We are a branch of the Los Angeles Public Library located in Highland Park. Keep yourself updated on our doings here...
You are probably familiar with the quote “give me liberty or give me death” from revolutionary Patrick Henry but can you give us another quote from that same speech?
The Arroyo Book Club book for July is In the Country by Mia Alvez. In the Country is a collection of nine short stories centering the experience of Filipinos. It is an “insightful picture of the Filipino diaspora: exiles and emigrants and wanderers uprooting their families to begin new lives in the Middle East and America--and, sometimes, turning back.”
Fingers crossed the branch will reopen this month. I am thinking I might try making the July meeting a hybrid, both Zoom and in person, if we’re open. We’ll see. In any event contact us at ayosco@lapl.org if you'd like to attend and we'll get the meeting specifics to you.
You will need to order the book for yourself. This link will take you to the page where you can place a hold on the physical book. Interested in the ebook? There are a few available. Go here to check one out.
We will meet to discuss the book on July 23 at 3:00.
This time asked what would a “chubby the champ” burger cost you in the 1950’s? The answer is the burger would cost 45₵. You could upgrade to a meal that included a chubby the champ burger, French fries, and coleslaw for 65₵. The restaurant serving this meal was the Clock Broiler chain with locations that included the relatively local 5 Pasadena Ave, South Pasadena, CA 91030. The question & answer were found in the library’s online collection of local menus.
The Menu Collection is a list of menus from Los Angeles, other cities, steamships, airlines, and banquets. Part of the Library's "Visual Collections", images of the actual menus are being added to the records. You can access the menu collection via the library’s Research & Homework page (https://www.lapl.org/collections-resources/research-and-homework). You’ll find it under M
This was an exciting book plot wise that had interesting things to say about how the reader and writer collaborate to create the world we read. I would recommend the book to readers who enjoy a fantastical world and are not literalists.
This time around let’s ask what would a “chubby the champ” burger cost you in the 1950’s?
Check out this tutorial courtesy of JPL to learn how to make a handy wheel style moon phases calendar (https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/edu/learn/project/make-a-moon-phases-calendar-and-calculator/). You can use your calendar to accurately predict when and where the moon will be visible for the rest of the year.
As you have no doubt observed the moon goes through phases across the course of a month. The various phases in order are
1. New moon
2. Waxing crescent
3. First quarter
4. Waxing gibbous
5. Full moon
6. Waning gibbous
7. Third quarter
8. Waning crescent
Each phase rises over the eastern horizon and sets over the western horizon at different times of day and night. Depending on the phase and moonrise or moonset time, the Moon may not be visible at its rising or setting time, but its visibility, or lack of visibility, follows a predictable and observable pattern.
The Summer Reading Challenge is underway. Are you and your family signed up? Visit www.lapl.org/summer to learn all the details as well as to enroll. Then check out some of the exciting programming on offer from the library during the week. Visit our online calendar for the complete selection…
Here is the complete 12/15/1919 issue of the Golden West Magazine. This particular issue is devoted to Highland Park and includes a number of articles on the region. It even has a poem in praise of the Arroyo Seco and a photo of the first library. Really retro advertising included. Check it out.
This time we asked what Figueroa Street was originally called in Highland Park? The answer is Pasadena Avenue. This is a question with many different ways of determining the answer. What I did was look at an old map of the area courtesy of the library’s collection of scanned maps. I looked at the “Map of Pasadena and Vicinity.” This undated map showed the name for me and also illustrated the fact that the street has been extended overtime so that the current Figueroa runs past where the old Pasadena ended.
Find this map and many others in the Library’s Map collection. The map collection is over one hundred years old, contains more than 100,000 items and represents a wide scope, including local, national and international cartography. The online archive focuses on maps depicting Los Angeles and the West. The online archive is part of the Library's "Visual Collections", with the maps available for online viewing. You can access the map collection via the library’s Research & Homework page (https://www.lapl.org/collections-resources/research-and-homework). You’ll find it under M
The theme of this year’s Library Summer Reading Challenge is “express yourself.” Thinking that being able to speak publicly with confidence is part of expressing yourself we are hosting a learning circle on “The Art of Public Speaking.”
Our learning circle will meet weekly for 5 sessions beginning June 12. We will be using selected lectures from the Great Courses’ Art of Public Speaking. Each week we’ll watch 1 or 2 episodes and then meet up to share what we’ve learned and to deliver a speech of our own. You can access the Great Course via Hoopla at: https://www.hoopladigital.com/title/11899995
Interested in joining us? Email ayosco@lapl.org and we'll get you signed up.
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Here is a tentative plan of study:
Class 1: Watch Episode 1: Overcome Obstacles. Prepare a brief introductory speech for the group which covers who you are, why you are interested in the program, what your experience with public speaking has been to date, and what your personal obstacles are as you face the challenge of public speaking. Practice a few times before we meet. Be prepared to discuss the content of the episode & your reaction to it.
Class 2: Watch Episode 3: Be Yourself. Prepare a brief autobiographical sketch of yourself in which you share an illuminating experience from your life. Be prepared to discuss the content of the episode & your reaction to it.
Class 3: Watch Episode 5 Make it a Story. Prepare an educational speech and use a story to make your speech friendlier. Choose as a topic something you are familiar with / good at that others might not be. Be prepared to discuss the content of the episode & your reaction to it.
Class 4: Watch Episode 2: Practice Your Delivery & Episode 9: Focus on Your Audience. Rewrite your speech from week 2 or 3 with a specific audience in mind (you’ll tell us what your imaginary audience looks like before you begin so we can role play ourselves as that audience) and incorporate some suggestions from episode 2 in your presentation. Be prepared to discuss the content of the episode & your reaction to it.
Class 5: Watch Episode 11: Change Minds & Hearts. Take a side on a controversial topic and prepare a persuasive speech that supports your side. Be prepared to discuss the content of the episode & your reaction to it.
This time let’s ask what Figueroa Street was originally called in Highland Park?