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Author Scott Thomas and his latest novel, Midwestern Gothic
Author Scott Thomas and his latest novel, Midwestern Gothic
Daryl M., Librarian, West Valley Regional Branch Library, September 19, 2024

Scott Thomas is the Stoker-nominated author of Kill Creek, which was selected by the American Library Association's reader committee as the top horror book of 2017,...

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Women taking a photograph

The Eye and the Image: Women Photographers of Los Angeles

Photo Friends, Friday, March 2, 2018

As March is Women’s History Month, it is only appropriate to celebrate some of the women who helped document Los Angeles – big events and small moments – for all to see.


Devil in a Blue Dress movie poster (1995)

African American Mystery Writers and Their African American Detectives

Janice Batzdorff, Librarian, Monday, February 26, 2018

They work in Watts, Chicago, Oakland, and Harlem, go on vacation in Provincetown, MA, and return home to Otis, South Carolina (pop. 5,000). They include an Ivy League professor, an ex-CIA agent, a volatile ex-cop, a journalist, a domestic worker, an attorney, a Ph.D.


portion of the front page of the liberator magazine

The Liberator: Librarians Work to Preserve Early 20th-Century L.A. African American Newspaper

Neale Stokes, Senior Librarian, Digital Content Team, Friday, February 23, 2018

The Liberator is an early 20th-century Los Angeles African American newspaper, whose owner and editor, Jefferson Lewis Edmonds, was formerly enslaved and spent twenty years in bondage before Emancipation.


Golden State Mutual Life Insurance Building

The Golden State Mutual Life Insurance Company

Kelly Wallace, Librarian, History Department, Thursday, February 22, 2018

In 1920s Los Angeles, insurance companies considered black Americans to be either uninsurable or extremely high risk. As a result, black people were routinely denied coverage or charged exorbitant premiums.


image

A City Engaged: Los Angeles in the Civil Rights Era

Christina Rice, Senior Librarian, Photo Collection, Sunday, February 18, 2018

Los Angeles has always been a city of rich cultural diversity, often serving as a beacon of prosperity for migrants and immigrants around the globe.


 The Cheltenham Alphabet Spout, designed by Jud Fine, which graces LUCID, the middle of three ponds in Spine.

Bertram Grosvenor Goodhue Part III: Cheltenham Comes to Central Library

Central Docents, Central Library, Saturday, February 17, 2018

After nearly a century, the Los Angeles Central Library still reflects architect Bertram G. Goodhue's vision that buildings should be “literate,” using symbolic expressions to make them distinctive and eternal.


a photograph of Maria Callas wearing black looking straight into the camera

A Tribute to Maria Callas: Scenes From Verdi's "La Traviata" & Bellini's "Norma"

Alan Westby, Librarian, Art, Music & Recreation Department, Wednesday, February 14, 2018

Callas was not only an esteemed opera diva, she was one of the 20th century's most prominent celebrities, socialites, and an international icon of style and fashion.


graphic of chocolates in a heart box, raw chocolate and stacked chocolate candies in wrappers

See's Candy: A Sweet Success Story

Kelly Wallace, Librarian, History Department, Wednesday, February 14, 2018

“All you need is love. But a little chocolate now and then doesn't hurt.” ―Charles M. Schulz.


book cover graphic of The Zohar

Book of Radiance

Social Science, Philosophy and Religion Department, Central Library, Friday, February 9, 2018

The Zohar (aka Sefer Ha-Zohar, or "Book of Radiance") is considered the key religious text of Kabbalah, or Jewish mysticism.


Louise Redding McClain

Getting Respect: Louise Redding McClain and Her Brother, Otis Redding

Kurt Thum, Librarian, Digitization and Special Collections , Monday, February 5, 2018

Louise Redding McClain, a retired Los Angeles Public Library librarian, is the sister of the great singer/songwriter Otis Redding.


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