Betty Bauer, longtime Minneapolis Public Library cataloger, dies at 92

For nearly four decades, Betty Bauer was a reliable behind-the-scenes employee with the Minneapolis Public Library, helping ensure that books, magazines and other items were properly cataloged at the downtown library.

Colleagues say Bauer, who lived in Minneapolis most of her life, was an unflappable, dedicated worker for 38 years at the downtown branch of the library, now part of the Hennepin County Library system. She died of natural causes on May 16 at the age of 92.

"Current and future library users can never fully appreciate the contributions that dedicated workers like Betty make to the preservation and retrieval of knowledge stored in libraries," librarian Dave Klaiber wrote in an annual report when Bauer retired in 1998.

Born in 1929, Betty Schuster was the youngest of seven children. She attended classes in a one-room schoolhouse while growing up in rural Hope, Minn., south of Owatonna, before the family moved to Minneapolis. By age 20, she landed a job as a clerical employee in the reference department at the Minneapolis Public Library.

While she generally shied away from attention, she found herself in parades and celebrated at the library when she was named Miss Public Employee in 1951 in a contest among female employees from various city and county departments, the winner going on to compete in the Aquatennial Queen of the Lakes competition.

She took a hiatus from work for about a decade when she got married and had two daughters, whom she later raised as a single working mom. She instilled in them strong values and a love of books, reading to them before bedtime each night, said her daughter, Suzanne Nguyen of Burnsville.

"She was a strong woman. ... She was an inspiration," Nguyen said.

"I don't think she ever missed a day of work," Nguyen said. "She had a strong work ethic. She loved working at the library."

Over the years, library technology for the catalog evolved from 3-by-5 cards to microfilm and finally to the internet in the 1980s. Lisa Polec, a Hennepin County Library cataloger who worked with her for more than a decade, said Bauer embraced the changes and was eager to learn, detail-oriented and patient, never raising her voice.

She was also known for her fashion sense, impeccably dressed every day in a skirt or dress coordinated with matching jewelry or a scarf, and her short hair curled.

"I don't think I ever saw her wearing slacks," Polec said. "She was a classy lady."

Colleague Dee Tvedt joined Polec and Bauer for morning coffee breaks at the library, where Bauer would chat about her travels, jetting off to Hawaii with her family or Europe with a church group. After she retired in 1998, she would meet up with colleagues for the popular popovers at the Oak Grill at the downtown Dayton's store.

Besides Nguyen, Bauer is survived by her daughter Elizabeth Bauer of Santa Barbara, Calif., and one granddaughter. Services have been held.