History of LAPL…

Today for your delectation I bring you the 1936 Annual Report to the Library Board of Commissioners (http://dbase1.lapl.org/webpics/calindex/documents/05/517348.pdf).  This report includes a “Brief History of the Los Angeles Public Library” so not only do you get to peruse library statistics from that particular year you get a 55 page history of the library.  Both are fascinating so take a look.

Events for the Week of November 17…

Don’t miss any of the exciting events going on at the library during the week… 

• Little Ones’ Storytime on Wednesday (11/19) at 10:30
• STAR Reader on Wednesday at 3:00
• How to Deal with Utility Companies Program on Wednesday at 6:00
• Fun with Tablets program on Thursday (11/20) at 4:00
• Puppet Show also on Thursday at 4:00
• Desktop Publishing Basics on Thursday at 6:30
• Drop in Computer Lab on Friday (11/21) at 3:30
• STAR Reader on Saturday (11/22) at 2:00 
• Arroyo Book Club Meeting also on Saturday at 3:00

You can always check the Branch Page (http://www.lapl.org/branches/arroyo-seco) on the LAPL website for upcoming events or check out the Master Calendar (http://www.lapl.org/whats-on/calendar) where you can search for something specific across multiple branches.

Trivia of the Week...

This week’s question is what is the significance of Wilson v. Shaw?

Smoke Gets in Your Eyes

In Smoke Gets in Your Eyes Caitlin Doughty gives us a book that is part memoir part polemic about the current American cultural attitude toward death.  Doughty writes of her time working in a crematorium, reminisces about her personal encounters or lack of them with death, and posits that our current cultural practices around death & dying reinforce a fear of death in the population at large.  While her experiences are quite interesting and her larger point has some merit she overplays her hand.  I found her apparent belief that no one can learn without direct concrete experience very irritating after a while and did not recognize my own beliefs and attitudes nor those of my friends and family in her depiction of the current cultural state of death.

The book was interesting for the personal experience portions and it did raise questions about death and the way we handle it for the reader to consider.  While the author does not make the case she thinks she is making she does tell an interesting story.  I would recommend it on those grounds.

TOW (& Answer)...

The question was who is Ricardo Flores Magon?  To quote from my source Ricardo Flores Magon was 

“an intrepid and progressive essayist, speaker, organizer, politician and one of the intellectual pillars of the Mexican revolution of 1910.  Forced into exile in the United States for his opposition to the dictatorship of Porfirio Diaz, he began publishing a radical newspaper, Regeneracion, which by 1914 was headquartered in Los Angeles.  Convicted of U.S. neutrality law violations and imprisoned, Magon and his brother Enrique languished in Leavenworth Federal Penitentiary where Ricardo died, perhaps by assassination, in 1922.”

The question (& answer) were taken from p. 94 of the Illustrated History of Mexican Los Angeles 1781-1985.  The book was written by Antonio Rios-Bustamante and Pedro Castillo and published by the University of California in 1986.

November’s Electronic Resource of the Month….

November’s Electronic Resource of the Month is the Veterans Resources Gateway.  Find the Gateway online via the LAPL website from the Research & Homework page (http://www.lapl.org/collections-resources/research-and-homework#V).  If you are not on a library computer you will need to have your card handy as you access the site.

The site provides resources on general subjects, governmental resources, upcoming events, web resources for veterans collected by LAPL, resource handbooks, books, and ebooks (the ebooks will require your library card for remote access).

In addition to the online collection of resources the library has nine veteran center locations dedicated to helping veterans and their families (you will find a list of all physical centers on the gateway page).  Each center has trained volunteers who can meet and help in connecting veterans and their families with essential information.  

Events for the Week of November 10…

Remember that the library will be closed on 11/11 for Vetran’s Day.  Don’t miss any of the exciting events going on at the library during the rest of the week…

• Little Ones’ Storytime on Wednesday (11/12) at 10:30
• Library Web Tools & the Internet Class also on Wednesday at 12:00
• STAR Reader on Wednesday at 3:00
• Fun with Tablets program on Thursday (11/13) at 4:00
• Computadoras para Principiantes also on Thursday at 4:00
• Drop in Computer Lab on Friday (11/14) at 3:30
• STAR Reader on Saturday (11/15) at 2:00
• Winter Planting Presentation by local Master Gardeners brought to you by the Arroyo Seco Friends of the Library on Sunday (11/16) at 1:30

You can always check the Branch Page (http://www.lapl.org/branches/arroyo-seco) on the LAPL website for upcoming events or check out the Master Calendar (http://www.lapl.org/whats-on/calendar) where you can search for something specific across multiple branches.

Everything Leads to You

Everything Leads to You by Nina LaCour tells the tale of Emi Price the summer she graduates from high school.  Her brother, off to Europe, lets her stay in his apartment with the challenge that she make something great take place there.  Emi manages to do just that.  During the course of the summer Emi recovers from her first love, solves a mystery involving a film legend, finds her artistic (and presumably her eventual professional) feet, and falls in love.

This is a sweet story that is aimed at a young adult audience.  I would recommend it to anyone who likes adventurous, over achieving girls making a mark on the world.

Trivia of the Week....

This week’s question is who is Ricardo Flores Magon?

Websites I Like….

If you’ve ever wondered just how a certain word (in another language --- or even in your own) is correctly pronounced then Forvo (http://www.forvo.com/) is the site for you.  Forvo provides audio playback clips of word pronunciations by native speakers in over 280 languages.  Totally and completely cool.  You can sign up to do pronunciations yourself and, if a word isn’t already pronounced you can request that it be.

My Real Children

My Real Children by Jo Walton is a fascinating story.  In it we meet Patricia, in 2015, very old and suffering from dementia she is usually described by her nurses as very confused.  She has reason to be confused as she can clearly remember living two completely different lives that stemmed from one yes/no choice she made in her early 20s.  The book follows Patricia’s remembrance of both lives and reveals that not only Patricia’s life is different in each life but the entire world around her --- for whatever reason her own yes/no choice sent the world on two very different paths. 

This was an entertaining book with interesting characters and the added fascination of piecing out what is different in each version of reality.  I would recommend it to lovers of speculative fiction and historical fiction alike.

TOW (& Answer)...

The question for the week was what is a Mohawk turn?  To quote from my source:

A Mohawk turn is a turn from forward to backward, or vice versa, from one foot to the other in which the curve of the exit edge continues the curve of the entry edge.

To clarify things a bit… a Mohawk turn is something a figure skater might do.

The question (& answer) were taken from p. 120 of The Sports Rules Book by Thomas Hanlon.  The book was published by Human Kinetics Publishers in 1998.

Events for the Week of November 2…

Don’t miss any of the exciting events going on at the library during the week…

• Magic Show for the pre & elementary school set on Sunday (11/2) at 2:00
• Teen Sock Puppets program on Tuesday (11/4) at 4:00
• Little Ones’ Storytime on Wednesday (11/5) at 10:30
• STAR Reader on Wednesday at 3:00
• Fun with Tablets program on Thursday (11/6) at 4:00
• Como Utilizar la Internet also on Thursday at 6:30
• Drop in Computer Lab on Friday (11/7) at 3:30
• STAR Reader on Saturday (11/8) at 2:00
• Computer Basics Class also on Saturday at 2:00

You can always check the Branch Page (http://www.lapl.org/branches/arroyo-seco) on the LAPL website for upcoming events or check out the Master Calendar (http://www.lapl.org/whats-on/calendar) where you can search for something specific across multiple branches.

History of LAPL…

Ususally I bring you a history of Highland Park article but today I’m going to let you look at an article about the Los Angeles Public Library (http://dbase1.lapl.org/webpics/calindex/documents/14/522809.pdf).  

The article is titled Biggest Lender in the West and briefly described with “9,000,000 Books a Year: A Report to the People of Los Angeles on their Public Library.”  It was put together in 1955 and provides a snapshot of current and projected library use and uses.  Most interestingly it is filled with absolutely charming graphic images.  I’d say take a look at it if only to admire these drawings.