No. Librarian Years in Office Appointed by 1 John J. Beckley 1802–1807 Thomas Jefferson 2 Patrick Magruder 1807–1815 Thomas Jefferson 3 George Watterston 1815–1829 James Madison 4 John Silva Meehan 1829–1861 Andrew Jackson 5 John Gould Stephenson 1861–1864 Abraham Lincoln 6 Ainsworth Rand Spofford 1864–1897 Abraham Lincoln 7 John Russell Young 1897–1899 William McKinley 8 Herbert Putnam 1899–1939 William McKinley 9 Archibald MacLeish 1939–1944 Franklin D. Roosevelt 10 Luther H. Evans 1945–1953 Harry S. Truman 11 Lawrence Quincy Mumford 1954–1974 Dwight D. Eisenhower 12 Daniel J. Boorstin 1975–1987 Gerald Ford 13 James H. Billington 1987–2015 Ronald Reagan A David S. Mao 2015–2016 Barack Obama 14 Carla Hayden 2016–present Barack Obama