Librarian of Congress and a Library Olympics

This week, Aug. 14-20, 2016, people, like a newly allocated Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden, might be holding note of an Olympic eventuality other than a one in Rio de Janeiro – a Library Olympics.

This summer, a librarians during a University of Dayton came together for their second annual Library Olympics. Events enclosed a Journal Toss; a Speed Sort eventuality that compulsory a organizing of books on a cart; a Book Balance, where a book is placed on a conduct and offset there while walking; and a Cart Race, that could be formidable to manage, due to a bent of library carts to be formidable to steer, according to Katy Kelly with a University of Dayton.

With a Library Olympics, a 2016 Rio Olympics and a presidential competition perfectionist many of a nation’s attention, few have beheld a newly allocated Librarian of Congress. President Barack Obama nominated Carla Hayden in February, and a Senate authorized her appointment on Wed. Jul 13, with a 74 to 18 vote. Hayden will be a 14^th Librarian of Congress given a position was combined in 1802. She is also a initial lady and a initial African-American to reason a position.

Hayden takes adult a position, next James H. Billington, who hold a position for 28 years. He was a reputation Russian scholar, during a time when a Library was perplexing to modernize. The Library has a bill of $620 million, 3,200 employees and competes for a pretension of the largest library in a universe with a British Library in London. It houses 162 million equipment that can be review in 470 opposite languages. The shelf space these equipment need measures during 838 miles.

Carla Hayden, 63, perceived her doctorate from a University of Chicago. She was the chief librarian during a Chicago Public Library before to apropos arch executive officer of a Enoch Pratt Free Library in Baltimore, and boss of a American Library Association (ALA). As boss of a ALA in 2003 and 2004, she headed a antithesis opposite a Patriot Act, that during a time a U.S. Justice Department and FBI were regulating to try to entrance library records. Copyright issues will continue to be Hayden’s concentration as Librarian of Congress.

One of a largest projects a Library of Congress has in a tube is archiving all tweets posted to Twitter. In 2010, a Library and Twitter announced their partnership to repository each tweet. This project, while ranking high on a modernization list, has never been implemented. The plan faced hurdles from a really commencement due to a exponential expansion Twitter experienced. In 2010, Twitter exchanged 55 million tweets a day. In 2011, that series grew to 140 million a day and in 2012, tweets increasing to 500 million.

The Library contends that even a private attention has problem storing and organizing such a immeasurable apportion of data. The perfect volume of tweets has invariably grown with a adoption of features, such as a ability to embody cinema and videos. However, researchers who wish unobstructed entrance to this archive, for a functions of study denunciation and society, are pulling for an creation that would capacitate this plan to pierce forward. The plan does seem to be aligned with a Library’s goals.

The newly allocated Librarian of Congress has some-more hurdles ahead, not distinct those of a 2016 Rio Olympians. Hayden is a personality in a attention with 10 years experience. The position was recently altered from a lifetime appointment to one of 10 years, by Obama to lead a Library of Congress into a some-more complicated era. Whether a researchers advocating for entrance to a immeasurable Twitter database will obtain admission, usually time will tell.

By Joel Wickwire
Edited by Jeanette Smith

Sources:

MPR News:  The Library Olympics:  How Fast Can You Book It?
MPR News:  What accurately Does a Librarian of Congress Do?
Richmond Free Press:  Hayden is New Librarian of Congress
The Atlantic:  Can Twitter Fit Inside a Library of Congress?
The Washington Post:  Carla Hayden Confirmed as 14^th Librarian of Congress

Top Image Courtesy of Cliff’s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License
Inline and Feature Image Courtesy of Peter Bjork’s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License

  librarian, Library of Congress, Olympics