The most important Obama nominee no one’s talking about; Washington Post, 3/25/16

Robert Gebelhoff, Washington Post; The most important Obama nominee no one’s talking about:

"Meanwhile, the Copyright Office — which plays a major role in the digital economy by administering copyright law and protecting intellectual property — has been designing a plan to leave the nest and become an independent agency.

Register of Copyrights Maria Pallante has openly advocated for the move, citing “operational tensions.” She argues that the library performs a legislative role as the research branch of Congress (through the Congressional Research Service), which she sees as at odds with the executive mission of the Copyright Office. Others have suggested that the Copyright Office be relocated to the Commerce Department as a sister agency to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. For some commentators, such proposals translate to the Copyright Office focusing more on the interests of the “Big Content” industry — including publishers, the recording industry and movie producers — than delivering copyright law itself.

The key takeaway is that the next librarian of Congress will have a lot of tough issues to fix. If the library wants to maintain its mission of serving the public and promoting access to knowledge, the institution needs a leader who can shake things up and plot out a path forward.

Hayden does seem to be poised to take on the challenge. She’s known for her work to revitalize the Baltimore’s Enoch Pratt Free Library, upgrading its aging tech infrastructure and making it the largest provider of free-access computers in Maryland. In a video produced by the White House, she emphasized that the Baltimore library was a place where all people could come as a refuge from turbulent times in the city. She also outlined a similar mission for the Library of Congress: “In terms of how people view the future of libraries and what a national library can be, it’s inclusive. It can be part of everyone’s story.”"