For Immediate Release

February 28, 2023

Carla D. Hayden, MA, PhD, 14th Librarian of Congress, will be honored with the Friends of the National Library of Medicine’s PAUL G. ROGERS AWARD FOR PUBLIC SERVICE at their 2023 Awards Gala

The Friends of the NLM Awards Gala will be held Tuesday, April 4, 2023, at the Willard InterContinental Hotel in Washington, DC. Registration is open to all.

“With this award we are delighted to recognize Dr. Hayden’s achievements in growing public access to health research results and for her distinguished service to the health of the public,” said Glen P. Campbell, Chair of the Friends of the NLM, “and her commitment to the idea of ‘equity in access’ to information and knowledge over the course of her unique career.”

Carla Hayden was sworn in as the 14th Librarian of Congress on September 14, 2016. Hayden, the first woman and the first African American to lead the national library, was nominated to the position by President Barack Obama on February 24, 2016, and her nomination was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on July 13.

Prior to her latest post, she served, since 1993, as CEO of the Enoch Pratt Free Library in Baltimore, Maryland. Hayden was nominated by President Obama to be a member of the National Museum and Library Services Board in January 2010 and was confirmed to that post by the Senate in June 2010. Prior to joining the Pratt Library, Hayden was deputy commissioner and chief librarian of the Chicago Public Library from 1991 to 1993. She was an assistant professor for Library and Information Science at the University of Pittsburgh from 1987 to 1991. Hayden was library services coordinator for the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago from 1982 to 1987. She began her career with the Chicago Public Library as the young adult services coordinator from 1979 to 1982 and as a library associate and children’s librarian from 1973 to 1979.

Hayden was president of the American Library Association from 2003 to 2004. In 1995, she was the first African American to receive Library Journal’s Librarian of the Year Award in recognition of her outreach services at the Pratt Library, which included an after-school center for Baltimore teens offering homework assistance and college and career counseling. Hayden received a B.A. from Roosevelt University and an M.A. and Ph.D. from the Graduate Library School of the University of Chicago.2023

Friends of the NLM Awards

The Friends of the NLM’s Annual Awards recognize scientific and medical leaders who have made significant contributions to health care, biomedical science, librarianship, and public health. These life changing awardees are our contemporaries and the Friends of the NLM has the honor of thanking them. Past recipients include Nobel Laureates, leading scientists who opened new fields of breakthrough discoveries, and developers of innovative technologies. In addition, outstanding health science librarians, leaders of public office, and those who have demonstrated a deep commitment to advancing medical and health science communication are among past and this year’s recipients.

For sponsorship opportunities and a full list of past and 2023 awardees, please click here: Registration is open to all.

Contact Ann Hill, Friends of the NLM Operations Manager, at 301-318-9368 or annhill@fnlm.org with press inquiries.

About The Friends of the National Library of Medicine 

The Friends of the National Library of Medicine supports and promotes the world’s largest medical library, the National Library of Medicine (NLM), a vital part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the nation’s premier medical research agency. 

Friends of the National Library of Medicine – Friends of the National Library of Medicine – (fnlm.org)