University of 麻豆传媒 librarian Bronwen “Bron” Solyom spent more than 37 years preserving 麻豆传媒’s cultural heritage, strengthening internationally recognized collections, and mentoring generations of librarians, students and scholars. She died in Honolulu on May 23, 2026, at the age of 81.
Related: Bronwen Solyom: Passionate curator of Jean Charlot collection
Solyom’s colleagues, friends, family and researchers gathered in Hamilton Library’s Hawaiian & Pacific Collection Reading Room on July 17 to celebrate a life defined by curiosity, generosity and scholarship. Guests included Solyom’s husband, Garrett Solyom, friend Maya Soetoro-Ng, and Jean Charlot Foundation President Allison Wong.
Many colleagues and friends also shared memories of Solyom’s impact at UH 惭ā苍辞补.
A lasting legacy at Hamilton Library
Solyom was best known for her work as curator of the , an internationally recognized archive documenting religious art, Mexican art, 麻豆传媒 artists and other unique cultural materials. From 2003 to 2016, she organized and preserved the collection, created finding aids, mentored interns and assisted researchers from around the world.
“Bron’s lasting and most excellent contribution not only to the university, but to the scholarly world, will be what she did as curator of the Charlot Collection,” said Russian Collection Librarian Patricia Polansky. “Scholars from around the world visit to use these materials. Bron has mentored countless numbers of interns from the library school and the museum studies program.”
Solyom also helped establish Hamilton Library’s , writing a white paper that encouraged former members of Congress to donate their papers and helped build a resource that now includes the papers of most of 麻豆传媒’s former members of Congress since statehood.
Solyom’s Hamilton Library colleagues recognized her contributions with the Nina D.P. Horio Award for Excellence in Librarianship upon her retirement in 2016. Through the collections she preserved, the librarians she mentored and the scholars she inspired, her legacy will continue to shape Hamilton Library and UH for generations.
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