The 1930s were indeed difficult years for the Los Angeles Public Library, as they were for the whole country. The library’s budget, hours of operation, and staffing levels all suffered at a time when…
Early twentieth-century Los Angeles was a hotbed of art and music. Painters, sculptors, musicians, craftsmen, writers, photographers, dancers, and the motion picture industry were thriving. Gladys…
Dive into the Los Angeles Public Library’s photo collections, both historic and current, to find the most unique photos documenting the history of Los Angeles or current happenings at LAPL. On this…
This year, pop-up books are playing an outsized role in the celebration of the Central Library’s Centennial, with several landmark projects taking shape through this unique medium
The Los Angeles Public Library is celebrating 100 years of the Central Library, making this the perfect time to spotlight the exceptional librarians who have overseen this remarkable building and all…
In this episode of the Past Due podcast, we delve into some of the preservation issues Central Library has encountered in its history, including the mystery of a lost mural, and how the Library…
Faith Holmes Hyers was the awe-inspiring woman behind the successful publicity campaign for the 1926 opening of Central Library. Read on for a few of her notable projects.
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…
Moving the contents of the Los Angeles Public Library from the seventh, eighth, ninth, and tenth floors of the Metropolitan Building, the library’s home from 1914 to 1926, to its new Central Library…
Los Angeles Public Library is celebrating 100 years of the Central Library, making this the perfect time to spotlight the exceptional librarians who have overseen this remarkable building and…
As we spend the year commemorating the centennial of Central Library, it's also necessary to acknowledge a less celebratory, but still important milestone—the 40th anniversary of the 1986 Central…
In late November 1970, Abigail Lois Cleaves, a Los Angeles resident of more than fifty years, passed away. Gail (as she was more commonly known) had been a Civil Engineer with the Los Angeles County…
Here are fifteen things you never knew about early librarian Mary Foy! Foy had only a high school degree when she became librarian of the Central Library in 1880. She apprenticed under older…
