Author: Sarah Mofford
A small grassy area covered in shade, three fountains and a building with statue-like columns around its sides. You may think this description is one of a museum in Downtown L.A., but it’s actually the description of the Los Angeles Central Library.
When entering the library, you are met with a check-out line, a gift store and a security area with a lost and found. The room is wide and tall, with a tilt reminiscent of Union Station (that’s the downtown train station seen in movies and music videos). The main floor has CDs, DVDs and a number of other items, including shows as recent as “Dexter.”
There is a small area on the lobby floor in which photographs by Yousuf Karsh are displayed, including pictures of Albert Einstein, Audrey Hepburn and Paul Robeson. A true library for the community, L.A.’s Central Library has a room reserved specifically for adult literacy, including tutors. Such a room is especially helpful in the Los Angeles area because of the large population of working class and lower-middle class people, as well as recent immigrants or homeless people.
All of this is modeled in the beautiful architecture and in wide open rooms, almost too unique to be described. But don’t think the library stops here – that’s only the lobby.
The library has a total of seven floors. The wealth of information provided on each floor means that it is almost necessary for literature and fiction (floor three) to be on a separate floor than business and economics (one floor below the lobby, which is called floor negative one).
They also have a floor for science, technology and patents (floor negative two); social sciences, philosophy, and religion (floor negative three); history and genealogy (floor negative four); and two floors for boardroom meetings or performances the library provides. However, the most interesting area is, by far, the second floor.
This floor, described from the map as having “rotunda, children’s literature, teenscape, galleries, art, music and recreation,” was one of the most amazing rooms I’ve ever seen. To reach it, I took the elevator, which was lined with the old papers used in book catalogs before the library went electronic.
When the elevator doors opened, I found myself looking at the rotunda. And what a rotunda! It’s a massive circular forum with large murals on the upper part of the four walls depicting the hustle and bustle of California’s discovery.
There are bishops, conquistadors, Native Americans and so much activity that one could spend the entirety of his or her time in this library simply looking at the four-sided mural. It all culminates in what looks like a mosaic dome with a sun design around the chain that holds the globe light from the ceiling.
Under this are the children’s literature room and teenscape, an area designed specifically for teens. Past the Mayor’s posters that say “READ: Leer es Poder,” a sign announced that family reading time would be starting in September, continuing the image of a library for the community.
The diversity of the room décor is almost as diverse as L.A. itself. The children’s literature section, separate from the rotunda, is designed as a classic library with oak-like bookcases and fresco-like murals of Spaniards and the building of the missions. In sharp contrast, the teenscape area is more contemporary. Here, teens can work on computers, lounge in chairs while reading graphic novels or watch a movie while sitting or napping on beanbags.
This section of the library includes free practice tests and tutoring for the PSAT, SAT and ACT as well as general homework help. More impressive still is the gallery on the floor that shows part of the historical art collection that the public library has acquired since its founding in 1872, as well as the art of Richard Neutra.The Los Angeles Central Library has more books then anyone could ever read in a year, not even including audio books and comic books. On an art basis, the Central Library is also highly recommended.
If you’re anything from a musician (there are music sheets from Mozart to the Beach Boys) to a scientist, this library was made for you. You could spend a week here. I recommend that everyone check it out, but if you do, take the red line (train) or a bus because driving in downtown L.A. is never fun. If your heart is set on driving, choose the $3 parking off of Sixth Street and avoid the convenient parking garage unless you have a library card to get the ticket validated. Otherwise it’s $30.
The Central L.A. Public Library is located at 630 W. 5th Street, Los Angeles, CA 90071.
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