Barbara Beebe earned a B.S degree in Criminal Justice from Fayetteville State University (1992) and the Master's in Library & Information Science from the University of Southern Mississippi (2004).  She was an alumna of the NCLA Leadership Institute (2005) and was serving as chair of the Leadership Committee at the time of her death.

Barbara  was a librarian at Methodist College in Fayetteville, N.C. from 1999-2006, resigning to enter the Ph.D. program in the School of Information & Library Science of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.  Barbara's research interests within librarianship included access to information, library management, rights to privacy, and information issues related to incarceration. Her publications included “State Public-Access Online Offender Databases: A Content Analysis,” in Current Studies in Librarianship 26:5-37 (2002) and "A Content Analysis of LIBRES: Library & Information Research Electronic Journal," in Mississippi Libraries 67(4): 101-104 (Winter 2003).

Barbara edited A Brief History of Black History by Dr. Jelani Madaraka published by Zamani Press in 1996

(ISBN: 1-884897-01-0) and served as managing editor of RAW--Real African World in Atlanta from 1994-96, and as editor/co-publisher of FIST, a bi-weekly e-zine in Atlanta in 1996-97. Barbara was also editor and design artist for The Weekly Record in Raeford, N.C. and a regular contributor to Music Monitor (Raleigh, N.C.).

Barbara was active professionally in the American Library Association, the Black Caucus of the American Library Association, the Association for College & Research Libraries, and the North Carolina Library Association.

Barbara Beebe was a natural leader -- a treasured colleague, and a friend.  Her vibrant spirit will be greatly missed. Please join us in honoring Barbara's dedication to the development of leadership potential in North Carolina libraries through support of the Barbara L. Beebe Memorial Fund.