Sitting at the front desk of the Brookfield Library, Arthur Williams saw when regulars pulled up to the curb outside and he’d run them out a copy of the free local newspaper.
“He literally would write their names on each newspaper and set them aside and then run them out to cars or have them ready when people walked through the door,” said Kimberly Coughran, director of the library.
“It was very personalized service that he delivered and he had a way of making people feel like they were the only ones he did this for.”
Books placed on hold would also be in Mr. Williams’ hands before customers walked through the door to retrieve them.
Countless children will never forget getting their first library card, with Mr. Williams speaking to them like they were readers of any age about to embark on a special journey.
“These touches, these small things, were how he got to know the community and in return he just developed these long lasting relationships,” Coughran said.
Mr. Williams died Nov. 9 after suffering a heart attack at the library. He was 52.
Hundreds of people came to a memorial service organized by his colleagues.
“It was overwhelming to see so many people at the memorial, people pouring in from kids to seniors who knew and loved Arthur,” said Christal Beyer, a former co-worker. “They all came to pay tribute to this one man who was just the sunshine maker of the library.”
More than 160 people commented on a Facebook post from the library announcing his death. Anecdotes included: “I’d skip the self-checkout when Arthur was there” and “I never saw him without a big smile and he always made our day better.”
One woman noted: “He helped my daughter get her first library card last month. She was so excited and we were all giggling together.”
Mr. Williams’ sister, Bernice Williams, said he felt at home at the library.
“My brother had a big heart and a passion for helping people. He didn’t care what nationality, what race you were, he just made sure you mattered to him. I think he picked it up from our mom and God above,” she said.
Mr. Williams was born June 16, 1971, to Louise Williams Clark and Eugene Clark. She was a manager at a hotel in Oak Brook and he worked for a company that operated parking lots in the Loop.
Mr. Williams grew up in Maywood, went to Proviso East High School and began working at the Maywood Library when he was 14, his sister said.
He worked there for 28 years before taking a job at Bellwood Library — where he dressed as Santa around Christmas — before finally accepting a position at Brookfield Library five years ago.
“As a kid, he’d always just pick up books and just read and read and read,” his sister said.
“He’d say ‘Let’s go the library!’ He loved it. ‘I’d say ‘Oh, this is kind of boring’ but my brother stuck with it. That’s his passion. That’s what he loved.”
Mr. Williams also loved cooking, going to the beach in Chicago, soul and R&B singer Luther Vandross, and eating raw vegetables.
“He would eat jalapeño peppers raw,” Coughran said. “It shocked us and amused us. He loved being the center of attention when he would eat them. We would all shriek and give him the oohs and the ahhs.”
Chatting with patrons made his day.
“He would be just helping so many people throughout his day and they would share their lives with him, what they wanted to read, what their interests were. It’s a very satisfying, wonderful exchange and Arthur just loved being that person, the connector between the library and patron,” Beyer said.
Services have been held.
