Tour of LAPL Rare Books

Before this morning I never knew that the Central branch of LAPL had movable secret shelves and secret reading rooms for its large collection of rare books. Librarian Emma Roberts-Green, originally hailing from England, was kind enough to give me and my coworkers a tour of the Art/Music/ Recreation section of the library including the rare books room. It is easy enough to forget how massive the main branch of LAPL really is, with its seven stories and winding passageways.

For example, I didn't know that the library still included thousands of music scores. The idea of checking out music scores and concertos is so quaint and intriguing. One of my goals for the next couple weeks is to see if the collection includes flute music as I was used to devote so much of my life to practcing scales and performing in orchestra all the way through the end of my undergraduate education.

After a general tour of the Art department our group went back downstairs and entered a locked room on the first level where the rare books are kept. The department has so many books that a great majority of them are kept downstairs to be retrieved upon request. The rare book department does not have a staff dedicated solely to its maintenance however and thus the reading room we used to meet in featured an empty information desk. Anyone with a penchant for beautiful architecture and still places would surely love this secretive room.

Anyone can visit the rare books department of the library by calling the Rare Books Room appointment line at 213.228.7350 and leaving a message with the title/author information of the items they wish to see. Visitors may even bring a camera to make reproductions of the delicate items they are researching.