Photo: Library of Congress Life / CC0 (source: Wikimedia Commons)
Born on August 10, 1952 in Tallahassee, Florida, United States, Carla Hayden is a librarian and university teacher. As of 2026, Carla Hayden is 74 years old. Education on record includes South Shore High School and University of Chicago Graduate Library School. Recorded honors include Librarian of the Year Award (1995), Jean E. Coleman Library Outreach Lecture (2006, 2015), Joseph W. Lippincott Award (2013) and 4 more.
My Take
Carla Hayden is, to me, exactly the kind of leader libraries deserve. As the first African American and first woman to serve as Librarian of Congress, she carried real symbolic weight, but what moves me more is her decades as a working librarian who believed institutions should be open to everyone. Honors like Librarian of the Year were earned in the trenches, not handed down. Her 2025 dismissal struck me as a genuine loss, yet the ethos she championed, that knowledge belongs to the public, will outlast any single appointment. I admire her quietly enormous influence.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Carla Hayden
- Name (Japanese)
- カーラ・ヘイデン
- Reading
- かーら・へいでん
- Born
- August 10, 1952 (age 74)
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Leo / Dragon
- Origin
- Tallahassee, Florida, United States
- Occupation
- librarian / university teacher
2. Background
- High school
- South Shore High School
- University
- University of Chicago Graduate Library School
Awards & achievements
- 1995 Librarian of the Year Award
- 2006 Jean E. Coleman Library Outreach Lecture
- 2013 Joseph W. Lippincott Award
- 2015 Jean E. Coleman Library Outreach Lecture
- 2017 ALA Medal of Excellence
- 2018 Newberry Library Award
- 2018 American Library Association Honorary Membership
- 2021 Elizabeth Blackwell Award
3. Links
4. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-21
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public or unconfirmed items are omitted. English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.
Frequently asked questions
When was Carla Hayden born?
Born August 10, 1952 (age 74).
Where is Carla Hayden from?
Carla Hayden is from Tallahassee, Florida, United States.
What does Carla Hayden do?
Carla Hayden works as librarian, university teacher.
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