"There are certain people who, from the moment you meet them, usher in immediate ease and joy, and that was Dominique. In addition to her charm and wit, Dominique was the glue of our team, a natural leader, and a powerful advocate for Black librarians." --Gaby Garcia
Dominique Dozier (1987-2026)
Photo Caption: L-R Dominque Dozier, Gaby Garcia, Jennifer Loubriel
Dominique Dozier was a light in librarianship. A Student Success Librarian at Santa Clara University, I first met her when we were placed in the same Emerging Leaders team working to create new member resources for the Black Caucus of the American Library Association (BCALA). There are certain people who, from the moment you meet them, usher in immediate ease and joy, and that was Dominique. In addition to her charm and wit, Dominique was the glue of our team, a natural leader, and a powerful advocate for Black librarians. She was always pushing us to celebrate our accomplishments, both individually and as a group, whether by ensuring we were getting enough recognition from our institutions or getting celebratory drinks after our Emerging Leaders poster presentation at ALA 2024 in San Diego.
Since then, I've connected with her across many conferences and presentations, most recently at ACRL NY in December 2025 when our EL team reunited to present on finding joy during turbulent and painful times in librarianship, specifically for librarians of color. She spoke of the Jesuit values at Santa Clara University (and Fordham, where we were presenting) and how they guided her in supporting her students. She specifically called out the principle of cura personalis, which refers to "caring for the whole person"-mind, body, and spirit. That was what it felt like to be around Dominique; to be seen as a whole person.
I loved every moment of working with her, and I know countless people who felt the same, including all of our team members, the entire EL program, everyone she worked with at Santa Clara University, and all of those who had the pleasure of connecting with her at conferences and through her expansive service to BCALA, California Librarians Black Caucus, and The City of Hayward Library Commission. In addition to a deep personal loss for many of us, this is a huge loss for our field, and we must pick up where Dominique left off by being willing to go to bat for our patrons, each other, and ourselves with the same graceful advocacy she exemplified. There are no words to express how much I miss her, and I hope you will join me in remembering her wonderful life and legacy as a whole person-mind, body, and spirit.
- Gaby Garcia
------------------------------------------------------------------------
In honor of the Sesquicentennial (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, a digital memorial on LHRT News & Notes, and ALA's institutional repository (ALAIR).
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. Kathleen McCook (kmccook@usf.edu) or Brett Spencer (dbs21@psu.edu).
------------------------------
Brett Spencer
Reference Librarian
Thun Library, Penn State Berks
He/Him/His
------------------------------