Janice Schmidt
Stanislaus, CA

• Appointed by the Council of California County Law Librarians

• Current Term Extends through June 30, 2030

Janice Schmidt has been the Director of the Stanislaus County Law Library since 2012, and has dedicated most of her professional life to public service.

A graduate of Humphrey’s College, Ms. Schmidt worked from in the private and public sector, where she served as a Legal Services Administrator, and as an advocate for Juvenile Justice and Minor’s Counsel programs.

After taking on Law Librarianship as a career in 2012, Ms. Schmidt became actively involved in broader access to justice projects, locally and statewide. She served as a liaison for the California Legal Professionals Association, developing model outreach programs to identify specific legal needs in vulnerable communities and to eliminate the socio-economic barriers that prevent them from understanding and exercising their rights. She also served as a member of Judicial Council Committee for Providing Access and Fairness, working on multiple subcommittees geared toward the areas of education, language, and physical disability.

Ms. Schmidt has been an active member of the Council of California County Law Librarians (CCCLL) for more than ten-years, serving as Chair of the Legislative Advocacy Committee for four years, and has been a member of the Executive Board for more than ten years. She is currently the President Emeritus of CCCLL, and is a strong and vocal advocate for the role Law Libraries play in our system of justice. She is passionate about innovative strategies to ensure that all Californians have access to needed reliable, accurate and timely legal information.

She attributes her dedication to public service to her parents, who, as pharmacists, delivered free basic medications and supplies to migrant farm-workers in the Central Valley in the late 1960s, learning early on the meaningful difference a single person can make in the life of another.