On This Day: May 15

Great moments in history and popular culture happen every day, and ON THIS DAY will share a few of them with you. We'll also point you to related resources in our collection, helping you to discover classic films, musical favorites, and historical tidbits. The primary focus will be on our e-material -- e-books, e-audio, and downloadable and streamable music and film -- but physical books and DVDs will also be part of the fun.

	On this day in 1567, composer Claudio Monteverdi was born. His 1607 opera L'Orfeo is among the earliest operas still being performed, and his several books of madrigals remain popular with choral singers. The Canadian Brass performs a variety of short Monteverdi works on this collection, available for streaming or download at Freegal.
	On this day in 1856, L. Frank Baum was born. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is by far his best known book, but he wrote more than fifty novels, including a dozen continuations of the Oz story. Many of Baum's Oz books are available in e-audio format from Hoopla.
	And on this day in 1890, katherine Anne Porter was born. Her Collected Stories won both the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award in 1966; they're available in print or as an e-book from OverDrive.

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Through its Central Library and 72 branches, the Los Angeles Public Library provides free and easy access to information, ideas, books and technology that enrich, educate and empower every individual in our city's diverse communities.

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Join a “Friends” group. There is a “Friends of the Library” group for most branch libraries and departments of the Central Library. Friends groups raise money for improvements to their library through memberships, used book sales and other activities. For more information click here or talk to your local librarian.

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