The People’s Librarian: Dr. Carla Hayden Selected as a Washingtonian of the Year, 2019

From The Washingtonian:

Access is the core of what Hayden thinks libraries are about. While heading Baltimore’s libraries, she kept buildings open during the riots that followed Freddie Gray’s death. Most of downtown had shut its doors. Access was a different challenge when she moved to the Library of Congress. Still, she was surprised at how few people were aware of everything it offered. Yes, there’s a draft of the Declaration of Independence, complete with suggested edits by Ben Franklin. But Rent composer Jonathan Larsen’s drafts are there, too, including his mathematical calculations for the song “Seasons of Love” (“525,600 minutes . . .”). Lecturers have included Dav Pilkey, author of the Captain Underpants and Dog Man kids’ books.

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