"Sylvia is a stalwart African American Woman with a pure heart and a voracious representative of the arts and art Justice. She almost single handedly revitalized the Library system statewide. History will remember and celebrate her vital foot print. A truly Marvtastic Icon, a womb to the North Carolina Black Repertory Company." -Nathan Ross Freeman
Sylvia Sprinkle- Hamlin (1945-2022)
Be inspired by a librarian for the ages, who was a shining star in supporting the arts:
"The American Library Association (ALA), on behalf of its members: 1. eulogizes the memory of Sylvia Sprinkle-Hamlin by trying to bring into our own lives the exuberance combined with kindness, sustained commitment, vision, and purpose that made her life a pattern worthy of our emulation, and that we earnestly try to live as purposely and unselfishly as did Sylvia Sprinkle-Hamlin; and 2. expresses, along with members of the Black Caucus of the American Library Association, its sincere sympathy to the family of Sylvia Sprinkle Hamlin, that we place a copy of this resolution in the permanent archives of the American Library Association, and that we also send a copy of this resolution to the members of Sylvia Sprinkle-Hamlin's family in order to show her loved ones the high esteem in which we hold her life and her memory.
--ALA Memorial Resolution
"The late Mrs. Sylvia Sprinkle-Hamlin will live on in the memories of everyone who has been blessed by her kind and generous heart, and spirit. " --Herman Jones
--Tribute Wall
"The Forsyth County Board of Commissioners and the Forsyth County Public Library Board of Trustees dedicated Central Library as the Sylvia Y. Sprinkle-Hamlin Building...Sprinkle-Hamlin served as the director of the Forsyth County Public Library system from 2000-2019. She was the first African American and first woman to serve in that role...She served as the chair of the board of the N.C. Black Repertory Company and the executive producer of the National Black Theatre Festival."
--Forsyth County North Carolina
--Submitted by Wanda Kay Brown
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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).
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Brett Spencer
Reference Librarian
Thun Library, Penn State Berks
He/Him/His
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