Central Library Turns 100

Celebrating a Century of the Light of Learning

“Dedicated in July 1926, the Los Angeles Central Library became an instant architectural icon and guiding light of learning for the City. For this significant milestone, the Los Angeles Public Library is pleased to present Central 100, a year-long celebration that brings together residents from all corners of Los Angeles.”

There will be all sorts of programs and special exhibits all year in celebration of this important milestone.  Let me draw your attention to two programs of interest that folks can interact with at their local branches:

Card Catalog Stamp Collection
Pick up a set of historic card catalog cards at any Library location. Carry them with you. Stamp them at our branches. Make them your own. (image above is our stamp … pretty right!)

Beanstack Challenge
Pick up a coloring page at any Library location to participate in this special color-by-number challenge! You will need to use the Beanstack app to enroll and track your progress.  Learn how to sign up here 

Keep track of all the programs and special events going on here

Monthly Trivia Question (Answer)….

 

This month the question was what do you know about the “Hymn to the Nile”?  I will answer by quoting from the introduction to the source of this question:

“The “Hymn to the Nile“ is an ancient Egyptian composition also known as the “Hymn to the Inundation“ or the “Hymn to Hapy,” dating to the early twentieth century b.c.e. and attributed to a scribe called Khety. Consisting of about two hundred of lines of verse written in short columns, it is an unusual sort of hymn in that it was not part of any known temple ritual. Hapy, god of the Nile River and its flood, had no temple and perhaps no priests or temple ritual particular to his worship. Nonetheless, he was a very popular and extremely important god. This hymn was likewise very popular, and many ancient copies exist. It was no doubt sung or recited at festivals in honor of the god and the Nile’s life-giving inundation.”

Certainly, a very old hymn.

The question, and answer, were found in Milestone Documents of World Religions. Milestone Documents of World Religions is a Salem History e-Book. It examines key sacred texts and fundamental documents of the world's primary religions, from ancient times to present.  Find it on the library’s Research & Homework page under “M” and access it with your library card.

Monkey Around

If you’re looking for interesting urban fantasy that is peopled by creatures originating from the myths of peoples who did not originate in Europe then Monkey Around by Jadie Jang is just what you’re looking for.  Maya McQueen is a shape shifter.  An unusually powerful one and she does not know her origins. She was a foundling.  She knows she can take any shape and that her default one is a monkey. There have been a string of shape shifter murders and as someone who is driven to involve herself in everything (blame monkey curiosity) as well as someone who works in a shape shifter sanctuary she gets involved in trying to find the killer.  At the same time she’s looking to help the recently entangled with gangs younger sister of a long time crush. The two cases connect unexpectedly and Maya must make some tough decisions.

The book is particularly fascinating because the shape shifters peopling its pages find their origins in Aztec, Indonesia, and Asian mythology. I would recommend it to anyone with a taste for fantasy.

Programming Coming up This Week

Note that the library will be closed on Monday for the Presidents’ Day Holiday.

Find the in person programs at our branch during the week below (all programs are in person at our branch unless otherwise noted). Visit our online calendar for our complete program selection….

Sunday
1:00-5:00 Tech Help

Monday
Library closed for Presidents’ Day

Tuesday
10:00-3:30 Tech Help

Wednesday
10:30 Baby & Toddler Storytime
3:00 STAR Reader: Miss Katherine
4:00-6:00 Walk-In Tutoring

Thursday 
10:00-3:30 Tech Help
10:30 Baby & Toddler Storytime
4:00 Shrinky Dink Fun

Friday
3:00 DIY Archives: Virtual Info Session (https://www.eventbrite.com/e/diy-archives-virtual-info-session-tickets-1981867965435)

Saturday
9:30-12:30 VITA Income Tax Preparation (Free)

Catch up with us on various sites...

LAPL platforms:
Facebook: www.facebook.com/lapubliclibrary/
Instagram: www.instagram.com/lapubliclibrary/
YouTube: www.youtube.com/losangeleslibrary

Arroyo Seco Social Media:
Blog: arroyoseco5.blogspot.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/ArroyoSecoLibrary
Instagram: www.instagram.com/arroyosecolapl

LAPL’s Digital Collection: Menus

 

Today we’re looking at a menu for the Beverly Hills restaurant Dolores.  This is a lunch/dinner menu from 1968.  Dolores was located at 8531 Wilshire Blvd. Find the full menu here: https://tessa2.lapl.org/digital/collection/menus/id/7/rec/3

Vernal Shrinky-Dinks

 

Feeling crafty? Swing by on February 19 at 4 pm and design your own amulet or magnet out of shrinky-dink plastic and then watch the power of heat transform them.  We have plenty of material for this program so bring all your friends.

Everyone is welcome!

Arroyo has an Archival Scanner (take advantage)

 

Ready to scan those old photos, slides & negatives? You're closer than you think, with resources at the Arroyo Seco Library.  Appointments are available on Tuesdays & Thursdays between 10 and 2 and on Sunday between 12 and 4.  Sign up at lapl.org/sommunity/diy

Programming Coming up This Week

Find the in person programs at our branch during the week below (all programs are in person at our branch unless otherwise noted). Visit our online calendar for our complete program selection….

Sunday
1:00-5:00 Tech Help

Monday
3:00-5:00 DOT TAP Information Table
4:00 Kids’ Program

Tuesday
10:00-3:30 Tech Help
10:00 Basics of Taxes (Library’s YouTube)
3:00 STAR Reader: Jeffrey

Wednesday
10:30 Baby & Toddler Storytime with ASL
3:00 STAR Reader: Miss Katherine
4:00-6:00 Walk-In Tutoring
6:00 Círculo de Lectores

Thursday 
10:00-3:30 Tech Help
10:00 Fundamentos de los Impuestos (Library’s YouTube)

Saturday
9:30-12:30 VITA Income Tax Preparation (Free)
11:00 STAR Reader: Jeffrey

Catch up with us on various sites...

LAPL platforms:
Facebook: www.facebook.com/lapubliclibrary/
Instagram: www.instagram.com/lapubliclibrary/
YouTube: www.youtube.com/losangeleslibrary

Arroyo Seco Social Media:
Blog: arroyoseco5.blogspot.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/ArroyoSecoLibrary
Instagram: www.instagram.com/arroyosecolapl

Monthly Trivia Question…

 This month the question is what do you know about the “Hymn to the Nile”?

Love Talker

Laurie, a history grad student, gets an alarming call about her beloved Great-Aunt Lizzie.  Lizzie has had an encounter with the faeries.  Alarmed she sets off for the family homestead in Maryland where she finds her half-brother who is similarly alarmed.  Together they set out to find just what is going on with Lizzie and wind up ferreting out a sinister plot and old family secrets.

If you enjoy a light mystery with overtones of romance (not too many) then you’ll enjoy this book, The Love Talker by Elizabeth Peters.

Programming Coming up This Week

Find the in person programs at our branch during the week below (all programs are in person at our branch unless otherwise noted). Visit our online calendar for our complete program selection….

Sunday
1:00-5:00 Tech Help
2:00 Game Day: Expanded

Monday
4:00 Kids’ Program

Tuesday
10:00-3:30 Tech Help
3:00 STAR Reader: Jeffrey

Wednesday
10:30 Baby & Toddler Storytime with ASL
3:00 STAR Reader: Miss Katherine
4:00-6:00 Walk-In Tutoring

Thursday 
10:00-3:30 Tech Help
10:30 Baby & Toddler Storytime

Saturday
9:30-12:30 VITA Income Tax Preparation (Free)
11:00 STAR Reader: Jeffrey

Catch up with us on various sites...

LAPL platforms:
Facebook: www.facebook.com/lapubliclibrary/
Instagram: www.instagram.com/lapubliclibrary/
YouTube: www.youtube.com/losangeleslibrary

Arroyo Seco Social Media:
Blog: arroyoseco5.blogspot.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/ArroyoSecoLibrary
Instagram: www.instagram.com/arroyosecolapl

LAPL’s Digital Collection: Book Plates

 

Today’s book plate is for Gerald Adrian’s books.  It is a small black and white plate featuring a mask with the letters "FPA" below it. Find the image here

Game Day: Expanded

 

Who: Gamers and Would Be Gamers
What: We have acquired a slew of games. Join us and we’ll select one, figure out the rules, and dive in
When: Sunday, February 1 at 2 PM
Where: Arroyo Seco Library, 6145 N. Figueroa Street.
Why: For fun, to meet people, to challenge yourself…

Questions: Give us a call at 323-255-0537

Arroyo Book Club’s February Pick…

 

The Arroyo Book Club will be reading The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store by James McBride for our February discussion. As the catalog description puts it:

"In 1972, when workers in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, were digging the foundations for a new development, the last thing they expected to find was a skeleton at the bottom of a well. Who the skeleton was and how it got there were two of the long-held secrets kept by the residents of Chicken Hill, the dilapidated neighborhood where immigrant Jews and African Americans lived side by side and shared ambitions and sorrows… When the truth is finally revealed about what happened on Chicken Hill and the part the town's white establishment played in it, McBride shows us that even in dark times, it is love and community--heaven and earth--that sustain us."

Stop by the branch to pick up a copy to read. You will find them in the usual location, just ask if you don’t know where that is.  

We will come together to discuss the book on Saturday, February 28 at 3 p.m. It will be a hybrid meeting so you have the option of attending in person or via Zoom. If you’d like to join us via Zoom send an email to ayosco@lapl.org so we can get the link to you.