The Library Book

The Library Book by Susan Orlean 336 pages

 

I have loved libraries since I was a toddler, thanks to my mom.  Anything and everything you want to know can be found there, and it is staffed with helpful people who can help you find whatever you need.

 

I wasn’t sure what I was getting to when I picked up this book. I’m not sure what you’d call it other than nonfiction. Maybe investigative?  True Crime? A memoir? Or a really, really long essay? However, I was intrigued by the impetus behind the book: The 1986 fire at the Los Angeles Public Library’s central branch, the largest library fire in American history. That fire destroyed or damaged more than one million books. It appeared to be arson, but in the days before security cameras, no one was ever convicted of setting the fire that almost burnt it to the ground.

 

In fact this is a book about the, still, need for libraries in our communities and how important they are as collectors of data. It’s also a history of the Los Angeles Public Library, its central branch and its seventy-three branches. This history is interrupted periodically by the fire, the focus centered on one individual who may have committed it and the public’s fascination, and eventual. boredom with the whole thing. There are many anecdotes about the various City Librarians through the years and what they brough to the system.

 

The fire aspects of the book, naturally, were the most interesting, especially given that there was one prime suspect, but whom could never be convicted.

 

Half the book was boring, and the other half was riveting.  Regardless, I’m glad I read this book and feel an even closer bond with my library because of it. Therefore, The Library Book receives 4 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world.