000			03636cam a2200445 i 4500
001			21290658
003			OSt
005			20230608133244.0
008			191105t20192018nyua b 000 0 eng d
010			_a 2019457451
020			_a9781476740195 _qpaperback
020			_z9781476740188 _qhardcover
020			_z9781476740201 _qeBook
040			_aDLC _beng _cDLC _erda _dDLC _dUOC
042			_apcc
043			_an-us-ca
082	0	0	_a027.479494 _223 _bSUS
100	1		_aOrlean, Susan _eauhtor. _94153
245	1	4	_aThe library book / _cSusan Orlean.
250			_aFirst Simon & Schuster trade Paperback Edition.
264		1	_aNew York : _bSimon and Schuster Paperbacks, _c2019.
264		4	_c© 2018 by Susan Orlean.
300			_a319 pages : _billustrations ; _c22 cm.
336			_atext _btxt _2rdacontent
337			_aunmediated _bn _2rdamedia
338			_avolume _bnc _2rdacarrier
500			_aIncludes topics and questions for discussion and a conversation with Susan Orlean.
500			_a"A constant pleasure to read ... Everybody who lovers books should check out the library Book"___ The Washington Post (cover page).
500			_aSusan Orlean is the author of Orchid Thief (cover page).
504			_aIncludes bibliographical references.
520			_aOn the morning of April 29, 1986, a fire alarm sounded in the Los Angeles Public Library. As the moments passed, patrons and staff outside the building realized this was not the usual fire alarm. As one fireman recounted, "Once that first stack got going, it was 'Goodbye, Charlie.'" The fire was disastrous, reaching 2000 degrees and burning for more than seven hours. It consumed four hundred thousand books and damaged seven hundred thousand more. More than thirty years later, the mystery remains: Did someone purposefully set fire to the library--and if so, who? Susan Orlean chronicles the LAPL fire and its aftermath to showcase the more significant, crucial role that libraries play in our lives; delves into the evolution of libraries across the country and around the world, from their humble beginnings as a metropolitan charitable initiative to their current status as a cornerstone of national identity; brings each department of the library to vivid life through on-the-ground reporting; studies arson and attempts to burn a copy of a book herself; reflects on her own experiences in libraries; and reexamines the case of Harry Peak, the blond-haired actor long suspected of setting fire to the LAPL more than thirty years ago. Along the way, Orlean introduces us to an unforgettable cast of characters from libraries past and present--from Mary Foy, who, in 1880, at eighteen years old, was named the head of the Los Angeles Public Library at a time when men still dominated the role, to Dr. C.J.K. Jones, a pastor, citrus farmer, and polymath known as "The Human Encyclopedia" who roamed the library dispensing information; from Charles Lummis, a wildly eccentric journalist, and adventurer who was determined to make the L.A. library one of the best in the world, to the current staff, who do heroic work every day to ensure that their institution remains a vital part of the city it serves.
610	2	0	_aLos Angeles Public Library. _bCentral Library _xFire, 1986. _94155
610	2	0	_aLos Angeles Public Library. _bCentral Library _xHistory. _94155
650		0	_aPublic libraries _zCalifornia _zLos Angeles _xHistory. _94154
650		0	_aArson investigation. _94156
651		0	_92832 _aLos Angeles (Calif.)
906			_a7 _bcbc _corignew _d2 _encip _f20 _gy-gencatlg
942			_2ddc _cBK
999			_c1536 _d1536