One of the most inspirational instructors I ever had was Antje Lemke of the Syracuse iSchool, who passed away in 2017. Her kindness was as legendary as her knowledge of the humanities, and her legacy lives on in the many fine librarians she taught. Her anti-fascist activities in Nazi Germany prior to coming to the United States in 1949, however, was something that I only discovered later, but it clearly informed her passion for librarianship as a profession based around the open sharing of knowledge.
These links from Syracuse University give fuller descriptions of her life and include many incredible tributes from former students and colleagues:
https://news.syr.edu/blog/2017/05/18/ischool-mourns-the-death-of-professor-emerita-antje-bultmann-lemke/
https://ischool.syracuse.edu/antje-bulkmann-lemke/
--Tribute by Betsy Martens (from a Facebook interaction with Anita Coleman). Posted with permission from Betsy Martens.
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In honor of the Sesquicentennial next year (150th Anniversary of ALA) in 2026, the Library History Round Table is hosting Librarians We Have Lost, Sesquicentennial Memories -1976-2026. This collage of tributes seeks to honor librarians who died between 1976-2026. The tributes are published to ALA Connect and a digital memorial on LHRT News & Notes.
We invite tributes from anyone about any library worker who passed away between 1976-2026. To submit a tribute, please use the form at https://lhrt.news/librarians-we-have-lost-sesquicentennial-memories-1976-2026-2/
For questions or comments, please reach out to Dr. McCook (kmccook@usf.edu) or Brett Spencer (dbs21@psu.edu).
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Brett Spencer
Reference Librarian
Thun Library, Penn State Berks
He/Him/His
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