Description
Eugenie Candau was a librarian for SFMOMA from 1968 to 1970 and 1975 to 2001, and Librarian and Registrar of the Permanent Collection from 1970 to 1975. Candau was a Humanities major at San Francisco State and worked as an assistant to Anneliese Hoyer in the library in the mid-1950s. In 1961 she went to Europe for three years and upon returning to the United States began working at the library at UC Berkeley in the SEARCH division of the Bancroft. Candau later returned to the museum in 1968 and worked on developing library acquisitions policies until she became the registrar and librarian of the permanent collection in 1970. In 1973 Candau helped organize museum staff into a union alongside Bonnie Hughes and was subsequently removed from her position. She then decided to enroll in the library school at UC Berkeley and returned in 1977 to work with Henry Hopkins on an exhibition of fine bookbinding. Candau remained at the museum as a librarian until her retirement in the early 2000s. In this interview, Candau discusses her first job at SFMOMA, college education, time in Europe, working at UC Berkeley, work with the Women's Board, union organizing, library budgets, computerization, Gerald Nordland, Henry Hopkins, Jack Lane, changing management approaches at the museum and her retirement.