Woman Found Dead Worked At Niles Library

Cynthia Olive, who was found dead in her home by Niles police Thursday, was known to many residents over the past decades because she helped them at the Niles Library's reference desk, a library spokeswoman said Monday.

A recorded that police, responding to a call from the library saying Olive had not reported to work or called in sick, checked her home Thursday. They found her deceased in a bathtub. 

Niles Library administrators walked around to staff members and told them personally, said Sue Wilsey, the library's director of marketing.  

"It's like a family atmosphere around here, so we didn't send out an  email," she explained.

Staff members, some of whom had earlier heard Olive was not feeling well, were shaken up when they heard the news. 

"She was in some ways the face of this library for so long," Wilsey said, adding Olive started working at the library in the 1980s, then took some time off to get a library science degree before coming back.

"She was an excellent librarian. She had a brilliant mind and a real shy personality. She was a private person," Wilsey continued. 

"People knew her and respected her work. Her work ethic was unsurpassed. People will have a lot of good things to say about her."

Many people in the village knew Olive as well, since she lived here and was often seen walking down Waukegan Road, on which she both lived and worked.

Library administrators are waiting to hear from Olive's relatives, who live out of town, before they plan any ways of honoring her memory. That might take the form of a guest book, Wilsey suggested.