A blast from the recent past: When Carla Hayden met Scott Bonner

This week, following Carla Hayden’s (@LibnOfCongress) historic swearing in as our new Librarian of Congress, had me reminiscing about a special night just about a year ago.

I thought it would be fun to revisit the intimate,  informal conversation we had on campus.

Tough Times–Troubled Choices gathered together: Dr. Hayden, Scott Bonner, Library Director of the Ferguson Public Library and Rutgers’ own Nancy Kranich.

Prior to our event, Scott and Carla had chatted on the phone about their shared experiences, but they had never before met in person. Each called the other their hero. During the session, we addressed inevitable dilemmas, unanticipated crises, and the choices librarians are often unexpectedly called to make in our everyday practice.

How does a librarian balance values, safety and community needs? And what is the role of the library (school and public) in the realm of social justice?  Carla, Scott and Nancy described how they balanced their frictions and led their communities, considering: the safety of their staffs, the needs of their communities, and their professional principles and values–while the country, and perhaps, the whole world watched.

I hope that you might enjoy this more personal and reflective conversation with our own Librarian of Congress, a real librarian.

BTW, Dr. Hayden’s new Twitter feed, @LibnofCongress, is an absolute must follow!

 

 

Filed under: #sljhackathon, Library of Congress, technology