Jean Blackwell Hutson Award and Lecture - Honoring Dr. Carla Hayden

The Jean Blackwell Hutson Award and Lecture has been created to amplify the legacy of the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture’s Curator and Chief Jean Blackwell Hutson, who served the library and research center from 1948-1980.

Hutson’s librarianship, decisive leadership, and vision helped build the Schomburg Center into the institution it is today. The award will recognize librarians and library professionals who have made significant contributions to the well-being of underserved communities through innovative, inclusive, and impactful library services.

The inaugural awardee is Dr. Carla Hayden, the 14th Librarian of Congress and recently appointed Mellon Foundation’s senior fellow.

The program will include a performance by actor and singer Norm Lewis, award presentation by Tracie D. Hall, former Executive Director of the American Library Association (ALA), and conversation with Dr. Hayden and Joy Bivins, Director, Schomburg Center.

This event is free and open to the public, but due to space constraints registration is required. We generally overbook to ensure a full house, so we recommend that you arrive early.

Attire: Business/ Festive

Accessibility requests can be made by e-mail YWNjZXNzaWJpbGl0eSB8IG55cGwgISBvcmc=.

Dr. Carla Hayden was sworn in as the 14th Librarian of Congress on September 14, 2016. Dr. Hayden, the first woman and the first African American to lead the national library, was nominated to the position by President Barack Obama on February 24, 2016. Prior to her service as Librarian, Dr. Hayden was the CEO of the Enoch Pratt Free Library in Baltimore, Maryland. She was the deputy commissioner and chief librarian of the Chicago Public Library from 1991 to 1993, an assistant professor of library and information science at the University of Pittsburgh from 1987 to 1991 and library services coordinator for the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago from 1982 to 1987. She began her career with the Chicago Public Library, serving as a library associate and children’s librarian from 1973 to 1979 and the young adult services coordinator from 1979 to 1982. Dr. Hayden was president of the American Library Association from 2003 to 2004. In 1995, she was the first African American to receive Library Journal’s Librarian of the Year Award in recognition of her outreach services at the Pratt Library, which included an after-school center for Baltimore teens offering homework assistance and college and career counseling. Hayden received a B.A. from Roosevelt University and an M.A. and Ph.D. from the Graduate Library School of the University of Chicago. Read the full bio here.

Photos: (1) James M. Mannas, photographer, Jean Blackwell Hutson with bust of Sojourner Truth, ca. 1972-80. Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Photographs and Prints (2) Official Photo of Carla Hayden, Courtesy Library of Congress Shawn Miller

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GUESTS Please note that holding seats in the Langston Hughes Auditorium is strictly prohibited and there is no food or drinks allowed anywhere in the Schomburg Center.

E-TRANSPORTATION NYPL policy prohibits electric transportation devices (e.g., motorbikes, e-bikes, e-scooters, e-skateboards) from being brought into or stored at library sites for any length of time, as this is the best way to keep our spaces & people safe.

AUDIO/VIDEO RECORDING Programs are photographed and recorded by the Schomburg Center. Attending this event indicates your consent to being filmed/photographed and your consent to the use of your recorded image for any all purposes of the New York Public Library.

PRESS Please send all press inquiries (photo, video, interviews, audio-recording, etc) at least 24-hours before the day of the program to Leah Drayton at bGVhaGRyYXl0b24gfCBueXBsICEgb3Jn.

Please note that personal and professional video recordings are prohibited without expressed consent.

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