ROCHESTER, Ill. (AP) - Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden on a Saturday morning shared her love of books and affinity for Springfield during story time at the Rochester Public Library.
The 14th Librarian of Congress, Hayden leads the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., the largest library in the world with 164 million books and 836 miles of shelving. It’s the home of the U.S. Copyright Office and the main research arm of the U.S. Congress.
U.S. Rep. Rodney Davis, R-Taylorville, hosted Hayden for the morning event on Sept. 9 that included a question-and-answer period with librarians, followed in the afternoon by a tour of the Springfield and Central Illinois African American History Museum in Springfield.
Hayden spent summers in Springfield at the home of her grandparents, Bruce and Myrtle Hayden.
“My grandparents lived on Pasfield … in Springfield,” Hayden told the more than 50 children and adults attending story time.
One child told Hayden, “This is Rochester, you know?”
“I know,” Hayden said as the audience laughed. “I didn’t know about Rochester, so I knew about Springfield because I spent the summers in Springfield, but I didn’t know about Rochester, so this was like really cool.
“And guess where I’m going after this? Steak n Shake. That’s not the only reason why I came.”
Hayden read the book “Thomas Jefferson Builds a Library” by Barb Rosenstock that tells how Jefferson’s books collection helped rebuild the Library of Congress.
“You know what we say now? That we think he would be very pleased that his books started it,” Hayden said. “Why do you think Congress - and Congressman Davis is here to tell you about that - why would they need books? Why do you think they need books?”
“To keep themselves entertained,” one child answered. Hayden said she came to know about large, special libraries because of her experiences in Springfield.
At about age 5, she accompanied her grandfather, who was a messenger at the state Capitol, to the Illinois State Library, where Margaret Pendergrass worked. They knew Hayden loved books.
“That’s one of my earliest experiences of a magnificent library. I went to a small branch when we were living in New York,” Hayden said. “Miss Pendergrass, a member of (Zion) Baptist Church, worked at the State Library. I would get to visit Miss Pendergrass and just the idea of this magnificent building, so at an early age, I knew about large, special libraries because of my experiences in Springfield.”
Because the Illinois State Library is closed on Saturdays, Rochester Public Library was suggested as a site when Hayden was making plans to come to the Springfield area.
“Matt Butcher works out of Rodney Davis’ office, and Matt just became a trustee for the village, and so he had stated, ’Rochester would be a great location,’ and so when they asked, ’Would you be willing to have her?’ of course, I said, ’Yes,’” said Janet McAllister, Rochester Public Library director.
Malia Naqvi of Rochester brought her daughter, Maddie Nielsen, 4, to story time with Hayden and Davis.
“I don’t think she quite understands, but she’s kind of excited. It’s kind of neat,” Naqvi said. “I think it will be a neat experience for her, and I think it’s neat, too.”
Carla Hayden’s mother, Colleen Hayden, who lives with Carla in Baltimore, Maryland, accompanied her.
“It is true. I spent my summers with my grandparents, Bruce and Myrtle Hayden. My mom married into that, moved from Champaign, Illinois, and come over, and every summer wherever we were, she would say, ’You’re going to Springfield,’ ” Carla Hayden told the audience at the question-and-answer session.
Carla Hayden said that Springfield photographer Eddie Winfred “Doc” Helm lived on the corner near her grandparents.
“I even have some photos that he took of me because he was the photographer of black life in central Illinois,” Hayden said.
Before Saturday, Hayden had only seen photos of artifacts from the 1908 Springfield Race Riot at the Springfield and Central Illinois African American History Museum in Springfield. Davis has been working with community leaders to ensure the history the artifacts tell is preserved and shared on a national level.
“The Library of Congress has the archives of the NAACP, and they are the most heavily used collections in the library. It’s an ongoing collection. We also have the Legal Defense Fund from the NAACP that started,” Hayden said. “The Springfield riot was part of the impetus for the foundation of the NAACP, so we’re trying to see if there’s some synergy there that at least we could exhibit some of the artifacts in D.C. and talk about the coming anniversary of the 1908 riot and tie in some of our collections with that. …
“We’re just getting started, but it’s really exciting.”
___
Source: The (Springfield) State Journal-Register, https://bit.ly/2yab0Bl
___
Information from: The State Journal-Register, https://www.sj-r.com
Please read our comment policy before commenting.