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Author Kathleen Kaufman and her latest novel, Fiend
Photo of author: Matt Mendelsohn
Daryl M., Librarian, West Valley Regional Branch Library, September 18, 2025

Alma Katsu is the award-winning, critically acclaimed author of eight novels. Her books have been nominated and won multiple prestigious awards. She has written two spy novels (...

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A boy drives a golf cart decorated for a Fourth of July parade in San Pedro.

Go Forth and Celebrate the Fourth!

Photo Friends, Friday, June 30, 2017

The Fourth of July is a time when Americans remember their history, look toward the future, and celebrate the present.


French duellist and opera singer Julie d'Aubigny (1670–1707). Anonymous print.

Julie d'Aubigny: La Maupin and Early French Opera

Alan Westby, Librarian, Art, Music & Recreation Department, Wednesday, June 28, 2017

LGBT Pride Month gives us an opportunity to discover a fascinating character from the early days of French opera.


teenagers waving from inside a hearse

A Young Immigrant's Story

Teresa Mons, Librarian, Young Adult Services, Monday, June 26, 2017

I am a refugee, an immigrant, an American. I came to the United States as a young girl and grew up in Los Angeles. My maternal grandparents were born in Cuba and were descendants of immigrants from Spain, who moved to Cuba to make a better life for themselves.


Juneteenth

Juneteenth

Eileen Ybarra, Librarian III, Electronic Resources, Monday, June 19, 2017

“The people from Texas took Juneteenth Day to Los Angeles, Oakland, Seattle, and other places they went.”—Isabel Wilkerson, The Warmth of Other Suns


film projector projecting rainbow stream of light with the words lgbt classic films you should not miss

LGBT Classic Films You Should Not Miss

Rudy Ruiz, Librarian, Digitization & Special Collections, Wednesday, June 14, 2017

I have been a fan of classic movies ever since I began checking out VHS tapes from my local library (Santa Maria Public Library) in my tween years at the dawn of the 1990’s. Cable was a luxury my working-class family did not always have.


James Barlow, left, also known as Jeri Ryan, and August Coy, also known as Irene Paston, at the city hall police station. Photograph dated November 27, 1944.

LGBTQIA History From the Back of the Photo

Christina Rice, Senior Librarian, Photo Collection, Monday, June 12, 2017

Prior to the late 1970s, LGBTQIA coverage in the Los Angeles Herald Examiner (previously the Herald Express) was extremely limited. Any photos in our image archive from the newspaper focus exclusively on men being arrested for "masquerading" as women.


Nancy Reagan in her Bel Air living room

At Home With...

Wendy Horowitz, Librarian, Photo Collection, Sunday, June 4, 2017

The Herald Examiner and Valley Times were local papers, covering local news, but when the locale is Los Angeles, it's likely the town's topics will involve celebrities.


The Music of Tôru Takemitsu and Japanese New Wave Cinema

The Music of Tôru Takemitsu and Japanese New Wave Cinema

Alan Westby, Librarian, Art, Music & Recreation Department, Friday, May 26, 2017

As we observe Asian Pacific American Heritage Month at Los Angeles Public Library, this is a good occasion to look at some of the interesting examples of Japanese cinema available to our patrons, particularly those featuring scores by composer Tôru Takemitsu.


Book covers

Three Asian Angeleño Mysteries

James Sherman, Librarian, Literature & Fiction Department, Tuesday, May 23, 2017

In celebration of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, why not read a mystery? Try these three great mystery writers of Asian Angeleño heritage who plot intriguing yarns and use the settings of Los Angeles as a background as well as a point of departure.


Detail of a map of Los Angeles, as it appeared in 1871, showing the site of the 1871 Chinese massacre

Forgotten Los Angeles History: The Chinese Massacre of 1871

Kelly Wallace, Librarian, History Department, Friday, May 19, 2017

May is Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, a month in which we celebrate the culture, traditions, accomplishments, and history of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in the United States.


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