The Library will be closed on Thursday, November 28 & Friday, November 29, 2024, in observance of Thanksgiving.

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Author Emily C. Hughes and her first book, Horror For Weenies: Everything You Need to Know About the Films You're Too Scared to Watch
Photo of author: Oliver Scott Photography
Daryl M., Librarian, West Valley Regional Branch Library, November 21, 2024

Emily C. Hughes (she/her) wants to scare you. Formerly the editor of Unbound Worlds and TorNightfire.com, she writes about horror and curates a list of the year's new scary books. You can find her writing elsewhere in the...

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Pictorial Map of Mexico, Fischgrind Publishing, Cartographer Miguel Gomez Medina, 1931

Pictorial Map of Mexico

Glen Creason, Librarian III, History & Genealogy Department, Tuesday, September 15, 2015

This masterpiece of pictorial mapping is an original from the earliest printings of the famed Fischgrind Publishing house and one of the mysterious Miguel Gomez Medina’s greatest works.


View of Central Library and the Maguire Gardens

Fountains Add History, Peace to Library’s Gardens

Central Docents, Central Library, Thursday, August 27, 2015

Our free art and architecture tours of L.A.'s Central Library begin by taking a look at the exterior of the historic 1926 Goodhue Building.


Hindi

Hindi: One and One Make Eleven

International Languages Department, Central Library, Tuesday, August 25, 2015

What is one takeaway one? Can the answer be expressed in Roman numerals? As a number, the concept of zero has come to us by way of Arabic, all the way from India. In India, the preferred official language is Hindi (हिन्दी), which belongs to the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European language family.


Entry from Bernice Kimball's "Streets of Los Angeles"

The Long and Winding Story of the Streets of Los Angeles

Kelly Wallace, Librarian, History Department, Tuesday, August 4, 2015

What’s in a name?  The stories behind the names of the streets, avenues, roads, and boulevards of Los Angeles reveal much about the history of our city, from its beginning as a tiny pueblo to today's sprawling metropolis of 3.8 million.  A list of L.A.


Everett Robbins Perry 1876-1933

Everett Robbins Perry: Librarian with a Vision

Central Docents, Central Library, Monday, July 20, 2015

Our free art and architecture tour of L.A.'s central library begins in the 1926 Goodhue Building, famous for its sculpture, murals, painted ceilings, and wonderful architecture. The building has another great feature, something which seems ordinary to modern eyes, but which wasn't ordinary at all in 1926.


Take a Trip Down Memory Lane

Social Science, Philosophy and Religion Department, Central Library, Tuesday, July 7, 2015

Recently, we found a folder tucked away at the back of a file cabinet in the Social Science, Philosophy & Religion Department.


Literary Fences surrounding the Central Library

The Literate Fence: Championing Books, Reading & L.A.'s Diversity

Central Docents, Central Library, Saturday, June 13, 2015

The elegant Literate Fence, on the Fifth Street side of the library, was designed by Washington state industrial metal artist Ries Niemi (b.1955). The Deco design, completed in 1993, echoes the design of the original library building.


Map: West Hollywood: the Community in Action, Community Business Promotions, 1993

A Pictorial Map of West Hollywood

Glen Creason, Librarian III, History & Genealogy Department, Monday, June 1, 2015

To honor LGBT Heritage Month at the library we present this pictorial map of West Hollywood, one of America’s most enlightened cities. Street maps from as recently as the 1970’s ignored the growing power of the gay community in the little city between Beverly Hills and Hollywood.


Franke Goode, 17, left; Francis J. Socwell, 18.

Pride in the Face of Adversity: How the Herald Examiner Covered the LGBTQIA Community in Los Angeles

Christina Rice, Senior Librarian, Photo Collection, Monday, June 1, 2015

As a mainstream news outlet in the 20th Century, it's probably not surprising that the Los Angeles Herald Express (later Herald Examiner) newspaper gave little coverage to the LGBTQIA community.


Jewish American Heritage Month

Social Science, Philosophy and Religion Department, Central Library, Wednesday, May 20, 2015

On April 20, 2006, President George W. Bush declared that May would be Jewish American Heritage Month after resolutions passed unanimously in both the House and Senate. President Barack Obama further supported this resolution with his own proclamation issued on April 30, 2013, in which he stated:


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