Speaker 1: Personally being the first African American that really went to
Speaker 1: the poor of what I believe libraries can be. Because
Speaker 1: people who looked like me, African Americans were forbidden by
Speaker 1: law to read, and literacy was denied. In many cases,
Speaker 1: people who taught slaves to read were subject to punishment.
Speaker 1: And so that was something that made me, as a
Speaker 1: African American librarian, very proud and humble that I would
Speaker 1: be chosen. That was Dr Carla Haydn, the fourteenth Librarian
Speaker 1: of Congress, the first woman and the first African American
Speaker 1: to hold that position as the head of what's been
Speaker 1: called America's Library. She's bringing this grand institution, which started
Speaker 1: in eighteen hundred, boldly into the twenty first century. I'm
Speaker 1: a land Ververe and this is Seneca's one hundred Women
Speaker 1: to hear. We are bringing you one hundred of the
Speaker 1: world's most inspiring and history making women you need to hear.
Speaker 1: Since two thousand and sixteen, Doctor Hayden has presided over
Speaker 1: the Library of Congress and its collection of one hundred
Speaker 1: and seventy one million items. Before being appointed to the
Speaker 1: job by President Obama, she served as CEO of the
Speaker 1: Pratt Free Library in Baltimore, a member of the National
Speaker 1: Museum and Library Services Board and Deputy Commissioner and Chief
Speaker 1: Librarian of the Chicago Public Library. One of her initiatives
Speaker 1: at the Library of Congress is called of the People,
Speaker 1: Widening the Path. It is to connect the National Library
Speaker 1: more deeply with Black, Hispanic, Indigenous, and other underrepresented communities.
Speaker 1: Listen and learn why Dr Carla Hayden is one of
Speaker 1: Seneca's One Women to hear. I'm here today with Dr
Speaker 1: Carla Hayden, the Librarian of Congress. When people think of
Speaker 1: the Library of Congress, they think of a magnificent building,
Speaker 1: and it is truly one of the most magnificent buildings
Speaker 1: in Washington. But Dr Hayden, what does the Librarian of
Speaker 1: Congress do? Well, thank you for that, because people might
Speaker 1: not realize that the Library Congress is the National Library
Speaker 1: for the United States. And the beautiful building that you described,
Speaker 1: the Thomas Jefferson Building, it was completed in eight it's
Speaker 1: been all one of the most beautiful buildings in the
Speaker 1: Capital complex. There are two other buildings that the Library
Speaker 1: of Congress is part of right there, the John Adams
Speaker 1: Building and the James Madison Building. So those three buildings
Speaker 1: form the basic complex, and the Library of Congress is
Speaker 1: not only responsible for coordinating the collections and the services
Speaker 1: that those collections provide to the public, but also services
Speaker 1: directly to Congress. So the Library of Congress is that
Speaker 1: person who makes sure that Congress gets the objective research
Speaker 1: services that are performed by a unit called CRS Congressional
Speaker 1: Research Service. We call them our special forces. They provide
Speaker 1: twenty four seven direct research and reference to Members of
Speaker 1: Congress and their staff. And then they Librarian of Congress
Speaker 1: has to make sure that the Copyright Office that manages
Speaker 1: and provides policy to Congress is functioning so that great
Speaker 1: activity can continue and creators can be compensated. And then
Speaker 1: the library for the National Library Service for the blind
Speaker 1: and print disabled, and then there's a Packard Center. So
Speaker 1: the Library of Congress has her hands full. And it's
Speaker 1: a wonderful position though because I'm a career librarian and
Speaker 1: so for for me, it really is something well, and
Speaker 1: it's a multifaceted job. You know, you mentioned CRS, and
Speaker 1: I remember when I was working on the Hill in
Speaker 1: my younger years, it was the greatest gift to have
Speaker 1: to be able to get in touch with crs for
Speaker 1: a legislative history or just any kind of critical information
Speaker 1: to the functioning of Congress. It's spent tastic and as
Speaker 1: long as Congress, oh wait, I have to I'm so
Speaker 1: excited because this is a part that people might not
Speaker 1: realize that these experts in just about every field are
Speaker 1: available whenever Congress is in session, and so they are
Speaker 1: in contact directly when you see Congress in session or
Speaker 1: you know about it. We have staff members who are
Speaker 1: working directly on any bills or anything that's happening. Well,
Speaker 1: they're true experts, there's no doubt about it. Now is
Speaker 1: it true that the library has a copy of every
Speaker 1: book ever published in the United States? And I made
Speaker 1: that mistake even as a career library And what the
Speaker 1: Library of Congress does have is access to materials that
Speaker 1: are part of the copyright system, the deposit system, so
Speaker 1: things that are coming in, uh, and that includes not
Speaker 1: only books, but music, h wallpaper, anything that's copyrighted. And
Speaker 1: the Library of Congress selects materials to add to the collection.
Speaker 1: And so every day, about every working day, about twenty
Speaker 1: items are available for the library staff members to select from.
Speaker 1: And all that twenty items coming in for copyright deposit.
Speaker 1: The library usually selects between twelve to fifteen thousand items
Speaker 1: to add to the collection every day, every working day.
Speaker 1: And that's um quite an enterprise because you think about
Speaker 1: the copyright process that includes the mentioned music, any song
Speaker 1: that you hear, all of these types of things that
Speaker 1: people want to make sure that their rights are protected
Speaker 1: as the creator of whatever is, whatever format goes through
Speaker 1: the copyright system. Just amazing. Now there are some surprising
Speaker 1: items in the collection of the library. There are also
Speaker 1: some extraordinary items. Can you just give us a hint
Speaker 1: at some of that? A hundred and seventy one million items,
Speaker 1: eight hundred and thirty six miles of shelby So if
Speaker 1: you went from Washington, d C. Two and we measured
Speaker 1: it out about Davenport, Iowa. That's the shelving the library has.
Speaker 1: And included on ourselves are the papers of twenty three
Speaker 1: presidents from George Washington to Calvin Coolidge, the papers of
Speaker 1: thirty six Supreme Court justices, including Sandra Day O'Connor and
Speaker 1: most recently Justice Ginsburg. Also so interesting things in those papers,
Speaker 1: for instance, Thomas Jefferson's recipe for Macaroni and Cheese. And
Speaker 1: we've started a series called Cooking with History because the
Speaker 1: Library Congress has the largest collection of cookbooks, one of
Speaker 1: my personal favorites. But then the library also has film
Speaker 1: recordings also hair and that is h A I R.
Speaker 1: Please explain four pieces of Thomas Jefferson's hair, a lock
Speaker 1: of Beethoven's hair, and that gets you into the music
Speaker 1: scores of Mozart in his own hand manuscript, Lenard Bernstein's collection.
Speaker 1: When we showed a group of young people from Baltimore,
Speaker 1: the Baltimore Museum of Art came over to do a project.
Speaker 1: What they loved about the Lennard Bernston collection was his
Speaker 1: report card when he was on the grammar school, because
Speaker 1: he got cs and so for them that meant, wow,
Speaker 1: here's a famous person. But they got cs. And that's
Speaker 1: what humanizes some of these collections. That you see Carl
Speaker 1: Sagan's drawing when he was twelve of what a space
Speaker 1: explorer might look like. And you see Jonathan larson calculation,
Speaker 1: his calculation for Seasons of Love. So whenever you hear
Speaker 1: that song, we have that on note paper. So these
Speaker 1: are some of the things. So we have objects that
Speaker 1: people might not realize as well. The largest collection of
Speaker 1: a musical instrument in the world of flutes. Hundred flutes. Yes,
Speaker 1: it was a great collection of and so you have
Speaker 1: a collect of a flute that is wood and a
Speaker 1: flute that's ivory, and all of these flutes from different
Speaker 1: cultures as well at different times. And the collection, the
Speaker 1: general collection over half of the materials or in languages
Speaker 1: other than English, and the Library Congress collects in four
Speaker 1: hundred and seventy languages. And how much of this can
Speaker 1: be seen by the general public when they visit the
Speaker 1: library quite a bit. But what we're working on is
Speaker 1: to make sure that there is for the first time
Speaker 1: and this is going to open in a about a
Speaker 1: year or so, a treasures gallery, so we can rotate
Speaker 1: the treasures and that you can see. There will be
Speaker 1: things that will be on permanent display, like one of
Speaker 1: the three Gutenberg Bibles in the world on the other
Speaker 1: two and on Villum are at the Biblu Tech National
Speaker 1: and the British Library and Libray Congress has one. So
Speaker 1: those are the things that people will see whenever they come.
Speaker 1: And the contents of Abraham Lincoln's pockets the ninety was assassinated.
Speaker 1: The Library Congress has those and then we'll be able
Speaker 1: to rotate with this Treasures gallery based on what's going
Speaker 1: on in the world or anniversaries and just pull from
Speaker 1: those tearles and have them on display. So we're very
Speaker 1: excited about that. Oh that's fantastic. Now, let's hear a
Speaker 1: little bit about you. You grew up in Queens, New York.
Speaker 1: Tell us a little bit about your childhood, um, and
Speaker 1: what planted the seeds of becoming the future Librarian of Congress.
Speaker 1: After all, it would be a president of the United
Speaker 1: States who would appoint you in the Congress of the
Speaker 1: United States, who would confirm you. Where did all that
Speaker 1: come from? And I have I'm smiling because when I
Speaker 1: think about the fact that I was born in Tallahassee, Florida,
Speaker 1: because my dad was recruited to start the string department
Speaker 1: at Florida and m and Historic we led college and
Speaker 1: my mom was his companies and gifted pianist in our
Speaker 1: own right. UM, And by the time I was twelve,
Speaker 1: we all realized I didn't have the gifts that they did.
Speaker 1: But I had always um been read to and had
Speaker 1: grown up loving words and reading, and so it was
Speaker 1: wonderful for me when I found the profession of librarianship
Speaker 1: that could combine my love of reading and exploring through
Speaker 1: books with serving and being part of exposing these things
Speaker 1: to other people and sharing them. So our family came
Speaker 1: from Illinois, actually Springfield, Illinois. My dad's family in southern Illinois,
Speaker 1: and my mom's family moved from Arkansas up to Champagne, Illinois,
Speaker 1: and they went to school in a little town, Decatur, Illinois,
Speaker 1: Milliken University and all that. So we moved to New
Speaker 1: York when my dad I've got the Blues not the
Speaker 1: Blues Bug, but actually the Jazz Book with Cannonball Adderlie
Speaker 1: who was down there. People might have heard of him,
Speaker 1: jazz musician. And that's when we moved to Queens and
Speaker 1: New York. In that scene, there's a small branch library
Speaker 1: for right across from ps N, and that's when I
Speaker 1: really discovered the joy of just going in and roaming
Speaker 1: the shelves. I also found out about library finds. It's
Speaker 1: my mom always reminds me. So it was a good
Speaker 1: synergy there. So as a young girl, you fell in
Speaker 1: love with a library that was close to your school.
Speaker 1: I love that. So you were the first woman, the
Speaker 1: first African American woman to be Librarian of Congress. You're
Speaker 1: a woman of first. Why were these two first so important?
Speaker 1: Do you think Being the first woman since eighteen o
Speaker 1: two in the fourteenth Librarian of Congress and a profession
Speaker 1: that has been classified as one of the four feminized professions,
Speaker 1: where of the workforce is female and the top management
Speaker 1: of the institutions might not reflect that was very significant
Speaker 1: for librarians and librarianship to have a woman to be
Speaker 1: the head of the Library of Congress. Personally being the
Speaker 1: first African American that really went to the core of
Speaker 1: what I believe libraries can be because people who looked
Speaker 1: like me, African Americans were forbidden by law to read,
Speaker 1: and literacy was denied in many cases, people who taught
Speaker 1: slaves to read were subject to punishment, and so that
Speaker 1: it was something that made me, as a African American librarian,
Speaker 1: very proud and humble that I would be well. I
Speaker 1: know we were all excited when President Obama appointed you
Speaker 1: to the position. It was such an incredible first senecas
Speaker 1: one hundred women to hear will be back after the
Speaker 1: short break. Now you're talking about some of the benefits
Speaker 1: of what that represented and when you were in Baltimore,
Speaker 1: leading one of the great libraries there, you made sure
Speaker 1: that diverse groups in the city had access to the
Speaker 1: library services. What were some of those efforts that you
Speaker 1: made that were so crucial. One of the initial things
Speaker 1: that we made sure that we did was provide internet
Speaker 1: access and training and access in neighborhoods. Some of the
Speaker 1: kids in the neighborhood libraries didn't even realize that they
Speaker 1: were on high speed the computers and all of these things.
Speaker 1: They just knew that they had the same access as
Speaker 1: one little girl. I'll never forget that when we first
Speaker 1: start putting in the equipment, that she was looking at
Speaker 1: a website that she kind of you could tell with
Speaker 1: her little friends, who's about ten, was not really anxious
Speaker 1: for the librarian to see. And I went over course
Speaker 1: and looked, because I'm a children's library and still at heart,
Speaker 1: and there was Barbie the doll, dressed in leather on
Speaker 1: a motorcycle and this. And I said, oh, Barbie has
Speaker 1: come a long way, uh, because I had one of
Speaker 1: the first Barbie gals. And I said, how did you
Speaker 1: find out about this? What is this? She said, well,
Speaker 1: I went to a camp with all these girls last
Speaker 1: summer and they talked about the Barbie website and now
Speaker 1: I can get it. I know the librarian doesn't like it,
Speaker 1: but I can get it. And I thought, now, see
Speaker 1: this is this is equity in another way, that this
Speaker 1: young girl can talk about the Barbie website love with anybody.
Speaker 1: That's true. And it's not just all of the other things.
Speaker 1: It's just the opportunity to be and look at whatever
Speaker 1: you want. And so we kept doing those things, and
Speaker 1: the Pratt Library in Baltimore is continuing to provide access
Speaker 1: in different ways. They just opened something called the Library
Speaker 1: of Things, so teenagers can check out the latest hot
Speaker 1: spots and different things that they can use and tablets
Speaker 1: at home. Interesting though, as we think about the equity
Speaker 1: aspect of virtual learning and the digital realm, we have
Speaker 1: to think about access. It's a really good point, particularly
Speaker 1: one that we're learning so well in this COVID age. So,
Speaker 1: speaking about digital and technological advances, what are you doing
Speaker 1: to bring the Library of Congress into the twenty first century?
Speaker 1: After all, it was established in eighteen hundred. With the
Speaker 1: recent year we were already working on and for the
Speaker 1: first time ever a digital strategy, and where we were
Speaker 1: and go, and that was of course accelerated like so
Speaker 1: many of the institutions and organizations during a pandemic. And
Speaker 1: though the digitizing of materials, sixty one million items are
Speaker 1: digitized now and available, the roles of Parks papers, for instance,
Speaker 1: we just finished digitizing those twenty three presidential collections. And
Speaker 1: we are making sure that we engage people. For instance,
Speaker 1: we have a transcribing program and that really took off
Speaker 1: during the pandemic where people were able to help us
Speaker 1: transcribe manuscripts and put them off. So these types of
Speaker 1: things allowed us to reach out to more people during
Speaker 1: this time and virtually than we could have just in person.
Speaker 1: So we have a different page on a website called
Speaker 1: Engage so you can push on teachers lesson plans, and
Speaker 1: that's something that really was important because a lot of
Speaker 1: teachers had to switch the virtual learning very quickly. And
Speaker 1: we have the lesson plans based on our collections. And
Speaker 1: then we have things for families because a lot of caregivers.
Speaker 1: Parents were also ballenged with activities, so that cooking with
Speaker 1: history became very popular. Rosa Parks has a peanut butter
Speaker 1: pancake recipe that's very popular in her own hand, so
Speaker 1: we did things like that you could take a nature
Speaker 1: walk with Walt Whitman, build a lighthouse. So making sure
Speaker 1: that we mine our collections and make them accessible and
Speaker 1: usable for people. We have the world's largest collection of
Speaker 1: comic books, so we make sure that when things are
Speaker 1: happening that relate to the comic world, we put up things.
Speaker 1: And Dave Pilky, I don't know if some of your
Speaker 1: listeners might know, but he is one of the most
Speaker 1: popular children's authors Captain Underpants and dog Man, so we
Speaker 1: have engaged him and he actually does workshops for kids
Speaker 1: on how to draw your own comics. And Jason Reynolds,
Speaker 1: our youth Ambassador, encourages middle schoolers and teenagers to share
Speaker 1: their stories and grab them Mike, so more interactive programming.
Speaker 1: So some of this is a lustrative two of what
Speaker 1: you've done to make the library more accessible during this
Speaker 1: pen Demmick, when we've all had to pivot. I read
Speaker 1: recently where you're creating a collection documenting the pandemic. Is
Speaker 1: that true? Yes, And we are partnering with the Smithsonian Institution.
Speaker 1: We are making sure that we help some of the
Speaker 1: people who are also trying to document the materials. It
Speaker 1: started this summer with some of the Black Lives Matter
Speaker 1: interactions and engagements. You may recall that there was a
Speaker 1: fence that had a lot of materials on it, and
Speaker 1: so the Library of Congress and the Smithsonian helps the
Speaker 1: people who were preserving those things to catalog them, and
Speaker 1: we have added some of the materials to our collections
Speaker 1: in the Smithsonian as well. Because what you really need
Speaker 1: to think about when you're looking at this and this
Speaker 1: is an exciting part of being an archivists or librarian.
Speaker 1: Will would on a net board and read Doris Karns Goodwin,
Speaker 1: Michael blush Loss. What would they need to look at
Speaker 1: fifty years from now or a hundred years from now
Speaker 1: if they were going to write about this time. Yeah,
Speaker 1: that's it's something to really think about. And you have
Speaker 1: to be a visionary in many ways to see how
Speaker 1: things today, what things of today, will be so important
Speaker 1: to document history tomorrow. And it helps to think about
Speaker 1: that in terms of what are people doing research on
Speaker 1: women's suffrage. The Library of Congress was a contemporary of
Speaker 1: Susan B. Anthony and Mr Spofford, and he convinced her
Speaker 1: that she should give her papers to the Library Congress,
Speaker 1: and that started a women's suffrage and women's history lane
Speaker 1: for the Library Congress. And with this anniversary, it must
Speaker 1: be something that was consultant significantly quite a bit. I
Speaker 1: know you will also have your current initiative is on
Speaker 1: called of the People Widening the Path. Can you tell
Speaker 1: us a little bit about that? That project grew out
Speaker 1: of a consideration of the fact that libraries and museums
Speaker 1: have an important role to provide contexts to history and
Speaker 1: needed to broaden all those voices are brought into our collections.
Speaker 1: And so the Andrew Millan Foundation, led by Elizabeth Alexander,
Speaker 1: gave the Library of Congress and opportunity for an initiative,
Speaker 1: the four year initiative to make sure that we connect
Speaker 1: more deeply with the Black, Hispanic, indigitous and other communities
Speaker 1: of color. And it has three pieces. Our Folk Life
Speaker 1: Center will support, and this is by giving grants too
Speaker 1: diverse communities and help them document their own communities. There's
Speaker 1: also a digital futures program because there are so many
Speaker 1: things going on with the use of technology and new
Speaker 1: digital approaches and communities, and so that will be in aspect.
Speaker 1: And then one that steered to our heart aid internships
Speaker 1: and fellowships. Pay that's so wonderful paid yes, for students
Speaker 1: attending HBCUs and other Hispanic serving institutions, tribal colleges and universities,
Speaker 1: institutions that serve Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. And this
Speaker 1: will allow the growing basically of future historians, archivists, and
Speaker 1: people who will be able to help mind the Library.
Speaker 1: Congress's collections would also work with these other communities. Very exciting,
Speaker 1: very very exciting. Well, we're getting to that time, alas,
Speaker 1: because I've enjoyed this so much. But we always like
Speaker 1: to ask our guests what gives them hope, particularly in
Speaker 1: these times. And since we're talking to America's librarian, let
Speaker 1: me ask you what are you reading that gives you hope?
Speaker 1: Right now, I'm actually rereading John Meechum's book, His Truth
Speaker 1: is Marching On Don Lewis and the Power of Hope.
Speaker 1: This telling of John Lewis and his journey includes the
Speaker 1: fact that he was inspired and he talks about how
Speaker 1: he was inspired by Rosa Parks, And I mentioned that
Speaker 1: we have our collection, we have an online exhibit about her,
Speaker 1: and I've been so inspired by her quiet strength and
Speaker 1: also the fact that there are women throughout the story
Speaker 1: that he gives credit to, including one of my favorites
Speaker 1: who was there on Bloody Sunday, Amelia Boyton. And they
Speaker 1: said she was tall and regal, with a perpetual smile
Speaker 1: and yet a manner a quiet defiance. And so reading
Speaker 1: and rereading about the people who were involved with that
Speaker 1: effort as well as the young people, that gives me
Speaker 1: hope as well. So I'm reading Jason Reynolds or Youth Ambassador,
Speaker 1: and of course Amanda Gorman, the youth poet Maureat, because
Speaker 1: that's where the hope really lies, you think John Lewis,
Speaker 1: remember he was a student in in his early twenties
Speaker 1: when he started on his road. So that's I'm rereading it,
Speaker 1: and it does give me hope. Well, that's a wonderful
Speaker 1: way to end, recognizing John Lewis and the youth who
Speaker 1: means so much and could articulate so well where we
Speaker 1: need to go. So thank you so much, Dr Carla Hayden.
Speaker 1: This has been a fabulous many moments to spend with you.
Speaker 1: I know our listeners have been fascinated, and I hope
Speaker 1: that once we all get to travel again, that the
Speaker 1: Library of Congress will be on the stop of many
Speaker 1: people coming to their nation's capital. So I thank you,
Speaker 1: I thank you for all you do. I thank you
Speaker 1: for being with us our Librarian of Congress. Thank you.
Speaker 1: Dr Carla Haydn is such an inspiring woman of First,
Speaker 1: here are three things that stuck with me from today's conversation. First,
Speaker 1: I had no idea what incredible treasures The Library of
Speaker 1: Congress is collected, everything from Leonard Bernstein's report card to
Speaker 1: the contents of Abraham Lincoln's pockets when he was assassinated,
Speaker 1: to Rosa Park's personal papers, and the public will be
Speaker 1: able to see many of these items when the Library
Speaker 1: of Congress puts on a rotating just play starting next year. Second,
Speaker 1: representation matters. As the first woman and the first African
Speaker 1: American person to hold the position of Librarian of Congress,
Speaker 1: Dr Hayden has carved a path for others to follow. Finally,
Speaker 1: as Dr Hayden tells us, libraries are critical providers of
Speaker 1: access and equity for all people and all communities, and
Speaker 1: at critical times in our country, during a pandemic or
Speaker 1: during moments like Black Lives Matter, libraries can provide the
Speaker 1: context and resources to help us move forward together. Tune
Speaker 1: in next Thursday to hear about our next featured woman
Speaker 1: and discover why she's one of Seneca's one hundred Women
Speaker 1: to Hear. Seneca's one hundred Women to Hear is a
Speaker 1: collaboration between the Seneca Women Podcast Network and I Heart Radio,
Speaker 1: with support and founding partner p And Have a great day,
Speaker 1: m HM.