As the Los Angeles Public Library celebrates Women’s History Month, it’s appropriate to remember Tessa Kelso, sixth city librarian for Los Angeles (1889-1895). Kelso may not have been the first female…
Mallory O’Meara is a film producer and the co-host of the “Reading Glasses” podcast. She is also a lifelong fan of classic horror. In her debut as an author, O’Meara reveals the long and purposefully…
National Deaf History Month, which runs from March 13 to April 15, celebrates deaf history and promotes awareness of American deaf culture. The celebration spans two calendar months to include several…
“We’ll all grow up someday, Meg; we might as well know what we want.”—Louisa May Alcott, Little Women Visionary women have always been among us. Women have contributed to science, history, philosophy…
The Big Read this year is The Beautiful Things That Heaven Bears by Dinaw Mengestu. A few of the themes running through this award-winning novel about an Ethiopian immigrant are displacement, cultural…
Chinatown in Los Angeles has been demeaned and misunderstood for about a century and a half. It has never been considered the equal of the much more famous entities in San Francisco or New York but it…
High school is a place where many teens, like myself, have felt like popularity outshines the importance of school. Teens often believe that high school is some type of hierarchy like the films, High…
I must confess I didn't really know that much about the history of Mardi Gras, but with a little bit of librarian research, I found out some interesting facts. Mardi Gras—which means Fat Tuesday in…
A picture may say 1,000 words, though there is possibly another story lurking just outside the frame. At first glance, these selections from the LAPL Photo Collection might appear to be a random…
A quiet, gentleman, he found his ‘voice’ in his designs. When others attempted to silence him with racism, he ‘spoke’ as others could not—for himself, and for his community. He also found his voice in…
As a senior who is officially done with college apps, (Yay!), I want to share how I survived the dreadful and scary college application process.Research the schools you want to apply to. When I say…
Over 25 years ago, while organizing the photo collection of the Los Angeles Public Library, librarian Carolyn Kozo Cole found many photos that documented the city’s political and professional history…
Ah Valentine's Day! The day to celebrate romantic love.For some, it's a day of love and kisses to look forward to with your sweetheart, for others, well, not so much.So whether you are on the side of…
Black History Month is a time to remember the contributions that African Americans have left on our country and world. This year’s theme, Black Migrations, explores the impact the African diaspora has…
Amanda Sthers was born in Paris and now lives in Los Angeles. She is the bestselling author of ten novels, and her debut English-language film, Madame, was released in America in 2018. The French…
There will be a small sporting event played in Atlanta on Sunday, February 3, matching the New England Patriots and the Los Angeles Rams. You may have heard of it. It’s OK, you can tell people you’re…
The Jekyll Island Chronicles is a graphic novel series that combines historical elements with steampunk to create an alternate take on post-World War I history. The Jekyll Island Chronicles: A Machine…
Every year our library sends a team of Spanish speaking librarians to the Guadalajara International Book Fair in Guadalajara, Mexico to purchase Spanish books. The selected books are new material from…
Have you been by the corner of First Street and Olive recently? Remember that ugly structure where you parked when you had jury duty? Familiarly referred to as the Erector Set or Tinker Toy garage…
Marie Benedict is a lawyer with more than ten years’ experience as a litigator at two of the country’s premier law firms. She is a magna cum laude graduate of Boston College with a focus in History…
The Children’s Literature Department of Los Angeles Central Library is so vast and awe-inspiring, one of its most fascinating offerings could be easily overlooked. Displayed each year for a limited…
It's a rare instance when a junior high school yearbook has implications on the social history of a city so when you see it, it’s pretty amazing; the winter 1937 edition of the John Burroughs Junior…
Arwen Elys Dayton is the best-selling author of the Egyptian sci-fi thriller Resurrection and the near-future Seeker Series, set in Scotland and Hong Kong. She spends months doing research for her…
Dacre Stoker is the great grand-nephew of Bram Stoker and the international best-selling co-author of 2009’s Dracula the Un-Dead, the official Stoker family endorsed sequel to Dracula. He also co…
