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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Journalistic Integrity or Getting The Shot?
The Society of Professional Journalists' Code of Ethics states that ethical journalism "should be accurate and fair", and journalists should be "courageous in gathering, reporting and interpreting information." Journalists are expected and encouraged to get the story and, as long as it's the und
Renee Petropoulos & The Seven Centers Ceiling
When you meet your docent in the main lobby of the Central Library, the first art piece you'll see is the vibrant mural overhead that spans the vaulted ceiling. Our daily, free, hour-long art and architecture tour starts right there.
Tessa Kelso: Sinful City Librarian
Banned Books Week offers the opportunity to introduce one of the most colorful librarians in city history and her battle with the moralistic mugwumps of fin de siecle Los Angeles.
The Man Behind the Rotunda Murals
One of the most breathtaking stops on our daily Docent-led Art and Architecture Tours is the majestic Grand Rotunda, encircled by the pastel-toned murals by Dean Cornwell. Eighty years after their unveiling, the 12 panels of scenes from California history still feel modern.
Yiddish: a Living Language
When in the second half of the last century Isaac Bashevich Singer was awarded a Noble Prize for Literature, he raised an interesting question: “People ask me often, ‘Why do you write in a dying language?’” And he tried to explain: “There is a quiet humor in Yiddish and a gratitude for every day of life… e
Resurrecting The Valley's Stories Through Photographs
The Los Angeles Public Library has been the custodian of the photo collection from the Valley Times newspaper (1946-1970) for over thirty years, since receiving as part of the donation from the Security Pacific National Bank in 1981.
Reasons to Visit the History Department in Person
While new technology points toward every reference resource being digitized and on your hand-held something there are library beauties that can only be savored in person, in your actual hand kind of experiences.
If These Walls Could Talk: How to Research Murder, Crime and Scandal at the Los Angeles Central Library
I first learned of the Doheny Greystone tragedy while curating an exhibition of manipulated photographs taken from the library’s Herald Examiner photographs.
King, the Kennedys, & Los Angeles
In the early 1960s, John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Robert Kennedy symbolized hope, change, and the dawn of a new era for a country that was caught in the clutches of Cold War fear, and in many cases, clinging to certain outdated social attitudes.
A Medieval Manuscript in the Rare Books Collection
Many visitors to Central Library are curious to know what the oldest book in our collection might be. In recent months we have been fortunate enough to find out a great deal of new information about a very special item in our Rare Books collection.