44  —  Fall/Winter 2006 North Carolina Libraries

Paula Pearce Hinton
 

Paula Pearce Hinton, an associate editor of North Carolina Libraries, 
died September 17, 2006, following a sudden illness.

A Campbell University graduate, Paula earned an MS in 
Library Science from UNC Chapel Hill in 1985 and an MS in 
Administration from Central Michigan University in 1996.  

An active North Carolina Library Association member, in 2005, 
Paula was elected Secretary for the Association, as well as Chair of 
the Reference and Adult Services Section.  

For the past fifteen years, Paula has been the Social Science 
Reference Librarian in Davis Library at UNC Chapel Hill.  Paula 
was a wonderful reference librarian: warm, enthusiastic, patient, 
and helpful to students and faculty.  She was a great professional 
role model to the library students who worked at the reference 
desk.  Her expertise in the social sciences was widely acknowledged 
and she was always available to help her colleagues.  She enjoyed 
a good joke and had a wonderful laugh.  Paula was a dedicated, 
valued friend who went the extra mile for all of us who knew her.

Last, but not least, Paula was a good cook.  We had a holiday 
luncheon coming up in early December.  This year, we didn’t have 
Paula’s mashed potatoes—widely recognized as the best mashed 
potatoes in the world.

Paula is greatly missed by her colleagues in Davis Library Reference, 
the users of Davis Library, and her colleagues in the North Carolina 
Library Association.  

Michael Van Fossen