Librarian Cynthia Hurd Dedicated Life to Books

MobyLives writes about Cynthia Hurd, one of the victims of Wednesday night's shooting in Charleston. Hurd was a prominent librarian who dedicated her life to books and to educating others. "Her death is a huge loss to the community." Hurd worked for 31 years in the Charleston County library system, serving as branch manager of the John L. Dart Branch from 1990 to 2011 before becoming manager of the St. Andrews Regional Library. County officials said Thursday that the library would be renamed in her honor, reports the Charleston Post and Courier.

According to the Charleston Post and Courier, Hurd was also a member of the Charleston Housing Authority Board, as well as president of the Septima P. Clark Corp., a “nonprofit that gives small grants to resident programs for those in public housing.” Hurd is survived by her husband, a longshoreman who has been on a ship near Saudi Arabia, and is trying to get home, and siblings including her brother, former North Carolina state Sen. Malcolm Graham. He told the Charlotte Observer, “She was the one who brought us closer. It’s so senseless.”

Calling Hurd a “tireless servant of the community who spent her life helping residents, making sure they had every opportunity for an education and personal growth,” the Charleston library system closed all 16 of its branches on Thursday, to honor all of the victims. If you’d like to donate to the Charleston Friends of the Library, you can do so here. If you’d like to donate to the Emanuel AME Church, where Hurd was attending Bible study when she was killed, it’s quite easy to do so from their website, here.

Photo of Cynthia Hurd from the Charleston Post and Courier.