Past Due: 100 Years of Central Library - Episode 6: Hidden Spaces and Forgotten Places (Part 2)
Episode Details
Past Due: 100 Years of Central Library - Episode 6: Hidden Spaces and Forgotten Places (Part 2)
In this episode of the Past Due podcast, our host discovers rarely seen spots in the Central Library and learns a fascinating story spun from the resources in the Business & Economics Department’s collection.
Follow along with Sheridan as he interviews Senior Building Operating Engineer, Jesnin (Jessy) Yu, about forgotten places in Central Library, chats with Librarian, Danielle Ball, about the library’s Labor Movement collection, and climbs up to a hidden level of Central Library to find out if there really is a "secret library apartment" in the building.
Resources Mentioned
Los Angeles Central Library: A History of Its Art and Architecture / photographed by Arnold Schwartzman; written by Stephen Gee; foreword by John F. Szabo.
African American Labor History resources discussed in the podcast:
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A. Philip Randolph and the Struggle for Civil Rights / Cornelius L. Bynum
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When Negroes March: The March on Washington Movement in the Organizational Politics for FEPC, / with a new preface by Lewis M. Killian
Participant(s) Bio
Danielle Ball is a librarian in the Business & Economics Department. She has worked at LAPL since 2018 and has an MLIS degree from UCLA.
Jesnin Yu worked as a Building Operating Engineer at City Hall for 15 years and began in January 2024 as a Senior Building Operating Engineer at the Central Library. He has been Acting Chief BOE since November 2025.
Moderator: Sheridan Jay Cazarez is a librarian in the Exploration & Creativity Department at the Los Angeles Public Library. He's presented on bilingual early literacy programming, translation practices, and labor advocacy at the REFORMA National, California Library Association, Seguimos Creando Enlaces, and American Library Association conferences. Find his original translations of songs and rhymes for young children on his website, Bibliocuentos.com.
