyone can walk through the doors and with the assurance that what they’re asking for — and what they are asking would not be shared with anyone else is really a pillar of democracy. And librarians in their profession have held that as one of their cornerstones of service. It’s public service.”
The veteran librarian previously worked for the Chicago Public Library, spent 23 years leading the Enoch Pratt Free Library in Baltimore and is a former president of the American Library Association.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters that Hayden was fired because she was not “meeting the needs of the American people,” that she had put “inappropriate books in the library for children” and that she was not “serving the interest of the American taxpayer well.”
The Trump administration has not provided any instances of wrongdoing, and Hayden has not commented on her dismissal.
Although she was nominated by Democratic former President Barack Obama, Hayden was confirmed by a bipartisan majority, with most sitting Republican senators voting for her appointment.
When asked about the current push for book bans in the United States, Hayden said that this practice is not new. She put it in a long line of controlling access to information to try to control people.
“Ideas can be very powerful,” she said. ”There was even an attempt to ban the Bible, especially when there were efforts to teach slaves, for instance, to read the Bible so that they could think about heaven later. And then they started to realize, ‘Whoa, whoa, wait — there’s that “Let my people go” part.’ So they actually developed a special Bible for African Americans, and then just said, ’Let’s just stop all this literacy part.’”
In the latest wave of bans, the focus is on limiting access and increasing surveillance over children and teens. And Hayden said that by banning books and controlling libraries, that’s preventing children from developing a sense of self — and a sense of empathy.
“You hear that so much with people who’ve read different things that didn’t relate to their own experiences. But they learned about a culture, and they were able to appreciate other people because they read a certain book,” Hayden said. “So you’re losing not only the validation of seeing yourself in a book, and you also lose the opportunity to meet people through books. It limits the opportunities for young people to have a way to find out about themselves and the world.
Carla Hayden joined Under the Radar as part of Unbound Pages, a yearlong exploration of the anti-book-banning movement in America. Click here to listen to all of the stories in the series.
Guest
- Carla Hayden, 14th Librarian of Congress
