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Death of a Former CLA President Announced
Barbara Campbell, former Santa Clara County Librarian, and Past President of CLA, died last week at her home. She was 78. Ms. Campbell was Santa Clara County Librarian from 1973-1985.
Ms. Campbell held a graduate degree in Library Science from the University of California, Berkeley. She worked at the Berkeley Public Library and as a civilian librarian at a U.S. Air Force Base in England before joining the Santa Clara County Library in 1966 as a Supervising Librarian. She was Assistant County Librarian from 1969 until the retirement of County Librarian George Farrier in 1973. She was Acting County Librarian for five months before being permanently appointed to the position.
During her eleven years as County Librarian, new libraries opened in Morgan Hill, Campbell, Gilroy, Woodland, Saratoga, Alum Rock, and Milpitas. In 1978-79, Proposition 13 reduced library revenue by 50%, which caused drastic cutbacks in library hours and staff.
During the 1980s, Ms. Campbell oversaw the library's first computerized circulation system.
She retired in 1985, but continued to be active in the County, serving on the County Personnel Board, and volunteering at the information desk in the County Government Building. She was Past President of the Country Women's Club in Campbell, and served on the Santa Clara County Grand Jury. She continued to be a library advocate, working on Santa Clara County's 1994 Measure A campaign that restored library hours and staff and again on the parcel tax renewal campaign in 2004. She was treasurer of the Friends of the Campbell Library for twenty years.
She was a past president of CALTAC, the California Association of Library Trustees and Commissioners, and a lifetime member of the American Library Association and California Library Association. She was a Board member of the California State Library Foundation and a Past President of CLA. As recently as 2004, she was still attending CLA conferences.
A memorial service has been tentatively scheduled for Saturday, April 28, at 11:00 AM at St. Marks Episcopal Church in Santa Clara.
Posted on April 23, 2007 2:06 PM | Permalink