NEW YORK (AP) 鈥� The by has found a new position with the country's largest philanthropic supporter of the arts.
The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation exclusively told The Associated Press that Carla Hayden will join the humanities grantmaker Monday as a senior fellow whose duties will include advising on efforts to advance public knowledge through libraries and archives.
The year-long post places Hayden back at the center of the very debates over American culture that surrounded her dismissal. , the first woman and the first African American to hold the title, after she was accused of promoting 鈥渞adical鈥� literary material by a conservative advocacy group seeking to squash Trump opposition within the federal government.
Hayden acknowledged existing threats to 鈥渢he free exchange of ideas鈥� in a statement to the AP.
鈥淔or generations, libraries, archives, and cultural institutions have been the guardians of knowledge and the catalysts for human progress,鈥� she said. 鈥淭ogether, we will work to strengthen the public knowledge ecosystem and ensure that the transformative power of information remains accessible to all.鈥�
Mellon's response to government funding cuts
Meanwhile, the Mellon Foundation has been working to fill fiscal holes for . Its $15 million 鈥渆mergency鈥� fund aims to offset the $65 million that were supposed to go to the state humanities councils that organize book fairs, heritage festivals, theater productions and other programs fostering cultural engagement.
The foundation has previously supported the , increase scholarships for librarians of color and boost adult literacy.
Mellon President Elizabeth Alexander said the foundation is thrilled to welcome Hayden, 鈥渁 leader with an unshakable regard for the public good of the American people,鈥� during such a 鈥渃rucial time.鈥� Public knowledge institutions are navigating 鈥渉istoric challenges and transformative advances," according to Mellon, including artificial intelligence, digital technologies, federal funding withdrawals and censorship efforts.
Who is the Librarian of Congress and what is the job?
The is Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, who represented Trump during his 2024 criminal trial.
from looking after collections to selecting the country鈥檚 poet laureate to awarding the Gershwin Prize for Popular Song and the Library of Congress Prize for American Fiction. The library also manages the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service.
Librarians serve 10-year terms, and Hayden鈥檚 was scheduled to end in 2026. Her tenure included modernizing its reservoir of the nation's books and history. She oversaw new initiatives reaching out to rural and online audiences. Recent for everyday visitors. And she arranged for Lizzo's 2022 performance where the artist played a crystal flute owned by President James Madison 鈥� among the .
Before her confirmation in 2016, Hayden spent more than two decades as CEO of Baltimore's Enoch Pratt Free Library system and was president of the American Library Association from 2003 to 2004. A graduate of Roosevelt University and the University of Chicago, she is a member of the American Philosophical Society and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
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James Pollard, The Associated Press
