In the space of a decade, the Library lost nearly a dozen
staff to AIDS. In the early years of the epidemic, illness and death
often came with breathtaking speed, just a few years or even months
after diagnosis. We were a community united by shock, grief and
compassion as our friends and coworkers grew thin and struggled
with painful and debilitating conditions. At first there were no
medications to combat the virus itself, and people eventually died
of various opportunistic diseases. It was a time of fear and anxiety
as well. There were educational Early Birds sponsored by University
Health Services to inform and reassure us-the virus could not be
transmitted casually, and there were things we could do to help our
friends. There were too many sad stories-sons who came out to their
parents just in time to tell them that they were dying, the young dying
before their lives could unfold, older men dying before they could
reach that dreamed-of retirement.
The obituaries in this booklet speak for themselves, and they reveal a very
different time and culture at the Library. There is warmth and a deep
sense of community in these stories written by coworkers, a sense
of the departed as complete people, but also a careful tracing and
celebration of careers-reclasses, promotions, transfers, rotations-as
people worked their way up the Library ladder, supported by an
active staff development policy.
This booklet is a snapshot of library history during one particular
decade. Any omissions from that time are inadvertent. There were
many more library staff who lived with AIDS and died years or even
decades later, often when they were no longer library employees.
There are others still living with AIDS, and there were and are many
survivors of that time who never became HIV positive. Some were gay
rights and AIDS activists, others turned their concern and compassion
to a more personal and private sphere. Many more library staff
have contributed in many ways to supporting AIDS-related services.
There is no way to acknowledge everyone, except to say thank you,
everyone everywhere.
- Aija Kanbergs, Instructional Services, The Library,
University of California, Berkeley, June 2009
In Memoriam: CU News Library Obituaries From The AIDS Years 1986-1996, CU News, University of California, Berkeley
