Wednesday, April 25, 2012
Glen Creason on Central Library's 1986 fire
Glen Creason, Los Angeles Public Library's Map Librarian and author of the great book Los Angeles in Maps, remembers the April 29, 1986 arson fire at the Central Library. I loved his article in the Los Angeles Downtown News.
Saturday, April 14, 2012
National Library Week in Los Angeles - Check Out a Librarian
Today is the last day of National Library Week 2012. Libraries deserve more than a week of recognition. We should realize how valuable they are now and always have been. Every day, libraries and the people that work in them, are putting information into the hands of people that didn't have it when they entered. That is an incredibly powerful gift to give, and its given free and freely. Even when the library is not open their online databases can be accessed and many have 24/7 Chat Reference. I've met some incredible people that work at the library, thank you for the job you're doing. You are making a difference in people's lives daily.
I remember a day at the library book sale at the La Canada Flintridge branch of the Los Angeles County Library. I picked up a book titled Check Out a Librarian by Johanna E. Tillman. I bought the book, took it home and proceeded to read it that night. It was an amazing tale of Ms. Tillman's of librarianship: graduation of Berkeley's School of Librarianship in 1937, part-time job at UCLA's School of Librarianship, assistant librarian at San Marino Public Library, working her way up at the Los Angeles County Library to become the Technical Reference Librarian, creating the Engineering Library at UCLA and finally Director of Libraries for Caltech. Her tale, and the way she wrote it, was inspirational and practical. Its not easy to find a circulating copy at the library but definitely worth trying.
I remember a day at the library book sale at the La Canada Flintridge branch of the Los Angeles County Library. I picked up a book titled Check Out a Librarian by Johanna E. Tillman. I bought the book, took it home and proceeded to read it that night. It was an amazing tale of Ms. Tillman's of librarianship: graduation of Berkeley's School of Librarianship in 1937, part-time job at UCLA's School of Librarianship, assistant librarian at San Marino Public Library, working her way up at the Los Angeles County Library to become the Technical Reference Librarian, creating the Engineering Library at UCLA and finally Director of Libraries for Caltech. Her tale, and the way she wrote it, was inspirational and practical. Its not easy to find a circulating copy at the library but definitely worth trying.
Friday, April 13, 2012
National Library Week in Los Angeles - Pre-LAPL libraries
The Los Angeles Public Library was established in 1872. According to Ludwig Louis Salvator's 1929 book, Los Angeles in the Sunny Seventies: A Flower From the Golden Land, the membership fee to join was $250, plus 50 cents per month or $5 per year. Members were allowed to take out two volumes at a time. If the membership fee was still charged today it would the equivalent of $6000 to join, and $125 per year dues. Thankfully they went 'free' in 1891.
Bernadette Dominique Sotter's 1993 book, The Light of Learning: An Illustrated History of the Los Angeles Public Library,lists three earlier attempts at libraries in Los Angeles. In 1844, a group known as Los Amigos del Pais opened Amigos Hall, a dance hall with a reading room on the side. Donated books and magazines could be read there for free. It wasn't long before funding gave out. In 1856 it was the Mechanic's Institute that opened a small reading room which lasted until 1858. A Library Association was formed in 1859 and opened a reading room in the Arcadia Block. There was a $5 initiation fee and dues were $1 per month. The money collected funded the library and assured it a longer life than the previous efforts by Los Amigos del Pais and the Mechanic's Institute. That was until the Civil War killed it. Read all about it at a library near you! **UPDATE: I think there was a typo in Salvator's Los Angeles in the Sunny Seventies, other sources cite the membership fee as $2.50.
Bernadette Dominique Sotter's 1993 book, The Light of Learning: An Illustrated History of the Los Angeles Public Library,lists three earlier attempts at libraries in Los Angeles. In 1844, a group known as Los Amigos del Pais opened Amigos Hall, a dance hall with a reading room on the side. Donated books and magazines could be read there for free. It wasn't long before funding gave out. In 1856 it was the Mechanic's Institute that opened a small reading room which lasted until 1858. A Library Association was formed in 1859 and opened a reading room in the Arcadia Block. There was a $5 initiation fee and dues were $1 per month. The money collected funded the library and assured it a longer life than the previous efforts by Los Amigos del Pais and the Mechanic's Institute. That was until the Civil War killed it. Read all about it at a library near you! **UPDATE: I think there was a typo in Salvator's Los Angeles in the Sunny Seventies, other sources cite the membership fee as $2.50.
Thursday, April 12, 2012
National Library Week in Los Angeles - Theosophical Library Center
Its still National Library Week!
Thanks to the fact that the Los Angeles Public Library digitized some of their Los Angeles city directories, I can browse library history in Los Angeles. And thanks to the late 19th and early 20th century city boosterism, Los Angeles attracted a lot of 'seekers' of all sorts of things.
The city directories of 1909 through 1929 yielded libraries devoted to religion and the metaphysical, including: the Metaphysical Circulating Library and Free Reading Room, Christian Science Reading Rooms, Brotherhood of Light Library, Christian Science Church of the New Generation Library, Church of Divine Power Library and Reading Room, Rosicrucian Fellowship Study Center Library, First Church of Christ Scientist Reading Room, Vedanta Centre Library, and the Theosophical Library and Lecture Hall.
The Theosophical Society still maintains the Theosophical Library Center in Altadena, which is open daily from 2pm to 4:30 p.m. and closed during the month of August. Although mostly a reference library they do make some material available for circulation. Learn more about their fascinating collection on their website.
Thanks to the fact that the Los Angeles Public Library digitized some of their Los Angeles city directories, I can browse library history in Los Angeles. And thanks to the late 19th and early 20th century city boosterism, Los Angeles attracted a lot of 'seekers' of all sorts of things.
The city directories of 1909 through 1929 yielded libraries devoted to religion and the metaphysical, including: the Metaphysical Circulating Library and Free Reading Room, Christian Science Reading Rooms, Brotherhood of Light Library, Christian Science Church of the New Generation Library, Church of Divine Power Library and Reading Room, Rosicrucian Fellowship Study Center Library, First Church of Christ Scientist Reading Room, Vedanta Centre Library, and the Theosophical Library and Lecture Hall.
The Theosophical Society still maintains the Theosophical Library Center in Altadena, which is open daily from 2pm to 4:30 p.m. and closed during the month of August. Although mostly a reference library they do make some material available for circulation. Learn more about their fascinating collection on their website.
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
Bookmobiles in Los Angeles
Today is National Bookmobile Day, which is part of National Library Week.
I wondered about the history of bookmobiles in Los Angeles. A trip through history via the Los Angeles Times did not disappoint. The Los Angeles Public Library unveiled the first bookmobile that catered exclusively to children at the Los Angeles Children's Show at the Shrine Auditiorium in September 1949. Little Toot, as the bookmobile was affectionately known (the LAPL Photo Collection has a photo here), could carry 2500 books and initially made stops to 20 elementary schools in congested areas of Los Angeles.
Little Toot's big brothers were busy as well. By 1953, three of LAPL's four bookmobiles serviced the San Fernando Valley, an area growing so fast in the post-war years that library branches couldn't be built fast enough. LAPL's 'Traveling Branch' bookmobile service made 28 stops a week and, by 1957, were circulating almost 500,000 volumes a year. A 1961 article mentions that bookmobile librarians don't bat an eye when a patron rides up on horseback in a rural part of the Valley, but do object to patrons leaving books on the street before the bookmobile's arrival.
In 1959, according to the Los Angeles Times, the Los Angeles County Library had six bookmobiles in addition to it's services in 88 communities. By 1972 (and with a budget of $13 million for the year), the County Library had 94 community libraries, serviced 21 libraries in jails and hospitals, and operated nine bookmobiles!
The Los Angeles Public Library has a great collection of their bookmobile photos, which you can find here. This bookmobile photo from LAPL's 1972 centennial celebration is my favorite, check out the Peanuts-esque booth that reads 'Mind-Bending' with the 5 cents sign crossed out.
You should also check out Library History Buff's bookmobile homage which contains links to Pinterest and Flickr.
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
National Library Week in Los Angeles - LA Law Library
National Library Week has me thinking about special libraries in Los Angeles, both past and present, that I don't know much about. Today I chose the Los Angeles Law Library. According to their website they have been around since 1891 and are the second largest public law library in the United States! Their main library building, in the Los Angeles Civic Center, is nearly 175,000 square feet. In addition to the main building they have branch collections in courthouses in Long Beach, Norwalk, Pomona, Santa Monica and Torrance. Its also interesting to note they have public library partnerships with the Van Nuys branch of Los Angeles Public Library, the Pasadena Public Library, the Compton Library, and the Lancaster Regional Library. An individual can pay a security deposit of $140 and check out up to seven items for five days. Late fees are $2.00 per item, per day, with a cap of $60. The details of their circulation policy can be found on their website.
I did a little digging in the Los Angeles Times and found a notice of incorporation for the Law Library of Los Angeles which took place on August 5, 1886. It's first location was in the tower of the County Courthouse (a photo of which can be found in the LAPL Photo Collection). That must have been a separate law library, as the Times on April 11, 1891 announced that an ordinance had been passed to establish a county law library. Litigants would be charged an extra dollar for every case, suit, or appeal filed with the County Clerk to fund this new library. I'll continue to dig when I have more time.
I did a little digging in the Los Angeles Times and found a notice of incorporation for the Law Library of Los Angeles which took place on August 5, 1886. It's first location was in the tower of the County Courthouse (a photo of which can be found in the LAPL Photo Collection). That must have been a separate law library, as the Times on April 11, 1891 announced that an ordinance had been passed to establish a county law library. Litigants would be charged an extra dollar for every case, suit, or appeal filed with the County Clerk to fund this new library. I'll continue to dig when I have more time.
Monday, April 9, 2012
Welcome to National Library Week!
Thanks to Los Angeles' Metro Library & Archive I learned there was a Los Angeles Railway employee library. Check out this link to a nifty ad on their Flickr stream.
Sunday, February 26, 2012
A visit to a library off the beaten path - Laton
Normally when we say 'off the beaten path' on this blog we would mean 'not near Los Angeles'. Whenever we travel, wherever we go, we're always checking out the local libraries. Laton's library is a case of 'off the beaten path' as in not (too) near Los Angeles and also, if-you-didn't-know-to-hunt-for-it-you-might-not-find-it.
Fresno County Public Library's Laton branch is easily the smallest branch I've been to in quite a while. But what it lacks in space (and books) it more than makes up for in charm.
We were pointed in the direction of Laton by a family member that knows our love for libraries and mentioned that a Carnegie library had been lovingly restored about 10 years ago. We got in the car and drove to Laton's 1.9 square mile of town. Luckily for us the library was open. They are currently only open four days a week, for four hours on each of those days.
When we pulled up I hoped aloud for two things -- that something/someone would tell me the branch history, and I also wanted to know how old their beautiful oak tree 'neighbor' was. A library fact sheet we picked up told me a little of each. As did the helpful librarian on duty, who was proud to show off the library and it's historical artifacts.
From the library's fact sheet I learned that the library was officially opened on June 18, 1904. I also learned it was not a Carnegie library (the community could not meet eligibilty conditions for Carnegie) but was gifted to the community by the city's founders, L.A. Nares and W.E.G. Saunders.
A quick search through the Los Angeles Times and I discovered Nares and Saunders were real estate men selling land from the old Laguna de Tache Spanish grant (in Laton), I'm sure a library would have been a nice draw. Nares was also a bit of a daredevil. He established many records for quickest automobile trip from Los Angeles to San Francisco. The fastest time I found for him making the trip was twenty-four hours and fifty minutes in 1905 and driving a Pope-Toledo. Soon after he was vowing to do it again and make it in twenty and a half hours!
Back to the library - one of the neatest features of the libary is a three-sided fireplace, that was a new one on me. Another neat feature was the beautiful oak tree out back, which, according to the fact sheet, is 150 to 200 years old. Another helpful handout they have is a four sided guide to Laton History Sources, all available in some manner at the Laton library. I wish we would have looked at it closer before leaving, I would have loved to have seen two of the boosterism items - the 1919 Chamber of Commerce's Where would you like to live? If you can live where you like, it is likely you would like to live in Laton and Nares and Saunders 1899 A different California. Laguna de Tache grat: something more than climate and scenery: a place for the small farmer and man of moderate means. If you're ever near Laton, California, on the right day (check their website for hours), and have an interest in libraries and/or history I wholeheartedly recommend the Laton library.
Fresno County Public Library's Laton branch is easily the smallest branch I've been to in quite a while. But what it lacks in space (and books) it more than makes up for in charm.
We were pointed in the direction of Laton by a family member that knows our love for libraries and mentioned that a Carnegie library had been lovingly restored about 10 years ago. We got in the car and drove to Laton's 1.9 square mile of town. Luckily for us the library was open. They are currently only open four days a week, for four hours on each of those days.
When we pulled up I hoped aloud for two things -- that something/someone would tell me the branch history, and I also wanted to know how old their beautiful oak tree 'neighbor' was. A library fact sheet we picked up told me a little of each. As did the helpful librarian on duty, who was proud to show off the library and it's historical artifacts.
From the library's fact sheet I learned that the library was officially opened on June 18, 1904. I also learned it was not a Carnegie library (the community could not meet eligibilty conditions for Carnegie) but was gifted to the community by the city's founders, L.A. Nares and W.E.G. Saunders.
A quick search through the Los Angeles Times and I discovered Nares and Saunders were real estate men selling land from the old Laguna de Tache Spanish grant (in Laton), I'm sure a library would have been a nice draw. Nares was also a bit of a daredevil. He established many records for quickest automobile trip from Los Angeles to San Francisco. The fastest time I found for him making the trip was twenty-four hours and fifty minutes in 1905 and driving a Pope-Toledo. Soon after he was vowing to do it again and make it in twenty and a half hours!
Back to the library - one of the neatest features of the libary is a three-sided fireplace, that was a new one on me. Another neat feature was the beautiful oak tree out back, which, according to the fact sheet, is 150 to 200 years old. Another helpful handout they have is a four sided guide to Laton History Sources, all available in some manner at the Laton library. I wish we would have looked at it closer before leaving, I would have loved to have seen two of the boosterism items - the 1919 Chamber of Commerce's Where would you like to live? If you can live where you like, it is likely you would like to live in Laton and Nares and Saunders 1899 A different California. Laguna de Tache grat: something more than climate and scenery: a place for the small farmer and man of moderate means. If you're ever near Laton, California, on the right day (check their website for hours), and have an interest in libraries and/or history I wholeheartedly recommend the Laton library.
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
Los Angeles Library Tour - Moorpark Library
An intriguing invitation came across the Calix listserv on January 26th inviting people to visit the Moorpark Library for their 100th anniversary celebration on January 28. We quickly switched up our plans and headed to Moorpark.
Moorpark is a small town off highway 23 west of Simi Valley. The library was warm and inviting and so was the staff. I was glad to see a few displays up in the library which gave a bit of history.
One display was a copy of the Moorpark Enterprise newspaper dated Thursday, August 1, 1912. There was an article announcing that a Ventura County Public Library was being opened at the Women's Club and would be staffed by Mrs. E.C. Graham every Friday from 2pm to 5pm. The list of books that could be found at the library when it opened (about 50-60 titles) seems pretty progressive - Wireless Telegraphy, When Patty Went To College, Women Wage Earners, Dominant Dollar and Some Famous American Schools. It was interesting to see that topics of relevance today, including timely gadgetry, were equally relevant then.
This was the first celebration event of their centennial year with more events each month, leading up to the big day, August 1, 2012. The next event is at 2pm Sunday, February 12 and will feature memories of Moorpark with the Moorpark Historical Society. They are also having a big Friends of the Library used book sale through February 15.
Moorpark is a small town off highway 23 west of Simi Valley. The library was warm and inviting and so was the staff. I was glad to see a few displays up in the library which gave a bit of history.
One display was a copy of the Moorpark Enterprise newspaper dated Thursday, August 1, 1912. There was an article announcing that a Ventura County Public Library was being opened at the Women's Club and would be staffed by Mrs. E.C. Graham every Friday from 2pm to 5pm. The list of books that could be found at the library when it opened (about 50-60 titles) seems pretty progressive - Wireless Telegraphy, When Patty Went To College, Women Wage Earners, Dominant Dollar and Some Famous American Schools. It was interesting to see that topics of relevance today, including timely gadgetry, were equally relevant then.
This was the first celebration event of their centennial year with more events each month, leading up to the big day, August 1, 2012. The next event is at 2pm Sunday, February 12 and will feature memories of Moorpark with the Moorpark Historical Society. They are also having a big Friends of the Library used book sale through February 15.
Sunday, January 15, 2012
My Neighborhood Library - How Do I Choose?
Growing up in Clovis, California, we had one library. By default, that was our neighborhood library. Now that I live in Los Angeles the lines dividing neighborhoods and communities are blurred. I’ve got three libraries that qualify as ‘my neighborhood library’.
The Northridge Branch has been our go-to library since we moved to the Valley. Located near the intersection of Reseda Blvd and Nordhoff Street, it’s a great little library. The staff is always friendly, there is a nice selection of new books near the front, and a fair number of computers available for the public’s use. There’s even a Wienerschnitzel right next door when I’m in the mood for really good fast food fries.
The Mid-Valley branch in North Hills is slowly taking over as our go-to. It’s a regional branch so it is much larger, and it used to be open on Sundays before the cutbacks. It’s also right off the 405 and has a large parking lot. They have a nice sprinkling of everything – magazines, new books, huge children’s section, decent-sized foreign language sections (Korean, Chinese and Spanish), and a great selection of music cds. They also have a Friends of the Library bookstore and a great book sale several times a year.
Our third ‘neighborhood’ library is the West Valley Regional Branch which is on Vanowen near Wilbur in Reseda. It has a nice children's section, public computers, comfortable places to read, and an impressive display case in the entry. It’s also just a hop, skip and a jump from Las Fuentes!
One great thing about living in the San Fernando Valley is that I have a dozen libraries to choose from in a ten mile radius of my house. This includes Los Angeles Public Libraries, a Los Angeles County Library, and CSUN’s great Oviatt Library. No worries if you aren’t a student at CSUN, you can gain checkout privileges (with a few restrictions) by joining their Friends of the Library group.
The Northridge Branch has been our go-to library since we moved to the Valley. Located near the intersection of Reseda Blvd and Nordhoff Street, it’s a great little library. The staff is always friendly, there is a nice selection of new books near the front, and a fair number of computers available for the public’s use. There’s even a Wienerschnitzel right next door when I’m in the mood for really good fast food fries.
The Mid-Valley branch in North Hills is slowly taking over as our go-to. It’s a regional branch so it is much larger, and it used to be open on Sundays before the cutbacks. It’s also right off the 405 and has a large parking lot. They have a nice sprinkling of everything – magazines, new books, huge children’s section, decent-sized foreign language sections (Korean, Chinese and Spanish), and a great selection of music cds. They also have a Friends of the Library bookstore and a great book sale several times a year.
Our third ‘neighborhood’ library is the West Valley Regional Branch which is on Vanowen near Wilbur in Reseda. It has a nice children's section, public computers, comfortable places to read, and an impressive display case in the entry. It’s also just a hop, skip and a jump from Las Fuentes!
One great thing about living in the San Fernando Valley is that I have a dozen libraries to choose from in a ten mile radius of my house. This includes Los Angeles Public Libraries, a Los Angeles County Library, and CSUN’s great Oviatt Library. No worries if you aren’t a student at CSUN, you can gain checkout privileges (with a few restrictions) by joining their Friends of the Library group.
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