LAPL Blog
Mary McCoy, Senior Librarian, Art, Music, & Recreation Department

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One Night in Miami: The History and Los Angeles Stories Behind the Film
On February 25, 1964, 22-year-old boxer Cassius Clay defeated the heavily favored Sonny Liston to win the heavyweight boxing title in Miami Beach, Florida.
The Queen's Gambit and the Unexpectedly Thrilling and Glamorous World of Chess
Since debuting on Netflix in October, The Queen’s Gambit has become the streaming service’s number one show, and its most watched limited scripted series ever. It’s been responsible for a surge in chess set purchases, and new memberships in online chess programs.
In the Cards: Tarot for Connection, Reflection, and Inspiration
I remember when tarot cards would come out at parties at my house, back when I had parties at my house.
Unexpected Films and Books To Check Out This Weekend With Your Library Card
Sometimes it’s hard to get past the home page when you’re browsing streaming content. Staff in the Art, Music, & Recreation Department are here to help you make a deep dive into the best artsy books and films available on the library’s streaming platforms like hoopla, Kanopy, and OverDrive.
What's Your Type?
I believe there is one perfect use for every typeface ever drawn, no matter how hideous.—Fred Woodward
Beyond Butterflies & Barbed Wire: Tattoo Designs That Stand Out
Instagram is a perfectly good place to research tattoo designs, or to find an artist whose work you admire, but it can quickly become a sea of interchangeable infinity symbols, feathers, skulls, anchors, cheesy inspirational quotes, and mistranslated Kanji. And we all deserve better than that, right?
Dodger Thoughts and Beyond: An Interview with Author Jon Weisman
If you're an Angeleno with even a casual interest in the Dodgers, you've probably heard of veteran baseball writer Jon Weisman.
Get Away @ Your Library
Read about teens in cities like Jason Reynolds's The Boy in a Black Suit (New York), suburbs like Brandy Colbert's Pointe (Illinois), or rural areas like Sarah Tomp's My Best Everything (Virginia).
Writers Speak Out on the Freedom to Read
Ask writers how they feel about challenges to books and the freedom to read, and you will discover that this is something they think about a lot, and in most cases, it’s something they have terrifically strong feelings about.
Author Courtney Summers on Book Challenges and the Freedom to Read
On July 28, Canadian author Courtney Summers’s inbox filled up with messages. Some were from people she knew, some from strangers, but many came from readers over a thousand miles away in Charleston, South Carolina.