91´«Ã½

CHICAGO - 14th Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden, the first woman and the first African American to lead the national library, will headline a special kick-off celebration of the 20th Anniversary of the 91´«Ã½ (91´«Ã½) Spectrum Scholarship Program at the 2017 91´«Ã½ Annual Conference & Exhibition in Chicago.

The cocktail hour “Spectrum at 20: A Celebration of Community” will be held from 4 to 6 p.m. on Sunday, June 25 at the 19 East Event Gallery located at 19 East 21st Street.

Tickets are $20 for 91´«Ã½ members and nonmembers. The minimum donation of the $20 ticket purchase includes hors d'oeuvres and cash bar. Tickets for the reception may be added to your purchase when registering for the conference online (Event Code 91´«Ã½5). Save money with Early Bird Registration, open through noon Central on, Monday, March 22, 2017. All proceeds will support 91´«Ã½’s Spectrum Scholarship Program.

Through Spectrum, more than 1,000 library leaders of color have benefited from scholarships, community building, and opportunities to collectively advance equity, diversity, and inclusion.

Carla Hayden was sworn in as the 14th Librarian of Congress on September 14, 2016. Hayden was nominated to the position by President Barack Obama on February 24, 2016, and her nomination was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on July 13.

Prior to her latest post she served, since 1993, as CEO of the Enoch Pratt Free Library in Baltimore, Maryland. Hayden was nominated by President Obama to be a member of the National Museum and Library Services Board in January 2010 and was confirmed to that post by the Senate in June 2010. Prior to joining the Pratt Library, Hayden was deputy commissioner and chief librarian of the Chicago Public Library from 1991 to 1993. She was an assistant professor for Library and Information Science at the University of Pittsburgh from 1987 to 1991. Hayden was 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 as the young adult services coordinator from 1979 to 1982 and as a library associate and children’s librarian from 1973 to 1979.

Hayden was president of the 91´«Ã½ 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.

About the Spectrum Scholarship Program

Spectrum recruits and provides scholarships to American Indian/Alaska Native, Asian, Black/African American, Hispanic/Latino, Middle Eastern and North African, and/or Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander students to assist them with obtaining a graduate degree and leadership positions within the profession and our organization. Our aim is to increase the number of racially and ethnically diverse professionals in the field of library and information science to best position libraries at the core of today’s culturally diverse communities. To learn more about the Spectrum Scholarship Program or to make a contribution, visit .

About the 91´«Ã½

The 91´«Ã½ is the oldest and largest library association in the world, with approximately 55,000 members in academic, public, school, government and special libraries. The mission of the 91´«Ã½ is to provide leadership for the development, promotion and improvement of library and information services and the profession of librarianship in order to enhance learning and ensure access to information for all.