If confirmed by the Senate, Hayden would be the first female, African-American Librarian of Congress, and would assume leadership of an institution that plays an important role in crafting US tech policy, particularly on digital copyright issues such as cell-phone unlocking. (The US Copyright Office is part of the Library of Congress.)
Hayden is also widely respected among public interest groups and civil libertarians for her outspoken opposition to the PATRIOT Act over a decade ago, when privacy advocates feared the government would use the law to snoop on the library records of American citizens.
“From protecting privacy and ending the digital divide to advocating for the public’s right to access information, Dr. Hayden has consistently exhibited just the sort of priorities we would expect of the head of an institution that should be more than just a repository of culture and knowledge, but a pioneer in enabling access to these treasures,” Raza Panjwani, policy counsel at DC-based advocacy group Public Knowledge, said in a statement.