I’m very happy with Pres. Obama’s nomination of Carla Hayden to be the next Librarian of Congress.

She’s been a people’s librarian as the head of the Enoch Pratt Free Library in Baltimore — an actual librarian rather than an historian or academic. I expect her to work to make the treasures of the Library of Congress even more accessible to all.

She’s is on the board of the Digital Public Library of America which has a thorough commitment to open access and to the use of technology to unlock the riches of library culture.

It is also worth noting that she is not an elderly white man. Having a black woman as the head of the Library of Congress says something important, starting with “It’s about time.”

We’ll see where she stands on copyright issues. I have some hopes about that.

This looks like a brilliant choice.

Categories: libraries dw