Thursday is the day to wish Los Angeles’ Central Library many happy returns on its 100th anniversary by checking out the launch of a year-long slate of library-inspired events honoring the iconic Art Deco building on Fifth Street downtown.
As part of Thursday’s celebration, Los Angeles Public Library officials will unveil the contents of a recently unearthed 100-year-old time capsule buried in the building’s cornerstone during its construction in 1926. The copper box is thought to contain documents, photos and mementos of the institution’s earliest days.
Along with the time capsule opening, there will be multiple exhibits to look at, a birthday cake cutting, and a new special edition library card that’s sure to be among the literary season’s must-have items.
As City Librarian John Szabo puts it, the Los Angeles Public Library serves one of the largest populations of any library system in the nation, almost 4 million people, through the Central Library and 72 branches. The district also serves a large percentage of non-native English speakers, as well as some of the United States’ wealthiest and poorest residents.
“The library is for all of Los Angeles,” Szabo said. “And our collections are a resource for the city, the nation, and the world. We are always asking ourselves how we can more effectively serve the population, including the most vulnerable people and the migrant community, both documented and undocumented.
“The books that are on the shelves belong to the people of the city.”
Public libraries are largely funded by local government through property taxes, municipal budgets or county levies, typically covering core operations like staffing, collections and facilities. State governments supplement this with direct aid or targeted grants, often administered by state library agencies.
The flagship Central Library — known for its tiled rooftop pyramid and vast, mural-lined rotunda — is the system’s headquarters.
The third-largest central library in the nation, its subject departments contain more than 2.8 million books, 5,000 magazine subscriptions, more than 3 million photographs, 10 million digital access U.S. patents, plus language learning and multimedia materials.
A variety of reference services are also available over the counter, by telephone, mail, e-mail or IM chat. Materials can be ordered by patrons throughout the city and shipped to the borrower’s local branch.
“The public library is very much the people’s university — and I worry about so many areas,” Szabo said.
“Book bans are taking place around the country at a level not seen since the McCarthy era. It’s happening in school districts, in public libraries … it’s not a major threat in the city of Los Angeles, but it has certainly happened in Southern California. It’s an issue that we should all pay attention to … and stand up for intellectual freedom.”