Sheryl "Sherry" Katheryn Williams was born February 5, 1948. Spending most of her career as curator for the Kansas Collection at the University of Kansas, Williams also worked as the Interim Head of the Kenneth Spencer Research Library (KSRL) and as the Interim head of Spencer's Reader Services.

Williams obtained her B.A. in History and French from Kalamazoo College in Kalamazoo, Michigan in 1970. She completed a masters in Library Science at the University of Oklahoma in Norman, Oklahoma in 1977.

In 1979, Williams became the assistant curator of the Kansas Collection, one of Spencer Research Library's main collecting areas. She would become the curator of the collection in 1980. She also served as KU's University Archivist from 1993-2004 and as a bibliographer for U.S. History in KU Libraries. She taught archives courses for KU's Museum Studies program for several years.

Williams published several articles and conducted research projects independently and collaboratively, including "Success with Donors: Practical Applications that Work for All" (not dated); "Quantrill's Raid on Lawrence: Stories of Loss, Destruction, and Survival" (2013); and "Kansas Territorial Online" (2004), a digital collection completed in conjunction with the Kansas State Historical Society.

In addition to her presentations and articles, Williams was awarded the Steeples Service to Kansans Award in 2015, the Award of Excellence from the Kansas City Area Archivists in 2006, and the Chancellor's Award for Distinguished Librarianship in 1994. She retired from KU Libraries in 2019.

[Information pulled from the University Archives "Sheryl Williams" morgue file and collection materials.]