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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Eve Babitz and the Hollywood Library
Novelist and essayist Eve Babitz grew up in Hollywood. Her work focuses on essay memoirs centered in Los Angeles, particularly in the sixties and early seventies.
Interview With an Author: Ryan La Sala
Ryan La Sala grew up in Connecticut, but only physically.
Celebrate Valentine’s Day With Steamy Romance Cover Art
One of the coolest things about working at the Central Library is getting to be around our amazing collection. We have amassed quite a few books since we opened our doors in 1926—the Fiction collection alone boasts over 375,000 titles!
Books From the Border
In recent days, the literary world has been rocked by controversy.
Interview With a Zine Maker: Valerie J. Bower
Valerie J. Bower is a Los Angeles based photographer. Valerie describes her work as dream-like, monochrome street photography that shows a softer, feminine point of view on typically masculine themes and subjects.
Going for the Gold: African Americans and the Games of the XXIII Olympiad
We have to wait until the summer of 2028 for Los Angeles to host the Games of the XXXIV Olympiad, but when we do, we will join Paris and London as only the third city to host the Summer Games three times, having previously done so in 1932 and famously, in 1984.
Coming to America: Miri Koral's Immigrant Story and the Role of Yiddish in Her Life
Miri Koral is the Founding Director of the California Institute for Yiddish Culture and Language and a native speaker of Yiddish. She will be facilitating the book discussions for the Yiddish Book Center's "Coming to America" Reading Groups for Public Libraries, starting in February.
Interview With an Author: Chris McCormick
Chris McCormick is the author of a collection of stories, Desert Boys, winner of the 2017 Stonewall Book Award.
Kobe's Bookshelf
Kobe Bryant’s post-basketball life was dedicated to inspiring young people through storytelling.
Helping Everyone to Help Themselves - Andrew Carnegie and Libraries
Andrew Carnegie was born in Dunfermline, Scotland, in 1835 and immigrated to the United States in 1848. Landing in Allegheny, Pennsylvania, 13-year-old Andrew Carnegie started working as a bobbin boy, changing spools of thread in a cotton mill. He worked twelve hours a day, six days a week.






![Gina Hemphill, granddaughter of famed Olympian Jesse Owens, carries the torch into the Coliseum for the opening ceremonies on July 28, [1984]. Photo credit: Anne Knudsen, Los Angeles Herald Examiner Collection Gina Hemphill running with the olympic torch](https://www.lapl.org/sites/default/files/styles/whats_on_list_120x90/public/blogs/2025-11/1984olympicheader.jpg?itok=SMPVIDA7)



