GEOFF BENNETT: After Carla Hayden, a trailblazing librarian of Congress, was fired by President Trump last month, only 14 Americans have ever held the position.

I traveled to Baltimore to speak with her about being blindsided by the decision, the administration's ongoing efforts to reshape key institutions and why she intends to keep speaking out.

The report is part of our series Art in Action, exploring the intersection of art and democracy as part of our Canvas coverage.

Dr. Carla Hayden is a familiar and cherished presence at the sprawling Enoch Pratt Free Library and its 21 branches, a system she led with distinction nearly a decade ago.

Her legacy of over two decades of service is etched into the building itself with the wing that bears her name.

Hayden has been a force in the library world since 1973.

And, in 2016, she made history, when then-President Obama appointed her librarian of Congress.

DR. CARLA HAYDEN, Former Librarian of Congress: So help me God.

(CHEERING) GEOFF BENNETT: The first woman and African American to lead the national library and the first professional librarian to hold the post in more than four decades.

President Trump kept her in the role during his first term, but last month she received an e-mail, two sentences long, notifying her that she had been dismissed.

What was going through your mind as you have received it and read it?

DR. CARLA HAYDEN: One of the first things that went through my mind was to think about, was it authentic, because it was very short, very casual, just said Carla and then two lines.

And so I was actually confused.

GEOFF BENNETT: Sent by someone you had never met?

DR. CARLA HAYDEN: Someone I'd never met.

And so my first action -- I was with my mom actually that evening.

I told her, I said: "I'm not sure what this is."

And then I got on the phone to my colleagues to say, is this real or what -- who is this?

And then it went from there.

GEOFF BENNETT: White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt: KAROLINE LEAVITT, White House Press Secretary: We felt she did not fit the needs of the American people.

There were quite concerning things that she had done at the Library of Congress in the pursuit of DEI and putting inappropriate books in the library for children.

GEOFF BENNETT: The Library of Congress does not lend books to children, as a public library would.

DR. CARLA HAYDEN: The Library of Congress is the largest library in the world.

And it serves Congress.

It's the reference arm for Congress.

So all the research that's happening by legislators, Senate, House, all are taken care of by people at the Library of Congress.

We call them our special forces.

They do the research.

And then the Library of Congress serves the people that Congress serves.

So everyone in the United States is a patron of the Library of Congress.

GEOFF BENNETT: Why do you think the White House has mischaracterized its mission and its work?

DR. CARLA HAYDEN: There might not really be an understanding of the mission of the Library of Congress.

And that, I think, is something that the situation that I was in actually brought that to light.

GEOFF BENNETT: Hayden calls the institution: DR. CARLA HAYDEN: A treasure chest, the world's largest collection, and fill in the blank, of photographs, film, manuscripts, 178 million items.

GEOFF BENNETT: In this era of disinformation, this era of attacks on trusted institutions, what do you see as the essential role of libraries?

DR. CARLA HAYDEN: Libraries are in so many communities, rural, urban.

Anywhere you find a library, they're trusted sources.

They know that librarians might not be the jazziest, but they can trust them because they know that they will get information that has been vetted and that they can trust.

GEOFF BENNETT: Are libraries and librarians, in your view, or are they properly equipped to push back against some of the political attacks?

DR. CARLA HAYDEN: Librarians are prepared to defend their choices of materials and services that they provide.

What they really would appreciate is more public support, vocal public support, saying, we want to make sure that our children have access to these materials.

And so that's what we're working with now in terms of our profession, to let the public know that we really need their help.

GEOFF BENNETT: Hayden says libraries have historically faced challenges to the books they offer.

DR. CARLA HAYDEN: What's different in this era seems to be that the efforts to restrict access are part of a possible larger effort.

And that's the difference now.

But as Alberto Manguel said in "A History of Reading" in his chapter, "The History of Forbidden Reading," that it's been known that restricting access to books and reading is often a tactic.

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.

(LAUGHTER) GEOFF BENNETT: Hayden says what's at stake goes far beyond books and that protecting it has never been more important.

DR. CARLA HAYDEN: Libraries are one of the pillars and cornerstones of a democracy, and free public libraries are part of a civic infrastructure that we need to have a safe democracy.