The history of the library in Santa Maria goes back to March of 1896 when the Ladies Literary Club (now the Minerva Club) formed a committee to find a home for the group’s circulating library. The library was destined to see many homes, including the reception room of a dental office, and the lobby of the Post Office, then located in the Jones Building.

By 1899 the group had a thriving library of 268 books and was able to pay its member librarian, Minnie Stearns, $1 per month. Four years later the group saw fit to increase her salary to $2.

Still, though, the women were hoping that the city would one day have an official library of its own.

March 1901: The women sent the first of many letters to Andrew Carnegie, asking him to consider Santa March as a site for one of his libraries.

April 1907: After a delegate from the Minerva Library Club appeared before the City Council, the men voiced their favor of the project by appointing a Board to work with the ladies. The Board then applied for a Carnegie grant in the amount of $10,000.

June 17, 1907: The City Council approved plans for the new library.

August 1908: Construction began on the new Carnegie Library.

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October 1908: The cornerstone of the new library was laid by Dr. William T. Lucas.

April 1909: Construction was completed on the new library and a special room was appropriated to the Minerva Club in appreciation for all of its work.

May 8, 1909: the first use of the Carnegie Library took place when the ladies of the Minerva Library Club held their annual Blossom Festival in the newly opened building.

May 1909: The Carnegie Library, containing 1500 books (600 of which were donated by the Minerva Club) opened with Minnie Stearns serving as librarian with a salary of $70 per month. The library was open weekdays from 1 to 5:30 and from 7 to 9 at night.

June 4, 1909: The Minerva Library Club held its first meeting in the new library.

Dec. 13, 1910: A Santa Maria branch of the Santa Barbara County Free Library opened with Minnie Stearns as custodian.

Jan. 1, 1934: Mrs. Stearns retired after 25 years of service with the city’s library, and Dorothy Dudley, from Colorado Springs, Colorado, took her place as head librarian.

July 1, 1937: Elizabeth May was appointed to the Library Board by Mayor Marion B. Rice.

November 1939: After determining that the Carnegie Library was unable to meet the needs of the growing population, the City Council ordered architects Crawford and Davis to draw up plans for a new library.

July 15, 1941: The new library, one of the last buildings to be constructed before World War II, was dedicated.

1958: Mezzanine and storage space was added to the library.

Summer of 1961: Branch libraries were taken over by the Santa Maria library at Orcutt, Guadalupe, Los Alamos and Cuyama.

1963: Plans were drawn up for a children’s room to be extended from the south side of the library towards Broadway.

1964: The Black Gold Cooperative Library System, one of 15 cooperative library systems in California, was formed for the purpose of increasing the quality and quantity of Library services throughout the shared resources.

Sept. 29, 1964: The Carnegie Corporation of New York sent a letter to the city stating that it could not provide funds to restore the building for a historical museum, stating that grants for library buildings had been discontinued in 1917.

Sept. 10, 1964: Robert Grogan, City Administrator, in citing many fire hazards and deficiencies under the Public Safety Code, sent a notice to the City Council, recommending that the Carnegie Library be demolished.

1965: Citing the high costs of rehabilitating the Carnegie Library, the City Council voted to demolish it.

Jan. 19, 1965: The city agreed to lease the Carnegie Library to the Historical Society for $1 per year in spite of the building’s not meeting earthquake standards. A stipulation was made that whenever the Society ceased using the building for the display of objects of historical value it would revert back to the city.

July 16, 1966: The new Los Alamos branch library was dedicated.

August 1966: The stately Carnegie Library was demolished.

July 15, 1968: James A. Petrella was appointed as assistant city librarian.

Sept. 1, 1968: Dorothea Dudley Nelson, Santa Maria’s second librarian, retired.

Sept. 1, 1968: James A. Petrella was appointed as Santa Maria‘s third librarian.

May 15, 1969: The library was moved temporarily to the old Safeway building at Chapel and McClelland. When construction on the library was completed in June of 1970, it moved back.

July 12, 1970: Third addition to the library, to house the fiction collection and community room on the 1st floor and the reference department on the 2nd floor, was dedicated.

August 1976: A bookmobile service was added.

1979: James Patrella retired.

January 1980: Jack Buchanan became the library’s fourth librarian.

The city’s population at that time was 39,685.

1988: Los Alamos library service was discontinued.

1993: The Cuyama Branch Library, located on Highway 166, was condemned.

January 1994: The Cuyama Library moved into a refurbished trailer.

By 2000: Without adequate space to store its many books, nor adequate wiring capacity for public computers, and a general lack of room, the City Council approved a Library Master Plan.

January 2002: The Guadalupe Branch Library, located for many years at the old Veterans Building at 1005 Guadalupe St., was moved to its new facility at 4719 W. Main Street.

June 2002: The City applied for state grant funding in order to finance a new library. This would be built in the parking lot immediately south of the current library. The city was awarded a $16.39 million grant from the Library Construction Act of 2000 and the Council agreed to finance the balance.

December 2002: Francisco Pinneli was appointed City Librarian, succeeding Jack Buchanan. Pinneli had formerly served as Nevada County’s Librarian.

Feb. 15, 2005: The City Council awarded a $5.1 million contract to A.J. Diani Construction Company for the construction of a new 2-level parking structure.

March 2005: Construction began with the reconstruction of the City Hall parking lot.

March 2, 2006: The new two-story parking structure opened.

May 2, 2006: Construction began on the new 59,850 square-foot , 2-story library at 421 S. McClelland, the largest civic project undertaken by the city in its 100 year history.

December 2006: Iron workers began piecing together 800 tons of structural steel, creating the shape of the future library

June 2007: The half-way point of construction of the new library was reached.

December 2007: Francisco Pinneli retired as the city’s 5th librarian and Jack Buchanan returned as the Interim City Librarian.

Dec. 27, 2007: Friends of the Santa Maria Public Library organization announced an award of $20,000 by the Hutton Foundation to initiate a retail business in the new library.

April 12, 2008: Jack Buchanan officially resumed his position as city librarian.

Aug. 23, 2008: Santa Maria’s third library is scheduled to open.