“Destroying a library is a kind of terrorism. People think of libraries as the safest and most open places in society. Setting them on fire is like announcing that nothing, and nowhere, is safe.”
On April 29, 1986, the Los Angeles Public Library caught on fire. Most likely arson, the person responsible was never caught. When it was extinguished after seven hours, 400,000 books were gone and 700,000 books were damaged. Microfiche melted, a patent collection was ash and the historical building was damaged. It was a tragedy I had never heard of until reading The Library Book. The history of the fire, along with the importance of book, libraries and shared history are discussed in this non-fiction book.
I honestly don’t remember how The Library Book ended up on my to-read list, but I’m glad it did. I had forgotten what it was about when it was finally available on Libby as an ebook to borrow from my local library. It was a nice surprise to read such an interesting book when I wasn’t expecting it.
Susan Orlean visits the library site and talks to both its current and past employees to get a good history of the fire. Besides telling the facts of the event, she also delves into the role libraries have played in society through the years. Libraries are so much more than just a place to borrow books – they hold treasured history, let people meet up, warm up the homeless and educate people. She also discusses the importance of books and how the burning of books, intentional or not, feels like an erasing of our culture.
Lovers of books will really enjoy reading The Library Book (although reading about how many books were burned will make them cringe.) It shows how people can come together to support a cause despite their differences.
They formed a human chain, passing the books hand over hand from one person to the next, through the smoky building and out the door. It was as if, in this urgent moment, the people of Los Angeles formed a living library. They created, for that short time, a system to protect and pass along shared knowledge, to save what we know for each other, which is what libraries do every day.
What is your favorite library memory? Share on the blog!