A trip down memory lane
In the mid-70s the library was not in “Zel’s Liquor Store in Del Mar Plaza.” It was a couple doors down from Zel’s, next to the Bank of America.
There was also Big Bear Market, Del Mar Floral and Chiquita Abbott, of course.
And there were lovely views of the water from the parking lot.
I worked in the library back in those days. My goal was to become a librarian, so in 1970 at the (under) age of 13 I started as a volunteer page. I worked three hours a day for free for every summer until I was hired at 16 as a library clerk ($2.15 / hour or so).
Physically it was a small library, but we could order books from the entire system, so it was larger than the four walls implied. It was a good library for residents, students and the summer beach crowd.
I worked at the library until I left for UC Berkeley in 1976. I had wonderful mentors in the librarians who supervised and trained me.
I went on to become the director of a law firm library in Northern California, and enjoyed a career in librarianship for almost 30 years.
Although I did not work in the current building, I was baptized there, so it all comes around…
Thanks for the article, and the trip down memory lane.
Nora Levine,
Oakland
