Clara Levy was a kind and enthusiastic colleague to all. Everyone who knew her got to experience her passion for art, music, beauty, and life. In 2023, Clara installed an exhibition of her photographs in the CAL break room—photographs of her colleagues, the offices in CAL, and the Grand bookstacks. She shared that “I love photography. The camera allows me to step aside and immerse myself into another space, where time doesn’t exist, where the ordinary becomes extraordinary … I selected a few images that I photographed in CAL, our common space, to share with you, as an act of love.” Clara joined the USC Libraries in 2006 and will be greatly missed. She is survived by her daughters, Aiala and Smadar, her two granddaughters, and her partner Tavo Olmos, who worked for the USC Libraries in 2021 and 2022. Aiala and Smadar Levy shared Clara’s biography from her celebration of life: On September 11, 1955, Clara Leonor Brodsky “was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, with the sound of rain falling outside. In her mother’s arms, she heard her first lullaby.” As the eldest of three children, Clara would continue to hear many more. “When she was in kindergarten, she learned a Yiddish song for Rosh Hashanah. She loved to come into her music class hearing the teacher playing the piano.” Soon, Clara took up the instrument herself and joined a children’s choir, eventually training at the National Conservatory. “Many songs from many different worlds echoed within her.” “In high school, everyone spent time with friends singing and playing the guitar at home or in clubs, camps and around the fire: folk songs, popular songs, protest songs, tangos.” At these gatherings, Clara met her first husband, Marcelo, whom she married at age 19. Shortly after––and just before a military coup—the young couple “left for Israel on a very large ship, with Clara’s heart full of music.” They hitchhiked through parts of Europe and settled in Kibbutz Hukok. Clara learned Hebrew, taught music, cleaned homes, cared for children, and supported Arab integration while earning her BM in piano performance at Tel Aviv University. It was there that she met Amichai Levy, whom she married in Kibbutz Gan Shmuel in 1983. After the Gulf War, with two children in tow, Clara and Ami moved to Los Angeles to pursue a life of music (and peace). To sustain their studies and immigration process, Clara began working in the library at Hebrew Union College. In 2006, she became an original cataloger at USC Libraries. Along the way, Clara earned from USC a master’s (1998) and doctorate (2008) in music education, as well as numerous awards. She continued to make music and teach piano to students of all ages until pancreatic cancer prevented her from doing so. Clara loved creating and finding beauty everywhere she went: in museums and concert halls but also in nature, in people, and in everyday objects. No subject escaped her attention, whether through her photography or fights for justice. Her bright spirit, kindness, and smile affected everyone she met. Thank you for being part of her life. -Based on The Sounds Within Clara, an autobiography for children