Sara R. Benson

Keep Copyright in the Library

May 1, 2017

The Copyright Office’s future has sparked debate and controversy, specifically regarding the best location for the office. As librarians, we must seize this opportunity to advocate in favor of keeping the office within the Library of Congress (LC) and not, as some lawmakers would have it, as an independent agency under their purview. The framers of … Continue reading Keep Copyright in the Library


Carla Hayden

America’s Librarian

November 1, 2016

Hayden didn’t use any privileges of her new position to access Parks’s notes, however, because LC has digitized the collection and posted it online. “I pulled it up on my iPad,” she says. “To think that a kid in Baltimore who just experienced the unrest there could look at Parks’s handwritten thoughts about unrest, that … Continue reading America’s Librarian


Joseph Janes

One of Us

May 2, 2016

Indeed he did. A lot of names were circulating, of people who would be great and a few that made my hair stand on end. Mercifully, we don’t have to contemplate a future with a Librarian of Congress with just a background in business or technology—though as director of a major urban public library, Hayden … Continue reading One of Us


Librarian of Congress Nominee No Stranger to Historic Moments

March 7, 2016

April 20: Coverage of Carla Hayden’s confirmation hearings for Librarian of Congress will air live on C-SPAN.org beginning at 2:15 p.m. ET.   “If confirmed, Dr. Hayden would be the first woman and the first African American to hold the position—both of which are long overdue,” said President Obama in announcing his intent to nominate Hayden. Hayden … Continue reading Librarian of Congress Nominee No Stranger to Historic Moments


David Mao, Acting Librarian of Congress. Photo by Abby Brack Lewis

An interview with David Mao

October 13, 2015

What’s the best thing going for LC right now? DAVID MAO: We have a lot of great things going on right now. Overall, one of the best assets that we have here at the Library of Congress is our staff. Through thick and thin, we have employees who work at the library because they are … Continue reading An interview with David Mao