Dr. Carla D. Hayden
The United States Senate today confirmed Enoch Pratt Free Library Chief Executive Officer Dr. Carla D. Hayden as the 14th Librarian of Congress.
“This is truly a great honor to be nominated by President Obama and confirmed by the U.S. Senate to lead the nation’s library, the Library of Congress,” said Dr. Hayden. “It has been my privilege to serve the citizens of Baltimore for 23 years and help restore the Enoch Pratt Free Library as a world-renowned institution. I want to thank the Pratt Library’s Board of Directors and Trustees, donors, and most importantly, the patrons, for their trust and support. I look forward to working with the dedicated staff of the Library of Congress. I will be honored to build on the legacy and accomplishments of my predecessors in this position, to be part of a continuing movement to open the treasure chest that is the Library of Congress even further and to make it a place that can be found and used by everyone.”
Dr. Hayden was nominated by President Barack Obama in February to be the Chief Executive of the Library of Congress, the largest library in the world. She will be the first woman, and the first African American, to serve as Librarian of Congress.
The Pratt Library’s Board of Directors and Trustees will start a nationwide search for a permanent CEO and promises a seamless transition that will not affect library services, programs, or projects.
“We are grateful to Dr. Carla Hayden for the remarkable creativity, energy, and dedication she has brought to the Pratt Library over the past 23 years.With her amazing talent and the wonderful staff she assembled, Dr. Hayden revitalized the library’s programs, services, and resources,” said Patricia Lasher, chair of the Enoch Pratt Free Library Board of Directors and Trustees. “Respecting Enoch Pratt's mission to provide equal access to traditional library resources to all citizens, she has successfully led efforts to modernize the Pratt Library so all city citizens have access to the advantages of the digital world. Baltimore, along with the State of Maryland, has benefitted from Dr. Hayden's extraordinary vision, and now the rest of the country will too. We are proud of her."
Dr. Hayden joined the Pratt Library in July 1993 during a time when it needed help with its aging buildings, its budgets, and its outreach to the city’s diverse communities. Through her 23 year tenure, Dr. Hayden led a number of projects to update both the technology and infrastructure of the Pratt Library system. She oversaw the building of a new annex for the Central Library, supervised the building of the new Southeast Anchor Library, which was the first new branch library building in Baltimore in more than 35 years, directed the renovation of 10 library branches, and currently manages the $112 million renovation of the Central Library/ State Library Resource Center. More importantly, Dr. Hayden began programs to bring people into the libraries by improving outreach services to the neighborhoods. This included an after-school center for teens that offered homework assistance and college & career counseling; a virtual supermarket, which provided healthy alternatives to Baltimore food deserts; Spanish speaking programs; the establishment of an eLibrary; and the digitization of the Library’s special collections. For her work at the Pratt Library, Dr. Hayden was honored in 1995 with the Librarian of the Year Award from Library Journal Magazine. Dr. Hayden also served as President of the American Library Association from 2003 to 2004.
The Enoch Pratt Free Library, the nation’s first free library system, opened its doors in 1886, the result of the generosity and imagination of businessman and philanthropist Enoch Pratt. Mr. Pratt envisioned a public library where “races, ages, and socio-economic classes mingled and people could educate themselves – without cost,” and his passionate belief continues to guide the organization. Today’s Pratt Library – Baltimore’s public library and the Maryland State Library Resource Center – consists of the Central Library, an anchor library, 22 branches, two bookmobiles, Pratt Centers for Technology Training, and the Regional Information Center. The Library’s mission is to provide equal access to information and services that support, empower, and enrich all who pursue knowledge, education, cultural enrichment, and lifelong learning.
For more information about the Enoch Pratt Free Library, visit our website at www.prattlibrary.org. Also look for the Pratt on Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, and YouTube.
