A teen space at the North Natomas Library will be named after librarian Amber Fawn Wooton-Clark, who who died tragically at the library last December.
The Sacramento City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved the dedication, which was spearheaded by Mayor Pro Tem Angelique Ashby and Sacramento Public Library Director Rivkah Sass.
“Tonight, we want to honor her life,” Ashby said at the Council meeting, which was attended by Wooton-Clark’s family, friends and former co-workers.
Wooton-Clark’s husband Kelly, also a librarian, said he was “extraordinarily proud and humbled” that the section of the library would be named after his wife.
Wooton-Clark first worked as a high school English teacher and later became a librarian for the Sacramento Public Library where she became a leading advocate for people with disabilities.
In March 2018, Wooton-Clark was promoted and transferred to the North Natomas Library where co-workers said she made everyone feel welcome. The North Natomas branch is known for its student and family focus, as it shares a campus with local Inderkum High School and American River College.
In North Natomas, Wooton-Clark quickly became a partner with the schools, the council office and the community at large and worked tirelessly to serve the surrounding neighborhoods.
In addition to the naming, Ashby and Sass said they will continue building on Wooton-Clark’s legacy in two ways. The Amber Clark Memorial fund will be used to extend the library’s accessibility programming, and there will be an art piece commissioned in her honor. The art piece will be permanently installed at the North Natomas Library.
Ashby also honored Sacramento Police Officer Steve Fontana at Tuesday’s meeting.
Fontana knew Wooton-Clark as a community partner, and his commitment to community policing led to the speedy arrest of the suspect accused on fatally shooting Wooton-Clark in the library parking lot, Ashby said.
There is reason the arrest took place as quickly as it did, “and that’s Officer Fontana,” Ashby said.
The arrest, which occurred less than 24 hours after the incident, has helped to bring some “peace and healing to the community,” Ashby said.