On Oct. 19, esteemed emerita librarian and student supporter Mary Ellen Fraser Goolsby – better known to family and friends as Prue – passed away at the age of 89.  

Goolsby began her career at the University of South Carolina as a reference librarian with the McKissick Memorial Library. She joined the School of Law in the Coleman Karesh Law Library in 1973 as circulation librarian where she managed circulation, interlibrary borrowing, and lending. After 32 years of service at the university, Goolsby retired in 1993.  

Although she ceased working for the law school 30 years ago, Goolsby remained a steadfast supporter of the law library, where her impact is still felt today.  

In 2002, the Honorable C. Tolbert Goolsby, Jr. and Dr. Lane Goolsby created the Prue Goolsby Scholarship in honor of their wife and mother to support students interested in law librarianship.  

Three law library employees – Megan Brown, Aaron Glenn, and Sara Crawford – are recipients of the Prue Goolsby Scholarship. At every library function Goolsby attended, she sought out scholarship recipients to express how proud she was of their accomplishments. 

In addition to her work as librarian, mentor and student advocate, Goolsby was also an accomplished artisan, and won awards for her stained-glass creations as well as for her needlepoint and crochet work. 

Goolsby's dedication to students and advancing the law library profession will be appreciated for generations; she will be deeply missed.