D.J. Waldie is a historian of Los Angeles, a memoirist, and a translator. He is the author of Holy Land: A Suburban Memoir (1995),...
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5 Great Resources for Seniors at the Library
Guest Blogger, Tuesday, August 21, 2018
Celebrate National Senior Citizens Day at the Library!
Interview With an Author: Anne Youngson
Anne Youngson had a long, successful career in the motor industry before taking an early retirement to focus on her writing. She is currently studying for a PhD at Oxford Brookes. Anne and her husband live on a farm in Oxfordshire, where they have a two-acre garden open to the public.
What Back to School Looked Like in Vintage Los Angeles
It's the day lots of adults look forward to, and lots of kids dread. After a summer of fun, it's time to start setting that alarm again, shop for supplies, and go back to school!
Interview With an Author: Ruthanna Emrys
Ruthanna Emrys lives in a mysterious manor house in the outskirts of Washington DC with her wife and their large, strange family.
Amelia Earhart – Flying Through the Blue and Into History
Photo Friends, Thursday, July 19, 2018
While attending the 1907 Iowa State Fair in Des Moines, ten-year-old Amelia Mary Earhart saw her first airplane. She was not impressed. She described it as “a thing of rusty wire and wood and not at all interesting” and asked her father, Edwin Earhart, to take her back to the merry-go-round.
D is for Disneyland!
July 17 is the 63 anniversary of Disneyland's opening day. This Disney loving librarian is planning on celebrating and won't be the only one either; it will probably be super crowded, and there will be lots of other pass holders eager to commemorate the day.
What a Day at the Beach Looked Like in Vintage Los Angeles
It's summertime in Los Angeles and the mercury is rising. Are you beach ready? Have you packed your sunscreen, hats, coolers, snacks, umbrellas, folding chairs, kites, frisbees, bikes, trikes, boogie boards and blankets? Do you know how you'll get there?
![A close-up shot is lined up by the director and cameraman during a Maverick shoot on the Warner Bros. lot in Burbank, [1961]. Valley Times Collection](https://www.lapl.org/sites/default/files/styles/whats_on_list_120x90/public/blogs/2025-10/backyardheader.jpg?itok=DzfYneHe "A close-up shot is lined up by the director and cameraman during a Maverick shoot on the Warner Bros. lot in Burbank, [1961]. Valley Times Collection")
The Industry In Our Backyard
In January 1947, KTLA Channel 5, Los Angeles's first commercial television station, aired its first broadcast, and the Herald Express newspaper was there to report the milestone event.
Making the Monster: The Science Behind Mary Shelley's Frankenstein
Dr. Kathryn Harkup is a chemist and author. Kathryn completed a Ph.D. then a postdoc at the University of York before realizing that talking, writing and demonstrating science appealed far more than spending hours slaving over a hot fume-hood.
Pride in the Name of Comics
The world of comics has long been filled with stories written by young men, for young men, featuring men throwing punches in a never-ending fight for justice, revenge, etc. But times have changed.