Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden to Speak at Fridays at Findlay

Fridays at Findlay will continue its tradition of showcasing groundbreaking and innovative global leaders by hosting Carla D. Hayden, Ph.D., the first woman and the first African American to become the Librarian of Congress, the world’s largest library, at its March 23 event.
Hayden’s talk, to be delivered during National Reading Month, will address “Hands-on Learning: Making Your Own History at the Library.”
Sponsored by First Federal Bank, the Fridays at Findlay breakfast lecture series is designed to encourage educational opportunities for members of the community, campus and alumni regarding best leadership practices. The March 23 breakfast will begin at 7:30 a.m. in Winebrenner Theological Seminary’s TLB Auditorium.
Admission, which includes a hot breakfast, is $10 per person and $5 for students. To register and for more information, contact Cindy Lahey at lahey@findlay.edu, call 419-434-5334, or visit the Fridays at Findlay webpage.
Following her public presentation at Fridays at Findlay, Hayden will tour the University’s Mazza Museum for art from children’s books, and meet with a group of schoolchildren.
Hayden was sworn in as the 14^th Librarian of Congress on Sept. 14, 2016. She was nominated to the position by President Barack Obama on Feb. 24, 2016, and her nomination was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on July 13. Her responsibilities include oversight of the nation’s library’s collection of more than 164 million items, including the historic Thomas Jefferson collection of books and maps.
Prior to her latest post, she had served, since 1993, as CEO of the Enoch Pratt Free Library in Baltimore, Maryland and was a member of the National Museum and Library Services board. Before joining the Pratt Library, she was deputy commissioner and chief librarian of the Chicago Public Library and Information Science at the University of Pittsburgh from 1987 to 1991. Hayden also was library services coordinator for the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago from 1982 to 1987. She began her career with the Chicago Public Library as the young adult services coordinator from 1979 to 1982 and as a library associate and children’s librarian from 1973 to 1979.
Hayden was president of the American Library Association from 2003 to 2004. In 1995, she was the first African American to receive Library Journal’s Librarian of the Year Award in recognition of her outreach services at the Pratt Library, which included an after-school center for Baltimore teens which offered homework assistance and college and career counseling.
Hayden received a Bachelor of Arts from Roosevelt University and a Master of Arts and Ph.D. from the University of Chicago’s Graduate Library School.

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