Geoff Bennett , PBS News; Carla Hayden on her time as a pioneering librarian of Congress and getting fired by Trump
"Geoff Bennett: What effect do you believe censorship has on our democracy?
Dr. Carla Hayden:
As Alberto Manguel said, as centuries of dictators, tyrants, slave owners and other illicit holders of power have known, an illiterate crowd is the easiest to rule. And if you cannot restrict a people from learning to read, you must limit its scope.
And that is the danger of making sure that people don't have access.
Geoff Bennett:
She says she will keep advocating for her beliefs and feels bolstered by support from elected officials on both sides of the aisle, as well as from people across the country.
She shared that her 93-year-old mother has been cataloging the notes and messages she's received. A former president of the American Library Association, Hayden is set to address some of its 50,000 members at their annual meeting. This year's agenda, she says, takes on new urgency.
Dr. Carla Hayden:
How to help communities support their libraries, how to deal with personal attacks that libraries are having, even death threats in some communities for libraries.
So this convening of librarians that are in schools, universities, public libraries will be really our rally. We have been called feisty fighters for freedom."
