Whether you visit in person or shop online, Los Angeles Public Library's Library Store should be your go-to for painless holiday shopping. I hate malls and love libraries so its the perfect solution for me. They have Los Angeles-centric gifts (including a nifty Los Angeles map totebag that is ironically made in Brooklyn), autographed books (including the great Los Angeles in Maps written by LAPL's own Glen Creason and based on the exhibit he curated in late 2008/early 2009, L.A. Unfolded: Maps from the Los Angeles Public Library), library-centric gifts (including t-shirts, magnets, buttons, mugs and totebags that profess 'Libraries are cool, check it out!', banned book bracelets, the Bookopoly and Liebrary board games, etc.) The only drawback is that I fall victim to the classic 'one for you, two for me' and tend to overspend on gifts for myself. Of course, I don't feel TOO bad - all sales from the Library Store support the Los Angeles Public Library. I recommending checking it out in person so you can marvel at the awesome bookworm that beckons all to the store.
