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Interim (SHINe Journal) Volume 36 Summer/Autumn 1999 Tribute to Hazel Williamson With great sadness we record the sudden tragic death on 2 December of Hazel Williamson, Librarian of the Postgraduate Medical Library in the Royal Infirmary, Edinburgh. Hazel came to work at the Royal Infirmary in April 1996. She set about creating this new library with great enthusiasm, eager to establish a useful service for the staff of the RIE. Library users were always Hazel's main priority and she constantly strove to provide a better service for them, for which her users greatly admired her. She was a consummate professional and spent many years involved with ASHSL, most prominently undertaking the huge task of editing the union list in her spare time. Hazel had worked in many medical libraries in Edinburgh and Glasgow and her expertise was often called upon by less experienced members of staff as she was a fount of knowledge about all things in medical librarianship. Hazel always had time to help others and she will be greatly missed by both library users and colleagues. Scottish country dancing was Hazel's passion. Along with her husband, Jim, she was a member of the Heriot Watt country dancers and she tirelessly and enthusiastically gave demonstrations, ran ceilidhs, as well as trying to persuade the rest of us that having two left feet was no excuse for not having a go. Hazel's dancing took her to Cornwall every year for a Celtic dancing festival and to many far-flung places including Casablanca. Her talent was not only for dancing, but also for choreography as she created many new dances herself. Hazel's other loves were her beautiful home and garden with its views over her beloved city of Edinburgh, her cat, which she loved even more due to its three legged state and of course her family. Last year Hazel was delighted to become a granny (or granorak as she liked to call it, due to her trademark anorak). Her bag always contained new photographs of baby Michael, which she displayed with great pride. Hazel was always ready to help, whether it was her library users or her friends and family, no request was too big or small. She should be remembered for her selfless dedication to her users, her complete professionalism, her enthusiasm, her wicked sense of humour and her many large and small acts of kindness. Our thoughts and condolences go to Jim, Lynn, Paul, Michael and the rest of her family at this difficult time. Susan Lyle Editor's note:- A further tribute to Hazel appears in the 1999 Union List which has been dedicated to her.
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