May 9, 2025, 2:01pm
Photo from the Library of Congress
In their continued campaign to trample institutions and eject expertise from government, the Trump Administration abruptly fired Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden yesterday. Dr. Hayden was the first woman and the first African American to serve as the country’s top librarian, and was fired with a gallingly short email:
On behalf of President Donald J. Trump, I am writing to inform you that your position as the Librarian of Congress is terminated effective immediately. Thank you for your service.
Hayden’s renewable, 10-year term was up next year, having been appointed by President Obama in 2016. She’d worked as a librarian previously, starting out in the Chicago Public Library before earning a Ph.D. in library science from the University of Chicago. She also worked as the CEO of the Enoch Pratt Free Library in Baltimore for over 20 years, and was the president of the ALA for a year.
Her appointment was historic, and she reflected on the significance in 2020:
“Personally, being a person of color, it means so much because people who look like me were forbidden by law to learn to read… That means so much that here is a person of color leading the world’s largest library.”
The Librarian of Congress is the head of the Library of Congress and its diverse collections, oversees the U.S. Copyright Office, and appoints America’s poet laureate, among other responsibilities. During her term, Dr. Hayden focused on modernizing the library, digitizing large parts of the collection, and increasing accessibility by making sure the library’s books and resources were reaching rural Americans and Americans with visual disabilities. She also briefly handed her job over to an eight year old and a four year old.
Dr. Hayden’s tenure was marked by efforts to open up America’s library, prioritizing accessibility and inclusion. Which also means her priorities are the exact opposite of Trump and his hogmen.
For her efforts, Dr. Hayden has earned the ire of Trump and far right, book banning advocates who have been calling for her ouster. Just hours before Dr. Hayden’s two sentence dismissal, one such group posted, “It’s time to get her OUT and hire a new guy for the job!”
The Trump Administration has been reliant on these sorts of doxxing groups for its decision making, most prominently an anti-Palestinians blacklisting organization that has been compiling the names of people who have spoken out against the starvation, war crimes, and genocide in Gaza.
I have no doubt that Dr. Hayden will continue to advocate for reading and for libraries, and I can’t wait to see what she does next.
If you’re looking to get involved in the fight to protect libraries and access to books, check out Authors Against Book Bans and the ALA’s Show Up for Our Libraries campaign.