Sallie Woolf never attended college to learn how to be a librarian.
One might say she learned on the clock.
As a teen, Ms. Woolf started work as a page, shelving books, at the Decatur library, now called the Maud M. Burrus Library. That was in June 1946. It was only supposed to be a summer job.
She never left.
In a 47-year career, library patrons and peers came to respect her dedication to the craft. She'd track down books for patrons and recommend books of their liking. She read to countless charges and was a voracious reader herself.
"She did everything," said her sister-in-law, Lillian Woolf of Atlanta. "She learned from the ground up, you could say. She was as good as a librarian. She just didn't have the formal training. She trained other people. She has a zillion stories she has told me about being at the library."
On Wednesday, Sallie Woolf died of natural causes at Medlock Gardens Assisted Living in Decatur. She was 83. A private burial will be held at Westview Cemetery. A memorial service will be held at a later date at Decatur First United Methodist Church. A.S. Turner & Sons is in charge of arrangements.
Ms. Woolf was born in Washington, D.C., but moved with her family to Decatur in 1928. She graduated from Decatur public schools, but never attended college, her sister-in-law said.
"So she learned everything at the library' and was well-liked," she said.
Ms. Woolf was hired by Maude Burrus, the late library director, to work at the Decatur location. Back then, that library had not joined the DeKalb library system yet. It was named for Mrs. Burrus in 1962.
In 1990, county library officials and colleagues hosted a ceremony to recognize someone who wrote the book, so to speak, on helping readers find theirs. It's no wonder patrons called her "Miss Sallie" and a "Decatur treasure," according to an article that appeared in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
"I've always hoped that I could find exactly what people wanted," she said at the time. "Mrs. Burrus always said, ‘If you couldn't find exactly what they wanted, find something. Send them away happy.' "
At Decatur First United Methodist Church, Ms. Woolf taught first-grade Sunday school for more than 30 years. Diana Roberts served as the church's minister of education during some of Ms. Woolf's years in the classroom.
"The children responded to her well because she was a kind and gentle voice to them," Mrs. Roberts said. "A fine lady."
Additional survivors include a brother, William Woolf of Atlanta.
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