Officials at the Altadena Library District announced the death of library director Barbara Pearson.
Pearson died Dec. 14 while recuperating from pneumonia at Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center.
Pearson is survived by her daughter Kathleen, two sisters and a grandson.
Pearson served as the library director for nine years. In that time, Pearson upgraded the integrated library system, modernized the interior of both the main and Bob Lucas branch and helped expand the computer system from 10 computers to 40, officials said in a written statement.
Pearson also worked to bring the main library into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, but passed away before this initiative would come to fruition, officials said.
“The suddenness of her passing took us all by surprise. It was truly a shock to her family, friends, and those who worked with her," said Pauli Dutton, acting director of the Altadena Library District. "We all expected her to recover and return. She was a creative visionary, a dynamic leader, and a good friend who cared deeply about the library and all of us. She will be deeply missed and mourned.”
A graduate of UC Santa Barbara with a master's in library science from UCLA, Pearson served as chief librarian at the Burbank Public Library. Pearson also served as the library director in El Segundo and helped to expand facilities there, officials said.
Pearson worked at the Covina Public Library, the Honnold/Mudd Library at the Claremont Colleges, the Ontario City Library and the Online Computer Library Center's Pacific Division, officials said.
The Board of Library Trustees voted to name the library's meeting hall the Barbara J. Pearson Community Room in her honor, officials said.
Both library branches will be closed Friday, Dec. 27, so that staff will attend Pearson's memorial service, which will be held at Our Lady of the Assumption in Claremont at 2 p.m.
Condolences can be sent to Pearson's daughter, Kathleen Flynn, in care of Altadena Main Library, 600 east Mariposa Street.
