At the library in time for the 250th anniversary of the declaration of independence in 2026. She also responded to questions about how the u. S. Copyright office, which is housed under the library of congress, will be used to protect copyrighted works amid growing use of Artificial Intelligence. The Senate Hearing is about an hour. A number of senators mentioned that they were fans of you and your work, including people from both sides of the aisle. Putting that out there first. Chair klobuchar i think i mentioned this before. Maybe senator phish doesnt know, my dream growing up was to be a librarian. I had a dewy decimal system set up with the books i read in the recipe box. Instead, we are here. We are here, in fact, to discuss the Largest Library in the world and the oldest federal Cultural Institution in the United States. The library of congress. Two weeks ago the library celebrated its 223rd birthday. As we know the library holds over 175 million books, manuscripts, and other materials. It has the Worlds Largest collection of films, sheet music, and sound recordings. Something i was reminded of very memorably when joan ever Joni Mitchell got the gershwin award and Speaker Mccarthy and i were there and several others. It was an incredible two evening for the dinner and then for the major production afterward with so many great artists. And i want to thank you for having the wisdom to decide to honor Joni Mitchell. Im sure was with the committee. In the end dr. Hayden, you had a major role in making that decision and that event work for so many people. Dr. Hayden, you and your dedicated staff play a Critical Role in collecting, preserving, and making this vast collection in the library of congress accessible to the american people. And i learned that you had 370,000 people visited library last year, and 75 increase in events from the fiscal year before. While even more americans accessed your collection online, thats more than 151 million visits online. I think im sure well hear about how the pandemic had its silver lining. Not a lot of good stuff. But at least im sure more people started visiting the library online. I mentioned that joni mitch the event, but your efforts also included celebrating our culture, including lizzo, who lived in my state for many, many years. Thats where shegot her start. She played the James Madison crystal flute at the library last fall. As we approach the end of the librarys fiveyear Strategic Plan and 2019 Digital Strategy, you also dedicated signature effort to modernizing the librarys technology and infrastructure. I know well want to hear about that. One topic that i look forward to hearing more on is the librarys visitors experience master plan. A multiyear proposal which Congress Approved on a significant bipartisan basis in 2019. To improve the Visitor Experience at the library. The plan clues an orientation gallery to guide visitors through the library, learning resources for younger visitors and new displays. As the project moves forward, it is essential that it is done, as you and i have discussed, in a way that respects and preserves the librarys Historic Building modernizing the Copyright Office is a priority for our nation and i appreciate the offices progress in updating its procedures and reducing the average processing time for copyright registration. Another part of the library that we will hear about is the nonpartisan support provided to members of congress and staff by the Congressional Research service, or c. R. S. , which responded to more than 73,000 requests in the last fiscal year from members of congress and its impact extends far beyond congress with thousands of c. R. S. Reports available to the public. Finally, the National Library service for the blind and print disabled as the primary provider of reading material for americans who cannot read print helps to ensure that the librarys resources are available to everyone. Ensuring access to modern braille devices has always been one of my Top Priorities for the library. When i early on got on this committee started working on that. I look forward to hearing more on that work including providing braille ereaders and growing library of nearly 164,000 downloadable braille and audio reading materials. In the end, the library i think we know has this incredible celebrated history and the work that you are doing, dr. Hayden, is vital to the success for generations to come. And that obviously includes your team. Some of whom are sitting behind you. I now recognize our Ranking Member fisher for her opening statement. Thank you, senator fischer. Senator fischer thank you for calling for this hearing. Thank you, dr. Hayden, for being with us this afternoon. I love visiting the lie pwraeurry. And i want to tell you that my staff recently was able to take a field trip and visit the library. They had a tour there and told me about what a wonderful experience they had as well. Thank you for that. I am pleased to be here on the diaz of my first oversight hearing as Ranking Member of this committee. I have been a member since 2017. And in the intervening years the committee has made a point to regularly discuss the librarys modernization efforts during oversight hearings n my view that is a clear testament to the importance of these efforts. The library of congress should strive to be a Global Leader in the management and preservation of information. While also providing free and open access to its collections for all. Keeping up with Technological Developments is a key to accomplishing these goals. Dr. Hayden, you have been serving as the nations librarian since 2016. Certainly you have been busy as the Library Works to improve its services and increase access for its many customers, including the congress, copyright users, researchers, visitors, and the american public. At the forefront of these efforts is the librarys push to modernize its enterprise Wide Information Technology systems. Shortly before you arrived at the library in 2016, the Government AccountabilityOffice Issued a critical report that highlighted serious gaps in the librarys Information Technology infrastructure, and they provided a long list of 107 recommendations. I know that over the last six years the library has made Great Strides in centralizing its i. T. Systems and closing out nearly all of the g. A. O. s recommendations. Im also aware that the library has been leading an exciting project in the Thomas Jefferson building to improve visitor access to its priceless collections. I want to congratulate you, dr. Hayden, on recently hitting 20 million in private pledges for this Visitor Experience project. I look forward to hearing about the details of this endeavor. My hope is that the library will be able to create a Visitor Experience that best serves its customers while also ensuring that the costs are controlled. Finally, i understand that the lie pwraeur has made significant efforts to increase Digital Access library has made significant efforts to increase Digital Access to members of the public. I look forward to hearing more about these efforts and the librarys many other ongoing initiatives during this hearing today. Thank you, madam chair. Chair klobuchar thank you very much, senator fischer. Thank you for your really good opening statement. Our witness today as i noted is library of congress dr. Carla hayden. Dr. Hayden was sworn in as the 14th librarian of congress in september, 2016. After being appointed by president obama and confirmed by the senate in a vote of 7418. Thats pretty good by todays standards. And she is the first woman and the first africanamerican to lead our Nations Library. Dr. Hayden previously served as the c. E. O. Of inna Pratt Free Library in baltimore, maryland beginning in 1993. Earlier in her career she held positions with the museum of science and industry in chicago, university of pittsburgh, and Chicago Public library. Dr. Hayden received her undergraduate degree from Roosevelt University and her master of arts and ph. D. From the university of chicago. Where i also went. Dr. Hayden, if you could please stand and raise your righthand. Do you swear that the testimony you will give before the Committee Shall be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you god . Dr. Hayden i do. Chair klobuchar you can be seated. Well proceed to your testimony and recognize you for a fiveminute opening statement. Dr. Hayden thank you, madam chairwoman and Ranking Member fisher fischer for this opportunity to provide an update on the library of congress and its operations. The library of congress is the Largest Library in the world with a collection of more than 175 million items. And now in the fifth and final year of our current Strategic Plan, the library is looking ahead to a new plan that will build upon our ongoing efforts to expand access and Hand Services to congress and the public and become more digitally enabled. We appreciate the support and interest of this committee as we continue on our more than 220year history as a steward of the National Collection and repository for our shared cultural heritage. In fiscal year 2022, the library responded to hundreds of thousands of reference requests from congress, the public, and other federal agencies. The Congressional Research service or c. R. A. , published nearly 1,100 new products. The u. S. Coppery right Office Issued more than 484,000 registrations. A 16 increase over f. Y. 2021. While bringing the average processing time down from 3. 4 months to about two months currently. Or as little as 1. 2 months for electronic claims requiring no correspondent course. The National Library service for the blind and print disabled or n. L. S. , circulated more than 22 million copies of braille, audio, and large print material to patrons throughout the country. The library returned to normal operations for the visiting public in f. Y. 2022 welcoming approximately 370,000 visitors to our buildings, which are once again buzzing with researchers, visitors, school groups, and tourists. On site events are back at a very robust level and we have launched a new public event series, live at the library, which extends our hours on thursday evenings to provide new opportunities for people to visit our exhibits and connect with our programming. In support of our goal to expand access, the library is moving forward in an exciting way to enhance our physical space. In partnership with the librarys authorization and appropriations committees of jurisdiction and the architect of the capitol, the library is creating an all new Visitor Experience that will invite visitors to discover more of our treasures, programs, and services. The Visitor Experience master plan, which was approved by congress in 2019, includes an orientation gallery that will feature the restoration of Thomas Jeffersons library. A Youth Learning Center where young learners and families can interact with our collections. And for the first time a treasurer gallery to display the wonder, scope, and and history contained in our special collections. The Library Remains committed to ensure this ensuring this project is implemented for the america 250 celebrations in 2026. We are on or under budgets in nearly all library specific components. And in some instances have had to make difficult decisions to simplify Design Elements to ensure a judicious product schedule. While the timeline and significant a. O. C. Construction budget increases recently identified by a. O. C. Are impacted by a number of tpapltors, including general construction escalation costs, the committees direct involvement and unwavering support of the project and that of the acting architect of the capitol, will continue to ensure critical milestones are reached and that we are able to open these wonderful official to the public for the 250th anniversary of the United States. In addition to our inperson official, we have a robust and expanding online presence. Virtual programming and Live Streaming at the library signature events like the National Book festival admit we can reach more people in their homes even as we return to hosting largescale, inperson programs. Our Web Properties recorded over 151 million visits in f. Y. 2022. One of our most popular programs, the veterans history project, now has more than 114,000 individual collections accessible online through a new modern website. And our by the people Transcription Program increased its outreach footprint, enlisting members of the public to complete over 500,000 transcriptions since 2018. And all of this serves to make items in the collection more discoverable online. Yes, modern i. T. Initiatives are under way in several key Library Service units. This includes efforts to upgrade the technology in c. R. S. And to develop a Modern Library collections platform to manage our holdings. And im pleased to report that we have launched two key components of the New Enterprise copyright system a. New copyright public records system, and the first ever Electronic System to record and update information about copyright ownership. They are all live to the public and we are receiving positive feedback. The development for the next generation copyright Registration System has begun, and we have also release add major upgrade of the braille and audio reading down load system for the blind and disabled readers. To conclude, the library is excited about the progress thats been made and we are moving steadily ahead with the work that remains to be done. As always, we remain committed to providing you, congress, with excellent service. I thank you for your continued interest and support. I would be pleased to take any questions you may have. Chair klobuchar thank you very much, dr. Hayden. We have been joined by senator welch, shes been moved up from his new guy slot. I figure since hes been in congress as long as i have, he was over in the other house. We are pleased that he is here for his first oversight hearing of the library of congress. Why dont we start with Visitor Experience master plan. Which i noted has bipartisan support in congress. This new space we are excited to hear about some of the new projects you mentioned. Can you talk about the goals of the plan, if its progressing on time. And in your written testimony you said that the projects in the plan will not impact the historic great hall reading room nor the library supportive onsite research. What steps is the library taking to ensure any changes are consistent with Historic Preservation standards and are you committed to ensuring that any concerns in this area are fully considered . As you know my own husband asked me about the historic circulation desk, he doesnt usually inquire about matters of oversight in the rules committee, i felt that i should ask that question. As you know he is a big user of the library as a law professor and author. How is the plan going . And talk a little bit about that historic standard. Dr. Hayden we continue to be very excited about this project because it will transform the constituents experience in visiting the library. At the same time respecting and preserving the historic Thomas Jefferson building. And the project has three parts. The current gift shop will be converted into an education center. Back of house space thats no longer needed for its original purpose will be converted to an orientation gallery. And both of these spaces are designated by the a. O. C. As renovation zones rather than Historic Restoration or preservation zones, unlike the great hall or the main reading room. Chair klobuchar thats for groups coming . Dr. Hayden groups, individuals. There will be a welcome area. Also will be a gateway from the capitol visitor center. Because we received thousands of visitors coming directly from the capitol visitors center. We have been seeing them recently with the reopening of the capitol vi