Who was Octavia E. Butler? Octavia E. Butler was a science fiction author who had a very close connection to the Los Angeles Public Library and made an impact on our organization, community, and the…
When the library closed almost three months ago, I checked out eight books. I’ve finished two of them. This is unusual for someone who reads everywhere—in checkout lines, on the Metro, at Dodger…
Being vegetarian or vegan; is it a diet or a way of life? As we've seen, the world is constantly changing and so is the way of life for many of us Angelenos. Do you know that the library has many…
We hope you’ve enjoyed the scrumdiddlyumptious poems created by Los Angeles Public Library staff members as part of our celebration of Asian Pacific Heritage Month. Thanks for sticking with us all the…
John Scalzi is a New York Times bestselling and award-winning speculative fiction author whose work has been translated into more than 20 languages. He has also worked as a creative consultant for the…
In a world of 24-hour news cycles and constant social media updates, it can seem impossible to escape our current stressful reality. So voluntarily choosing to read even more about world-ending…
Here they are—the last few tankas written by Los Angeles Public Library staffers in celebration of Asian Pacific Heritage Month. It’s not too late to join in the fun by posting your own poem to…
As we head into Memorial Day Weekend and the feasting that often involves, consider this latest group of poems as your appetizer. Written by staff members of the Los Angeles Public Library as part of…
Marie Benedict is a lawyer with more than ten years’ experience as a litigator at two of the country’s premier law firms and for Fortune 500 companies. She is a LibraryReads Hall of Fame Recipient and…
Among the many outstanding films available to patrons on Kanopy are several classics from the golden age of Japanese cinema, the 1950s. One of the greatest films in the history of world cinema is…
Mientras estás en casa durante la cuarentena, los días pasan, la incertidumbre crece, los pagos se acercan, la sensibilidad aumenta y la distancia social nos afecta ya sea porque extrañamos a nuestros…
The Los Angeles Public Library has launched the Chinese e-magazine platform through Taiwan’s ebook and e-magazine provider HyRead. HyRead has more than 100 Chinese e-magazine titles in traditional…
As part of our celebration of Asian Pacific Heritage Month, Los Angeles Public Library staffers were challenged to write a haiku or tanka poem about their favorite food. We unveiled the first group of…
Many of the world’s great operas have been adapted from or inspired by, classic and popular works of fiction, poetry, and drama. In some cases, an opera’s librettist follows the source material’s plot…
A common complaint leveled against film adaptations is that they often cut too much of the original material to fit their run time. This is where miniseries and television shows can really shine. With…
History is more than government documents, statistical reports, and newspaper headlines. History isn’t just the chyrons running across the bottom of your television screen. It is the stories of…
Last week we threw out a new poetry prompt for the month of May, asking Los Angeles Public Library staff to write a poem about their favorite food or dish. Since May is Asian Pacific Heritage Month…
As the COVID-19 pandemic has reshaped Los Angeles, the Los Angeles Public Library has to adapt to a different world. The library is participating in the City of Los Angeles’ Disaster Service Worker…
Are you ready for a springtime of cherry blossoms? Like the countless petals carpeting the ground beneath the cherry tree, there are many ways to enjoy celebrating the return of warm sunshine, cool…
California, the golden state, has always inspired people. Over the years movies have been made, songs have been recorded, and books written. But are there any children’s books about our fair state…
In the year 2000, Pantone, a company most known for its precision color matching system, announced its very first Color of the Year. By 2007, the December announcement of Pantone’s Color of the Year…
The name hydroponics for the practice of growing plants using only water, nutrients and a growing medium—i.e., without soil—was coined in 1937 by UC Berkeley scientists Dr. William Setchell and Dr…
After receiving a BFA in Creative Writing from Emerson College, Margarita Montimore worked for over a decade in publishing and social media before deciding to focus on the writing dream full-time. Now…
Over this past month, the Octavia Lab has transformed itself from a hobbyist makerspace to a light manufacturing powerhouse to help produce PPE (personal protective equipment) face shields for the…
