The United States' Library of Congress is the largest library in the world, with more than 170 million pieces in it's collection.
It's contents range from a rough draft of the Declaration of Independence, penned by Thomas Jefferson, to maps created and used by Lewis and Clark, to original handwritten musical scores from Sousa, Ellington, and Gershwin, to first edition comic books by your favorite superheroes like Captain America.
It's a treasure trove, a repository of knowledge, and it also tells the story of this country.
At it's helm as it's 14th Librarian of Congress is Dr. Carla Hayden. She's the first woman to hold that position, and first professional librarian appointed to the post in over 60 years.
She was appointed by President Obama in 2016 and this week she'll be the keynote speaker for a Read Across America event moderated by the Cleveland Public Library's Felton Thomas.
Dr. Hayden joins us for the first portion on the program where she'll talk to us about her duties, her passion or child literacy, and how library usage has shifted during the pandemic.
Later in the program we'll talk to ideastream's Carrie Wise, about arts organizations reopening as we move into warmer weather.
- Carla Hayden, PhD, 14th Librarian of Congress
- Carrie Wise, Managing Producer of Arts and Culture, ideastream
Read Across America - The Literacy Cooperative RSVP
https://www.literacycooperative.org/rsvp/
