{"id":238532,"date":"2026-08-04T13:40:36","date_gmt":"2026-08-04T23:40:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=238532"},"modified":"2026-08-05T07:59:49","modified_gmt":"2026-08-05T17:59:49","slug":"in-memoriam-bronwen-solyom","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2026\/08\/04\/in-memoriam-bronwen-solyom\/","title":{"rendered":"In memoriam: UH<\/abbr> librarian Bronwen Solyom\u2019s life of scholarship, cultural preservation"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading time: <\/span> 2<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>
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Bronwen Solyom<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

University of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> librarian Bronwen “Bron” Solyom spent more than 37 years preserving Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span>\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

Related: Bronwen Solyom: Passionate curator of Jean Charlot collection<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Solyom\u2019s colleagues, friends, family and researchers gathered in Hamilton Library\u2019s Hawaiian & Pacific Collection Reading Room on July 17 to celebrate a life defined by curiosity, generosity and scholarship. Guests included Solyom\u2019s husband, Garrett Solyom, friend Maya Soetoro-Ng, and Jean Charlot Foundation President Allison Wong. <\/p>\n

Many colleagues and friends also shared memories of Solyom\u2019s impact at UH<\/abbr> M\u0101noa.<\/p>\n

A lasting legacy at Hamilton Library<\/h2>\n
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From left, Malia Van Heukelem, Allison Wong, Garrett Solyom and Ellen Chapman<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Solyom was best known for her work as curator of the Jean Charlot Collection<\/a>, an internationally recognized archive documenting religious art, Mexican art, Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> 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.<\/p>\n

“Bron\u2019s 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.”<\/p>\n

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Bronwen Solyom<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Solyom also helped establish Hamilton Library\u2019s Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> Congressional Papers Collection<\/a>, 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 Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span>\u2019s former members of Congress since statehood.<\/p>\n

Solyom\u2019s 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<\/abbr> for generations.<\/p>\n

Read more at Hamilton Library<\/a>.<\/p>\n