![]() ![]() This scene in particular immediately drew me into the book because I have almost the exact same memory. ![]() The book begins with the wonderment Orlean felt entering a library with her mother as a child. photo courtesy of the Los Angeles Public Library Collection It must seem like Orlean jumps around quite a bit as you read this summary of topics, which she does, but to bibliophiles like myself it’s all interesting it comes together to form a lovely little picture of the ‘library that could’. Interspersed with the ‘fire’ story, we learn about the beginnings of the library, who the city librarians were, the gender politics of the time, the ever-changing view of what a library should contain. ![]() We learn about some interesting elements of the fire, including: random facts about arson, the life of the man who was suspected of setting it, the way the LA community bands together to save the waterlogged books after being sprayed by the fireman’s hoses for such a long period of time, and the fundraising efforts that went into restocking the collection before the re-opening. ![]() There are two main storylines running through it-the first and overarching line focuses on the 1986 fire at the library how it happened, who was thought to have set it, and what the consequences of it were. New Calgary Public Library Central Branch! Photo Credit: Mary Kapusta ![]()
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