Carla Hayden Citation
Carla D. Hayden. Librarian. Professor of Library and Information Sciences. Cataloger of knowledge. Protector of civil liberties. You have been a leading voice in the fight to safeguard our privacy and guarantee the free flow and open exchange of ideas in a time when our Nation faces difficult challenges.
You received your undergraduate education at Chicago's Roosevelt University, with Masters and Doctorate to follow from the Graduate Library School of the University of Chicago. You began your career as Children's Librarian at the Chicago Public Library and then became Library Services Coordinator at Chicago's Museum of Science and Industry. The late 1980s found you at the University of Pittsburgh where you were Assistant Professor of Library and Information Science. In 1991, you returned to the Chicago Public Library as First Deputy Commissioner and Chief Librarian.
This wealth of experience brought you to the position you have held since 1993 - Executive Director of the Enoch Pratt Free Library in Baltimore, one of the oldest free public library systems in the United States. Concurrently, you have been an instrumental member of the American Libraries Association, serving as its President for the 2003 to 2004 term and now, as Immediate Past President. It is in this capacity that you have placed yourself at the forefront of the debate over the USA Patriot Act, drawing national attention with your vigorous opposition to sections of the Act. You have consistently expressed, with clarity and passion, the vital importance of the protection of reading records and equity of access.
Your work is again and again honored - Librarian of the Year by Library Journal in 1995, Maryland's Top 100 Women in 1996, Notable Black America Who's Who Women in 2000, and Woman of the Year by Ms. Magazine in 2003, an award you received with the following words, "I am proud to accept this honor on behalf of all library workers who defend Americans' freedom to read freely without government interference." Today we praise your willingness to question the status quo, your advocacy of the rights we hold dear, your commitment to libraries as the cornerstone of democracy. We admire your extraordinary leadership and guidance in uncertain times.
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