Del Mar's Craftsman-style library at 1309 Camino del Mar has served the community for 30 years. The City Council marked the milestone Tuesday, Oct. 6, with an official proclamation.

Mayor Tracy Martinez presented the proclamation at the council's 4:30 p.m. meeting at Del Mar Town Hall, honoring both the library's anniversary and retiring Branch Manager Polly Cipparrone, according to the city's meeting agenda.

The building itself predates its life as a library by decades. Architect John Austin designed it in 1914 for the St. James Catholic Church. Austin also designed the old Del Mar Hotel.

The congregation moved to a larger site in Solana Beach in 1966, and the building cycled through uses as restaurants, an art school and commercial offices before the city purchased it, according to the Friends of the Del Mar Library.

Securing the building took years of fundraising. The nonprofit Friends of the Del Mar Library, formed in 1982, raised more than $350,000. Combined with funds from a local development and a city bond issue, the total reached $1 million, enough for the city to buy and remodel the structure starting in 1993.

The library moved in when renovations finished in 1996. The renovation, designed by architect Joe Nelle, earned a 1997 Orchid Award for Historic Preservation from the San Diego Architectural Foundation.

Before 1996, the Del Mar branch of the San Diego County Library had a nomadic history. It began in 1914 in the private home of its first librarian, Mrs. E.J. Hindle. By 1977, it had landed in a trailer in the old City Hall parking lot, where it stayed for 19 years.

The proclamation also honored Cipparrone, who served as branch manager from 2014 to 2026 and has worked as a San Diego County librarian for 28 years. A San Diego native and Monte Vista High School graduate, she earned a political science degree from the University of Puget Sound and spent seven years in banking before switching to library work.

During her tenure in Del Mar, Cipparrone launched a seed library program, a bluegrass concert series and an art exhibit program featuring local artists. She also served on the city's Arts Advisory Committee.

The library draws roughly 4,000 visitors a month, the proclamation stated. In 2025, more than 32,000 people visited and checked out more than 240,000 items across all formats.

In 2003, local artists and volunteers created a mosaic mural on the library's west wall. The mural incorporates brick, terra cotta tile, rocks, fossils, railroad spikes, horseshoes, dishes and a piece of the Berlin Wall.

Coming up

A public 30th anniversary celebration is scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 10, from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the library. The event will feature a Balinese gamelan chamber ensemble and a Zimbabwean mbira performance, plus an instrument "petting zoo" with instruments from around the world, according to the San Diego County Library event listing.

The Center for World Music and the Del Mar Foundation are sponsoring the program.

The Del Mar Library is at 1309 Camino del Mar. The phone number is (858) 755-1666.