Dorothea Dudley Nelson (August 23, 1903 – November 17, 1994) was an American librarian. She was director of the Carnegie Library in

Santa Maria, California Santa Maria (Spanish language, Spanish for "Mary, mother of Jesus, St. Mary") is a city in Santa Barbara County, California, United States. Located on the Central Coast (California), Central Coast of California, it is approximately northwest o ...

for 34 years, and was inducted into the California Library Hall of Fame in 2019.

Early life and education

Dorothea Dudley was born in

Colorado Springs, Colorado Colorado Springs is the most populous city in El Paso County, Colorado, United States, and its county seat. The city had a population of 478,961 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, a 15.02% increase since 2010 United States Census, 2 ...

, the daughter of Charles Henry Dudley and Fannie May Holroyd Dudley. Her father was a lawyer. She earned a degree in French and history, and trained as a librarian, at the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

."Dorothea Nelson"
California Library Hall of Fame, 2019 Inductees.

Career

As a young woman, Dudley worked in her father's law office, and taught music at the Colorado State Institute for the Blind and Deaf. From 1934 to 1968, she was director of the Carnegie Library in Santa Maria, California. During her tenure the Santa Maria library built a new location in 1941, and expanded its buildings twice. "Every time we put on an addition, it seemed more crowded than before," she recalled. She was also active in improving library services in nearby communities, including Cuyama, Guadalupe, Orcutt, and Los Alamos. She was a member of the California Library Association and president of the association's Black Gold district. Nelson was president of the Minerva Club of Santa Maria from 1944 to 1945, and president of the

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in 1956. She was chair of the board of directors for the local

American Red Cross The American National Red Cross is a Nonprofit organization, nonprofit Humanitarianism, humanitarian organization that provides emergency assistance, disaster relief, and disaster preparedness education in the United States. Clara Barton founded ...

chapter from 1954 to 1956, and she was elected president of the Santa Maria Valley Historical Society in 1968. She also taught dance classes and supported the local

Camp Fire Girls Camp Fire, formerly Camp Fire USA and originally Camp Fire Girls of America, is a co-ed youth development organization. Camp Fire was the first nonsectarian, multicultural organization for girls in America. It is now gender-inclusive, and its p ...

program. In 1970, she was named Citizen of the Year by the Santa Maria Chamber of Commerce.

Personal life

Dorothea Dudley married Paul Lancourt Nelson, a city official and swim coach in Santa Maria. They had a daughter, Diana. Her husband died in 1952, and she died in 1994, at her daughter's home in

Fort Worth, Texas Fort Worth is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Tarrant County, Texas, Tarrant County, covering nearly into Denton County, Texas, Denton, Johnson County, Texas, Johnson, Parker County, Texas, Parker, and Wise County, Te ...

. A library conference room was named in her honor. She was inducted into the California Library Hall of Fame in 2019.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nelson, Dorothea 1903 births 1994 deaths People from Colorado Springs, Colorado People from Santa Maria, California American librarians University of California, Berkeley alumni