A New York Times Book of the Year, 2018 A REESE WITHERSPOON x HELLO SUNSHINE BOOK CLUB PICK A dazzling love letter to a beloved institution - our libraries. After moving to Los Angeles, Susan Orlean became fascinated by a mysterious local crime that has gone unsolved since it was carried out on the morning of 29 April 1986: who set fire to the Los Angeles Public Library, ultimately destroying more than 400,000 books, and perhaps even more perplexing, why? With her characteristic humour, insight and compassion, Orlean uses ...
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A New York Times Book of the Year, 2018 A REESE WITHERSPOON x HELLO SUNSHINE BOOK CLUB PICK A dazzling love letter to a beloved institution - our libraries. After moving to Los Angeles, Susan Orlean became fascinated by a mysterious local crime that has gone unsolved since it was carried out on the morning of 29 April 1986: who set fire to the Los Angeles Public Library, ultimately destroying more than 400,000 books, and perhaps even more perplexing, why? With her characteristic humour, insight and compassion, Orlean uses this terrible event as a lens through which to tell the story of all libraries - their history, their meaning and their uncertain future as they adapt and redefine themselves in a digital world. Filled with heart, passion and extraordinary characters, The Library Book discusses the larger, crucial role that libraries play in our lives.
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I am a retired librarian. I took my Masters in Library Science at the University of Southern California in 1971, back when U. S. C. offered such a degree. After that I worked at a variety of library situations, public, private, medical, military, etc., in D. C., San Francisco, L. A. and elsewhere around the world. I spent two years developing school libraries in Malaysia with the Peace Corps and have worked in Army libraries in Panama, Europe and Korea. But my first library job, not counting the student library clerk gig at junior college in Compton, California, was at the Central Library Children's Room of L. A. P. L. This was some 15 years before the fire. I was working in Texas then and would have dearly loved to have taken part in the salvage efforts. My memories of L. A. P. L. were mixed, of course, good and bad, as always is the case of any workplace as complicated as a library. By attempting to take on the task of writing about the history of the L. A. library system Ms. Orlean has tried to lift too great a load. This book could never be anything other than cursory. She has made an error or two and no matter how much love she may have for her topic, she will always be an outsider. Despite its failings, this book is a highly enjoyable read and does actually give the outsider a unique insight into a world that is, despite being an integral part of a community, always regarded by the public as separate, almost eerie.
