In Praise of Librarians in Dangerous Times – Literary Hub

– The Keynote address at the American Librarian’s Association annual convention, June 28th, 2025

Sarah Weinman

Sarah Weinman is the author of three nonfiction books: The Real Lolita, Scoundrel, and Without Consent (Ecco, November 2025). She is also the editor of several anthologies, most recently Evidence of Things Seen: True Crime in an Era of Reckoning. Weinman writes the Crime & Mystery column for the New York Times Book Review and lives in New York City.

Sarah Weinman on the Awesome Responsibility of the Seekers and Keepers of Truth

By Sarah Weinman, November 3, 2025

Librarians are on the front lines of history and current events, when news and change arrive at a furious clip that only quickens every day.

And without libraries, my work would simply not exist.

I was a child who read books. There’s a picture of me, not quite a year old, in a blue sailor suit and a red ribbon tied around my neck, staring avidly at a picture book. I couldn’t have been reading yet—that wouldn’t happen until I was close to three, still plenty precocious—but the devotion was already there, the calling always present. I would always prefer reading to pretty much anything, whether it was practicing piano, doing homework, playing sports, and chores.

Books were everywhere as I grew up, and I know how fortunate I was. All around the house, because my parents and older brother were avid readers, too. In the sprawling home of my great-uncle, who spent many years as a sales representative for Harper & Row—before it was absorbed into HarperCollins, now my own publisher—and the duplex townhouses of my grandparents.

Going to the library was special, though. The elementary and high school ones, staffed by people who understood what books meant to kids because they’d never lost sight of what books meant to them. The local branch, a few minutes’ drive from my home, where I borrowed countless books at every age and had my first formative experience with microfilm—and no matter how many times I have used it, I still need to ask a librarian for help. The flagship location in my hometown, with its brutalist architecture, piles of newspapers threatening to burst out of the shelves, and the abundance of books in every genre—particularly crime fiction, my first and still greatest love.

The university one, where not only could I request any book I needed for research—for class, and also my own—but I discovered the almighty power of the Lexis-Nexis database. And, when I moved to New York more than two decades ago, the magisterial 42nd Street Public Library, those twin lions beckoning visitors to climb up the stairs and partake of its treasures.

The wonder and thrill of the library hasn’t gone away for me, not at all, but it has certainly evolved in adulthood. I have come to know so many archive repositories, sifting through collections of authors, editors, and other luminaries as part of my research for three nonfiction books, several anthologies, and other journalism projects. Some of the institutions whose work I have benefited from enormously, visiting in person or requesting digital reproductions, include the Sterling Library at Yale University; the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; the New-York Historical; city and state archives in New Jersey, Oregon, Maryland, New York, and right here in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and the Berg Collection at the New York Public Library.

The wonder and thrill of the library hasn’t gone away for me, not at all, but it has certainly evolved in adulthood.

And it was at Columbia University’s Rare Books and Manuscripts Library in early 2016 that I experienced one of the most transcendent experiences of my working life. I’d arrived to look at a selection of letters by the book editor and translator Sophie Wilkins, and what I thought would be anodyne correspondence between an editor and her author—the convicted murderer Edgar Smith—turned out to be anything but, altering the scope and trajectory of the project that would become my second book, Scoundrel. The excitement I felt at reading what perhaps three others—Sophie, Edgar, and the librarian cataloging the material—that I could not express in public, but could convey in book form, was like nothing I’d ever experienced.

Libraries and archives hold so much knowledge within their sacred confines. I will never lose sight of the awesome responsibility for those tasked with curating, maintaining, and presenting the information so that researchers and authors like me can make meaning of these documents. The librarian is a seeker and keeper of truth, and that makes her a dangerous figure in the eyes of those who fear the fullest, most comprehensive, and most uncomfortable truths emerging.

The librarian is a seeker and keeper of truth, and that makes her a dangerous figure in the eyes of those who fear the fullest, most comprehensive, and most uncomfortable truths emerging.

This is as precarious a moment as I’ve experienced in my own lifetime. Book bans accelerating at a pace that beggars belief. The unjust firing of Dr. Carla Hayden, the Librarian of Congress. The onrush to embrace generative AI without considering the consequences. And just yesterday, a terrible Supreme Court ruling that threatens to upend what books are taught in schools and available in their libraries.

Editor’s Note: Read the rest of the story, at the below link.

Continue/Read Original Article Here: Literary Hub » In Praise of Librarians in Dangerous Times

#Books #CarlaHayden #ChildrenReading #CurrentEvents #DangerousTimes #History #Librarian #LibrarianOfCongress #Librarians #LiteraryHub #News #SocietyChanges #TaughtInSchools

The 225-Year-Old Library Of Congress Remains A ‘Library For All’ — So Far – Honolulu Civil Beat

The 225-Year-Old Library Of Congress Remains A ‘Library For All’ — So Far

Trump fired the head of the library in May saying she put inappropriate books in the library for children.

“Carla, 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,” wrote Trent Morse, deputy director of presidential personnel at the White House.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt later explained that Hayden, who was the first woman, Black person and professionally trained librarian to oversee the Library of Congress, had done “quite concerning things,” on the job, including “putting inappropriate books in the library for children.”

Democratic politicians sharply criticized Hayden’s termination, saying the firing was unjust. It was actually about Trump punishing civil servants “who don’t bend to his every will,” New York Sen. Chuck Schumer said.

An information science scholar, I have written extensively about the history of libraries and archives, including the Library of Congress. To fully understand the role Hayden played for the past nine years, I think it is important to understand what the Library of Congress does, and the overlooked and underappreciated role it has played in American life.

The Library Of Congress’ Work

The Library of Congress is an agency that was first established, by an act of Congress, in 1800. The act provided for “the purchase of such books as may be necessary for the use of Congress at the said city of Washington, and for fitting up a suitable apartment for containing them.” Its chief librarian is appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate.

The library has six buildings in Washington that hold a print and online collection of nearly 26 million books, as well as more than 136 million other items, including manuscripts, maps, sheet music and prints and photographs.

It also houses historic documents, like Thomas Jefferson’s rough draft of the Declaration of Independence and James Madison’s notes on the 1787 Constitutional Convention.

The library is the property of the American people. Anyone over the age of 16 with a government-issued photo identification can enter its buildings and read or view its materials on-site. The Library of Congress was partially designed as a research institution to suit the needs of members of Congress, and only Congress members can borrow items from the library and take them home.

Beyond HawaiʻiThe 225-Year-Old Library Of Congress Remains A ‘Library For All’ — So FarTrump fired the head of the library in May saying she put inappropriate books in the library for children.By Alex H. Poole / About 20 hours agoCarla Hayden, the 14th librarian of Congress, who has held the position since 2016, received an unexpected email on May 8, 2025.“Carla, 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,” wrote Trent Morse, deputy director of presidential personnel at the White House.White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt later explained that Hayden, who was the first woman, Black person and professionally trained librarian to oversee the Library of Congress, had done “quite concerning things,” on the job, including “putting inappropriate books in the library for children.”Democratic politicians sharply criticized Hayden’s termination, saying the firing was unjust. It was actually about Trump punishing civil servants “who don’t bend to his every will,” New York Sen. Chuck Schumer said.An information science scholar, I have written extensively about the history of libraries and archives, including the Library of Congress. To fully understand the role Hayden played for the past nine years, I think it is important to understand what the Library of Congress does, and the overlooked and underappreciated role it has played in American life.The main reading room is seen at the Library of Congress on June 13, 2025, in Washington. (Kevin Carter/Getty Images/via Thae Conversation)The Library Of Congress’ WorkThe Library of Congress is an agency that was first established, by an act of Congress, in 1800. The act provided for “the purchase of such books as may be necessary for the use of Congress at the said city of Washington, and for fitting up a suitable apartment for containing them.” Its chief librarian is appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate.The library has six buildings in Washington that hold a print and online collection of nearly 26 million books, as well as more than 136 million other items, including manuscripts, maps, sheet music and prints and photographs.It also houses historic documents, like Thomas Jefferson’s rough draft of the Declaration of Independence and James Madison’s notes on the 1787 Constitutional Convention.The library is the property of the American people. Anyone over the age of 16 with a government-issued photo identification can enter its buildings and read or view its materials on-site. The Library of Congress was partially designed as a research institution to suit the needs of members of Congress, and only Congress members can borrow items from the library and take them home.

Continue/Read Original Article Here: The 225-Year-Old Library Of Congress Remains A ‘Library For All’ — So Far – Honolulu Civil Beat

#2025 #America #Books #CarlaHayden #Censorship #DonaldTrump #Hawaii #Health #History #HonoluluCivilBeat #Libraries #Library #LibraryOfCongress #Politics #Reading #Resistance #Science #Trump #TrumpAdministration #UnitedStates

“Democracy is under attack”—Carla Hayden breaks her silence. In her first interview since Trump removed her as Librarian of Congress, Hayden defends libraries as pillars of democracy. From CBS Sunday Morning, via Gary Price.
#CarlaHayden #libraries #democracy

https://www.infodocket.com/2025/06/08/video-interview-former-librarian-of-congress-carla-hayden-speaks-out-on-her-firing-by-trump/

Dr. Carla Hayden over haar schandalige ontslag als #Librarian of #Congress: 'democracy is under attack' #carlahayden #libraryofcongress:

https://youtu.be/rme21qIbVHM

Former Librarian of Congress #CarlaHayden speaks out on her firing by Trump
Last month, Carla Hayden, the first woman and first African American to hold the position of Librarian of Congress, received an email that announced, without explanation, her dismissal:

https://www.cbsnews.com/video/former-librarian-of-congress-carla-hayden-speaks-out-on-her-firing-by-trump/

#Libraries are one of the pillars of #democracy

#CarlaHayden 14th #Librarian of #Congress

Trump Is Waging a Culture War on the Library of Congress. It’s Been Done Before. – Politico

History Dept.
Trump Is Waging a Culture War on the Library of Congress. It’s Been Done Before.

Thomas Jefferson wanted to donate his personal collection of books to the Library of Congress. But critics thought those books were un-American.

By Rebecca Brenner Graham, 05/18/2025 04:00 PM EDT

Rebecca Brenner Graham is author of Dear Miss Perkins: A Story of Frances Perkins’s Efforts to Aid Refugees from Nazi Germany (Kensington, January 2025) and a postdoctoral research associate at Brown University, coordinating Brown 2026: Marking 250 Years of American Democracy.

On May 8, President Donald Trump abruptly fired Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden, because, as White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt claimed, Hayden “did not fit the needs of the American people.”

“There were quite concerning things that she had done at the Library of Congress in the pursuit of DEI and putting inappropriate books in the library for children,” Leavitt said, “and we don’t believe that she was serving the interest of the American taxpayer.”

First, the Library of Congress is primarily a research library where patrons must be 16 years or older to do research on site. Still, Trump’s firing of Hayden was just the latest move that made books and libraries a front in the administration’s culture war against diversity, equity and inclusion.

But in fact, a war has already been waged over the books in the Library of Congress’ collection and whether they aligned with broader ideas of American identity — over whether the books should defer to tradition or show openness to new ideas and different cultures. There was already a declared winner of that war — and ironically, Trump is placing himself at odds with the vision that won and has defined the collection since the early 1800s.

The original Library of Congress was founded in 1800 inside the Capitol and contained a small collection mostly made up of legal texts and parliamentary proceedings for lawmakers to consult. In August 1814, amid the War of 1812, British troops burned the Executive Mansion, the Capitol — including the library — and other public buildings in Washington.

The second-ever Librarian of Congress, Patrick Magruder, was on vacation, and his second-in-command, Assistant Librarian J. T. Frost, was responsible for looking after the library. Frost received advanced notice of the burning in time to send a trusted assistant with four oxen and a cart carrying one copy of each book to safety in northern Virginia. With one copy of each book carted to safety, no knowledge was lost when their duplicates burned.

Read more: Trump Is Waging a Culture War on the Library of Congress. It’s Been Done Before. – PoliticoSource Links: Carla Hayden Firing: The Library of Congress Has Always Been a Battleground for American Culture Wars – POLITICO

#2025 #America #Books #CarlaHayden #DonaldTrump #History #LibrarianOfCongress #Libraries #Library #LibraryOfCongress #Politico #Politics #Resistance #Trump #TrumpAdministration #UnitedStates

Zur Entlassung der renommierten Direktorin der Library of Congress, Dr. Carla Hayden

Was wir nie hätten teilen wollen 🖤
#CarlaHayden #libraryofcongress

https://www.bibliotheksverband.de/sites/default/files/2025-05/Stellungnahme%20der%20deutschen%20Bibliotheksverb%C3%A4nde%20zur%20K%C3%BCndigung%20von%20Carla%20Hayden_20250513_final.pdf