On May 8, 2025, Carla Hayden, the 14th Librarian of Congress, received a terse email from the White House: her service was terminated, effective immediately. The message came from Trent Morse, deputy director of presidential personnel, on behalf of President Donald Trump.
Hayden, who made history as the first woman, the first Black person, and the first professionally trained librarian to hold the position, was abruptly dismissed after nearly a decade in the role.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the firing was due to “inappropriate books” allegedly made available to children. But critics say the move was politically motivated. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer called it a “clear example of punishing career public servants who don’t obey every whim of the president.”
As a scholar of library and information science, I believe the episode underscores the critical role the Library of Congress plays—and how easily its mission of open access and democratic knowledge can be threatened.
What the Library of Congress Actually Does
Founded in 1800, the Library of Congress was created to provide research support to Congress. Today, it has six buildings in Washington, D.C., housing nearly 26 million books and more than 136 million items—everything from maps and sheet music to historic documents like Thomas Jefferson’s draft of the Declaration of Independence.
The library is open to all Americans aged 16 and older, though only members of Congress can borrow materials. Its staff of over 3,200 employees handles more than 760,000 reference requests each year and oversees a budget nearing $900 million.
A Legacy Built Over Centuries
The library’s history is intertwined with America’s own. After the British burned the Capitol in 1814, Thomas Jefferson sold his private library—6,479 volumes—to the government to restart the collection. That collection would later be partially destroyed in an 1851 fire, but the library rebounded with major acquisitions, including the Smithsonian’s 40,000-volume library.
Under Librarian Ainsworth Spofford in the late 1800s, the Library of Congress began receiving two copies of every copyrighted work in the U.S., helping it evolve into “the nation’s library.”
By 1900, its holdings surpassed 1 million items. A special reading room for the blind opened in 1897. President Theodore Roosevelt called it “the one national library of the United States.”
Over the 20th century, the collection grew to include a Gutenberg Bible, presidential papers, and materials in over 450 languages.
Serving the Public—From Mastodons to Poetry Licenses
Though originally created to support Congress, the Library of Congress has served generations of everyday Americans. In 1960, a Science Digest writer described staff fielding questions like, “What color were a mastodon’s eyes?” and “Could you suggest names for twins?”
The copyright office has received equally curious requests—one woman in 1954 asked for a “poetic license” to legally publish her poetry.
Under Librarian Daniel Boorstin (1975–1987), the institution pivoted to a more public-facing role, calling itself a “multimedia encyclopedia.” By 2000, it had digitized large portions of its collection and was described as “the largest and most inclusive library in human history.”
After the Firing: A Library Under Pressure?
Following Hayden’s ouster, President Trump appointed Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche—his former personal attorney—as acting Librarian of Congress. The move has raised concerns among historians, librarians, and civil liberties advocates.
In a CBS interview, Hayden said she had no prior issues with any presidential administration and doesn’t know why she was removed. “Democracies are not to be taken for granted,” she warned. “And the institutions that support democracy should not be taken for granted.”
In her final report, Hayden described the Library of Congress as “truly, a library for all.” So far, despite new leadership, that remains true. But the future of one of America’s most vital public institutions may now depend on whether it can withstand political interference.
