Video: “Former Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden Speaks Out on Her Firing by Trump”

Former Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden speaks out on her firing by TrumpFrom CBS Sunday Morning:

Last month, Carla Hayden, the first woman and first African American to hold the position of Librarian of Congress, received an email that announced, without explanation, her dismissal. It was one of many recent

instances where President Trump has pushed out the leaders of cultural institutions and non-partisan agencies. Now, librarians and academics – the co-called “quiet types” – are speaking out, loudly, in support of Hayden. For the first time since her firing, Hayden speaks publicly with “Sunday Morning” national correspondent Robert Costa about how libraries serve as bastions of democracy, for which the “freedom to read,” she says, is essential.

From the Interview

Dr Hayden:  Democracy is under attack. Democracies are not to be taken for granted, and the institutions that support democracy should not be taken for granted. And so that’s what the concern is about libraries and museums. It’s part of a fabric. Think of it as an infrastructure that holds up. The libraries have been called one of the pillars of democracy, that you have these institutions in every community that allow anyone to come in and access knowledge.

An unofficial text transcript (via Rev) of the segment is available here.

Filed under: Interviews, Libraries, News, Profiles