Library in the News: July 2016 Edition

In July, the Library of Congress was widely in the news with the U.S. Senate’s vote to confirm Carla Hayden as the 14th Librarian of Congress. She will be both the first woman and first African American to serve in the position.

“Hayden will be the first Librarian of Congress appointed during the internet age – and the first librarian who seems to understand its power,” wrote Robinson Meyer of The Atlantic.

“Libraries are usually seen as repositories of history, not places where history is made. But yesterday was an exception as the Senate moved to confirm the nation’s next Librarian of Congress—one who is widely expected to change the institution and the role forever,” said Erin Blakemore for Smithsonian.com.

“An administrator so dedicated to bringing the library to the people that she kept everything open during last year’s unrest in Baltimore will become the first black American and first female librarian of Congress,” reported Melanie Eversley of USA Today.

The announcement made many more national and regional news including The Baltimore Sun, Time, The Washington Post, Slate Magazine and American Libraries.

In other big name news, the Library also announced Smokey Robinson as the next recipient of the Gershwin Prize for Popular Song.

“Whether he was singing his own compositions or writing for other artists, Smokey Robinson was instrumental in shaping the Motown sound that changed American popular music in the 1960s,” wrote Ben Nuckols for the Associated Press. “Now, his accomplishments have won him the pop music prize from the national library.”

“As a singer, songwriter and producer, Mr. Robinson, 76, has a musical résumé few can match,” said Joe Coscarelli of the New York Times.

Library experts continue to be featured in The Washington Post’s series of “Presidential” podcasts. New presentations are on Teddy Roosevelt and Benjamin Harrison. In fact, the presentation on William Howard Taft rounds out the Library’s contribution to the series, which also noted the Library as “such an incredible resource.”

And, finally, Upworthy included the Library of Congress in its list of nine “stunningly beautiful libraries to see before you die.