Library Blog

Andrea Nelson, Library Assistant, recommends The Library Book by Susan Orlean.

Ahh, Los Angeles in the eighties! Such a study in contrasts. At once glittering, decaying, innovative, desperate, brilliant and dark. Shining stars, black holes, and all manner of people. In the twentieth century, dreamers from every corner of the planet flocked to L.A. By the mid-eighties, the City of Angels was both a cultural mecca and its own stylized cliché, but at its heart stood one true thing, steadfast and dependable: a wonderful public library. The Los Angeles Central Public Library was not just any library, mind you. It supplied the entire sprawling metropolis with books. Its complicated transportation network ensured that a steady stream of knowledge and literacy would flow in and out of the many satellite libraries that popped up to enrich its ever-expanding suburbs and boroughs.

Once considered an architectural masterpiece, time had not been kind to the Central Library. It needed costly renovation, expansion and safety upgrades. As always, such things were expensive, and the City Council had many budgetary demands. The fabled landmark that boasted some of the largest and most important collections in the Western United States began to decay. One day in 1986, a charismatic storyteller and aspiring actor with a memorable mop of bright blonde hair may– or may not– have visited the library. On that day, a fire started.

On that terrible day, countless stories were forever erased from recorded history.

Over the next seven days, firefighters battled the worst library fire in American history. Once the flames took hold in the stacks, the fire quickly grew. Unchecked, it tore through the old shelves, staircases, and airducts. Pages glowed, curled and crumbled, reducing irreplaceable collections to ash. Sticky, black smoke decimated print stock. At one point, the temperature inside the library reached two thousand degrees, blowing out windows, melting book covers, and snapping spines. Some charred pages survived, floating down to the streets below, into the hands of crying patrons and traumatized librarians. Ironically, the very swords that killed the beast—the firefighter’s hoses—caused the most damage to the library’s precious contents. In the end, more than a million books, maps, transcripts, films, and other unique items were lost. Many artifacts were one of a kind—many books long out of print. On that terrible day, countless stories were forever erased from recorded history.

Although the fire of 1986 remains an important page in Los Angeles history, the tragedy never made headlines, because a more pressing event dominated the news cycles that week. A nuclear meltdown at a major Russian plant in Chernobyl threatened to send a deadly cloud of radiation across Eastern Europe, becoming the humanitarian disaster of the decade.

In 2018, brilliant researcher and award-winning journalist Susan Orlean finally gave the library fire it’s proper place in history. The Library Book tells the captivating story of the Los Angeles Central Public Library through time, illuminating it’s fascinating origin and quirky, colorful staff through the ages. In true Orlean style, the fire is only the splash at the center of many rippling rings, from the bizarre statements of the sole arson suspect, Harry Peak, to the mesmerizing behavior of the fire, to the complex and multifaceted character of the city itself.

Orlean has a gift for turning years of painstaking research into a riveting read. Of her many books, The Library Book is her Opus. Chances are, if you’ve read this blog to the end, you share my love of libraries. This one’s for you.

Find it in print, large print, eaudiobook, and CD here.

Karen Little, Library Assistant and English Language Learning Instructor, recommends The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse by Charlie Mackesy (available in English and Spanish).

“What do you want to be when you grow up?” asked the mole?

“Kind,” said the boy.

This is just one of many musings from a curious cadre of friends who are on a journey questioning life and what the future holds in the graphic novel, The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse. The contemplative boy is one of four unlikely characters that Charlie Mackesy, author, artist, and illustrator, brings together for an adventure into “the wild.”

“Nothing beats kindness,” said the horse. “It sits quietly beyond all things.”

 The book follows the conversations between an inquisitive boy, an erudite mole, a withdrawn fox who wants to belong, as well as an insightful horse. During their amblings, the friends share hopes and fears and engage in straightforward, down-to-earth, and heartfelt exchanges, such as:

• “Asking for help isn’t giving up,” said the horse. “It’s refusing to give up.”

• “Most of the old moles I know wish they had listened less to their fears and more to their dreams.”

• “We often wait for kindness…but being kind to yourself can start now,” said the mole.

• “Is your glass half empty or half full?” asked the mole. “I think I’m grateful to have a glass,” said the boy.

• “What do you think is the biggest waste of time?” asked the boy. “Comparing yourself to others,” said the mole.

• “Nothing beats kindness,” said the horse. “It sits quietly beyond all things.”
  
• “I’m so small,” said the mole. “Yes,” said the boy, “but you make a huge difference.”

• “Do you have a favorite saying?” asked the boy.
  “Yes,” said the mole.
  “What is it?”
  “If at first you don’t succeed, have some cake.”
  “I see, does it work?”
  “Every time.”

The friends are all different, yet they connect and find common ground through acceptance, vulnerability, curiosity, respect, and kindness.

Each time I read this story, I discover another wonderment or revelation. The handwritten font and original drawings are delightful, and the script is a change from the traditional formal font found in most books. It is a refreshing read, particularly in the unsettling and fractured times we live.

This is a book for all ages and there is something for everyone, especially when one ventures into “the wild” and explores beliefs, thoughts and values that unite us: Friendship. Acknowledgment. Cooperation. Patience. Inclusion. Empathy. Gratitude. And Kindness. 

The friends are all different, yet they connect and find common ground through acceptance, vulnerability, curiosity, respect, and kindness.

We’ve seen many acts of kindness in the past few weeks, as our community has come together in extraordinary ways to offer relief to those who suffered from the fire at the Limelight Condos. A couple dozen individuals lost their homes and possessions, and people in our valley have provided places to stay, money, food, physical help, and material necessities. The Gold Mine Thrift Store continues to offer free shopping for victims of the fire to help restore some of what was lost in the tragedy.

Our world can always experience a little more kindness. 

Find it in Graphic Novel Fic MAC; Available in English and Spanish.

by Cathy Butterfield, Collections Manager

The recognition that knowledge is a form of power has shaped libraries around the world and through the ages. 

Our earliest forms of written symbol and history are passed down to us through myriad forms of libraries throughout the ages, from the cave art of Lascaux, to Babylonian clay tablets from the 3rd century B.C., to the website “Archive of Our Own.”  Without the archival passion to preserve, those records would have returned to river mud, or cemented into the walls of fortresses (many were.) 

The emperor Shih Huang-ti of the Ch’in dynasty ordered all historical records other than those of the Ch’in to be destroyed so that history would seem to begin with his rule. Preservation of the earliest records were the province of kings and merchant princes, pharaohs, and conquering generals. 

In 48 BC, a good part of the great Library of Alexandria was sacked and burned—one of the chief suspects was Julius Caesar. One of the first known libraries made accessible to the public, rather than the elite, was launched in Rome soon after Caesar’s death. The historian Pliny understood the significance, praising the founder Asinius Pollio: ingenia hominum rem publicam fecit (“He made men’s talents a public possession.”). That may be the most radical aspect of a public library—it shares the power of information with their entire community, rather than just the powerful.   

That may be the most radical aspect of a public library—it shares the power of information with their entire community, rather than just the powerful.   

The director of the Boundary County Library in Bonner’s Ferry, Kimber Glidden, resigned this last week, citing a “political atmosphere of extremism, militant Christian fundamentalism, intimidation tactics, and threatening behavior currently being employed in the community.” A few short years ago, this same library won the award for Best Small Library in the country. What happened? Boundary County’s own web page has a cogent and concise farewell letter posted on their main page that goes straight to the point. 

“This is about control of what information our community is allowed access to,” wrote Glidden. “What is the weapon a small number of people are using to divide this community? Fear, irrational threats, and moral panic.”

Moral panic is a powerful force, shaped by deception, intimidation, and irrational rhetoric. Those generating moral panic about a community having free access to books have a greater agenda—control of the institution as a whole, and by extension, the community it serves. The forces behind bans and challenges want to be kings and merchant princes, and shape history to suit their needs. As Kimberly Giddens says in her farewell:

“Now more than ever it is imperative that we guarantee the freedom to read, the freedom of expression, the freedom of information, and the right to a fair and balanced education.”

~Kimber Gidden, FORMER Boundary Country Library Director

“Now more than ever it is imperative that we guarantee the freedom to read, the freedom of expression, the freedom of information, and the right to a fair and balanced education. The library will stand to protect the rights of all people. 

“It is time to take a stand against false narratives. Thank you and spread the word.”   

Find a list of 25 Frequently Challenged Books Considered Classic Literature, here.

Kelly Noble, Gold Mine Processing Manager, recommends Assassin’s Strike by Ward Larsen.

I enjoy reading espionage thrillers, especially those that are written well and contain plausible plots. Ward Larsen is among the best writers in the genre. His David Slaton novels are exciting, adventurous, action packed and riveting. When reading thrillers of this type, I always examine the story for its authenticity. Are the countries real? Does the author understand the current geo-political climate of the area? Is the plot even possible? There is nothing worse than a poorly researched thriller. 

In Assassin’s Strike, our hero is David Slaton, a former Israeli Mossad member now working for the CIA. Trained to enter the world’s most dangerous places, Slaton is always at the top of his game. In this novel he is asked to help a Russian linguist escape war-torn Syria. Ludmilla Kravchuk is an interpreter for the Russian president. All seems to go well until a session between the Russia President and the President of Iran. Ludmilla’s counterpart, a young Iranian woman, is killed before her eyes. Ludmilla escapes into the city where she finds help from old friends.  

These espionage thrillers contain a wealth of information about the world in which we live and travel.

As the novel unfolds, Slaton contacts Ludmilla and sets up a plan to help her escape to the West. Of course, no mission goes as planned. In the process of leaving the city of Damacus, Ludmilla brings along a friend and her young son. Instead of one person to save, Slaton has three. At the same time as this adventure is underway, a second plot unfolds in the story. Terrorists have received a chemical weapon and plan to use it to destabilize the Middle East. As soon as Slaton finishes the first part of the mission, he is off to help stop a global war. 

Assassin’s Strike is highly recommended. I find most readers of this genre deeply knowledgeable about current world events. These novels depend heavily on knowledge of geography, politics, and current events. There is so much a reader can learn from fiction. These espionage thrillers contain a wealth of information about the world in which we live and travel. These novels are not science fiction. They represent potentially deadly problems for the world. Like Gerald Seymour once said, “One man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter.”  For all its worth, Ward Larsen has done an excellent job crafting an exhilarating novel.  

Find it in Adult Fiction here.

25 Frequently Challenged Books Considered Classic Literature

1. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
2. The Catcher in the Rye by JD Salinger
3. The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
4. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
5. The Color Purple by Alice Walker
6. Ulysses by James Joyce
7. Beloved by Toni Morrison
8. The Lord of the Flies by William Golding
9. 1984 by George Orwell
10. Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov
11. Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
12. Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
13. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
14. Animal Farm by George Orwell
15. As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner
16.  A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway
17. Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
18. Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison
19. Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison
20. Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
21. Native Son by Richard Wright
22. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey
23. Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut
24. For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway
25. The Call of the Wild by Jack London

The American Library Association lists more banned classics and the objections each book draws. More information here.  

Download a PDF of this list here.

More information can be had at www.ala.org/advocacy/bbooks. The Freedom to Read statement is worth a gander as well, and can be accessed at www.ala.org/intellectualfreedom.