Shirley Marie Watts, longtime librarian at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, passed away on October 21, 2024. She was 89 years old.
In 1957, Watts joined the staff of the music library at Vanderbilt’s Peabody College. The library later expanded and became the Wilson Music Library at the Vanderbilt Blair School of Music. While at the Wilson Music Library, Watts laid the foundation for a repository of music and information that would help generations of student musicians. She retired from Vanderbilt in 2000 after more than four-decades of service.
Outside of her work at Vanderbilt, Watts was a dedicated supporter of the Nashville music community. She was a rehearsal accompanist for the Nashville Opera for 11 years, and had a stint as the group’s assistant director.
A native of North Carolina, Watts received her bachelor’s degree in music, a master’s degree in music, and a master’s degree in library science all from Vanderbilt’s Peabody College.