Candace Clark

Born in Muscatine, Iowa, Candace Clark grew up there with her family attending both elementary and high school in a town for which she never lost her love. When it came time for college, Candace moved to Scottsdale, Arizona, where she attended Arizona State University. Candace began working for the Scottsdale Public Library System in 1975 as a secretary. Candace gradually moved up the career ladder at the library, and in 1986 she became a Youth Services Librarian, where in addition to selecting materials for the library’s youth services collection, she was involved in programming for children, teens, and adults. In particular, Candace’s entertaining story times for kids were a perennial favorite with several generations of library customers.

While working full time for the Scottsdale Public Library System, Candace continued her academic pursuits by attending the University of Arizona’s College of Library Science. In the 1990s, Candace became co-host of “Booktalk,” a monthly City of Scottsdale based cable television show, in which she shared her uniquely perceptive reviews of adult fiction and nonfiction titles as well as conducting engaging interviews with a variety of local and nationally recognized authors. In addition to serving as a chair of the Children’s Services Roundtable for the Arizona Library Association, Candace was a co-author of two editions of The Reader’s Advisory Guide to Mystery Fiction published by the American Library Association. In addition to her work at the library, Candace was very involved in other events hosted by the City of Scottsdale including being an announcer for the Parada Del Sol parade for 10 years and co-hosting the City of Scottsdale tree lighting ceremony for 3 years,

Throughout her life, Candace was a passionate advocate for books and reading, and she shared her literary love with thousands of other readers working at the Scottsdale Public Library System and through the programs she presented for her library colleagues and the bookish cable television show, which became must-watch TV with knowledgeable viewers in Scottsdale. In addition to her life-long advocacy for books and reading, Candace was a devoted pet parent and strong supporter of animal charities. She loved old movies, and the music of Frank Sinatra. Despite living the majority of her life in Arizona, she was loyal to Muscatine, the “Pearl Button Capital of the World” and spoke about it with love. Those wishing to honor Candace’s memory are encouraged to make a donation in her name to Barb’s Dog Rescue in Mexico www.barbsdogrescue.org .