Regina Minudri

Minudri has a bachelor's degree from the San Francisco College for Women and received her Master of Library Science from the University of California, Berkeley in 1959.[3]

At the beginning of her career Minudri worked at a series of public libraries in Northern California, including at Menlo Park Public Library from 1959 to 1962, Santa Clara Library from 1962 to 1968, and as the assistant county librarian of Alameda County Library from 1972 to 1977.[3] In 1977 she became director of the Berkeley Public Library, a position she held until her retirement in 1994.[1] While head of Berkeley Public Library, Minudri worked towards the successful passage of four library tax measures to provide a steady stream of reliable funding for the library, as well as leading a successful campaign for a $49 million bond measure.[5]

In 1997 Minudri was elected as the acting chief of the San Francisco Public Library system.[4] She served in the role of San Francisco City Librarian, receiving high praise for improving the morale at the library system,[6][7][8] until she suffered a stroke in May 1999 that prevented her from continuing.[9]

She also taught as a lecturer for library schools of the University of California, Berkeley and San Jose State University.[1]

Minudri served as president of the California Library Association in 1981, testifying on behalf of both public and academic libraries in the state legislature.[1]

Minudri became president of the American Library Association in 1986. Minudri campaigned for president on the issues of validating the ALA-accredited Master of Library Science and increasing the visibility of pay equity for librarians as a national issue, drawing on her experience of winning a special equity adjustment for Berkeley Public Library staff.[3]

In 1974 Minudri received the American Library Association's Grolier Foundation Award for the promotion of reading by children and young people.[10]

Minudri was one of the people elected into the California Library Hall of Fame in 2012.[2]