Books

The Casa Verdugo Library has been sacked. When the library reopened after being remodeled, the majority of the books were gone. The wonderful book collection compiled over a period of 27 years by librarian Mary Alice Wollam is gone. Now only a small wall of books make up the library. Our lovely library has been turned into a cavernous study hall. This is very sad for book-lovers who like to peruse the books and choose different ones of interest. At a time when resources are not there for libraries, why are the books already in a good collection being discarded?

From Washington, D.C. to Small Town, USA, from the building in the heart of Manhattan that is guarded by stone lions to a majestic building in downtown Los Angeles, the public libraries are a great source of knowledge and literature. They also run workshops, classes, lectures and much more. Even now, when states and cities are cutting some libraries' funds, they still function the best they can and they do need our support, financially and otherwise. That is why I am so uneasy when I see some readers have no regard for books they borrow from public libraries.

This week, my daughters and I went through their books to decide which to keep when we move in a few weeks and which to sell in the garage sale. And I learned once again a hard lesson of parenting - children don't always share their parents' interests. I had expected the book culling to be an emotional, and largely useless exercise. It always is when I try to see if there are any books I can get rid of. I find that I can't get rid of any of them. I might want to read them again.

In a room filled with books, 19 third-graders starred up at the librarian holding the largest one. "The word 'read' has 45 different definitions," Candace Bratmon, librarian at Columbus Elementary School, told the students. She held open a 2,500-page Random House dictionary in front of the children. Students gasped, their mouths open and eyes wide as they began to stir, sitting cross-legged on the brightly colored library floor. "I think it's terrific that they get excited about the 45 different meanings for 'read,'" their teacher, Robin Lamoreaux, said.

Janine Marnien LA CRESCENTA -- The cafetorium at Mountain Avenue Elementary School was transformed this week into a book store for the school's annual book fair. Themed "Read for America's Future," the fair offered books on science, American history, poetry and reference books at store prices to students and parents. "We hope that the students will love to read," Cindy Rademacher, chairwoman of the event, said. "That's the whole idea. We want to encourage reading."

Students get to meet authors and illustrators and find out how they work.GLENDALE -- Amy Goldman Koss stood in front of about 40 students at Marshall Elementary School on Friday and explained how she copes with the highs and lows of writing a book. "When things are going well, when I'm writing a book, I feel younger, taller, stronger," said Amy Goldman Koss, who lives in Glenoaks Canyon. "When I get corrections from my editor, I eat a lot of chocolate." Along with Goldman Koss Los Angeles-area authors and illustrators Mary Ann Frazer, Tim Egan, Alexis O'Neil and Kerry Madden visited Marshall classrooms to talk about creating their books as part of the Assistance League of Glendale's Authors and Illustrators Day. When school was over, the authors stayed to sell discounted books.

Like the chocolate powder that mixes with wholesome milk, so did the Nestlé Quik bunny mix with Columbus Elementary School students Wednesday. Waving his hands to the shyer children while giving hugs to the ones more comfortable with their long-eared visitor, the bunny rallied the students as they lined up to get books ? and the treats the bunny just happened to have on hand. Class by class, students entered the school's auditorium and cafeteria and were met by an array of titles ?

Heather Dankowski sat on the carpet with her son Ian on her lap and listened to him read a book. "I like reading animal books," the 5-year-old said. Ian and other kindergarteners read out loud to their mothers while students in the upper grade levels read to themselves during silent reading hour at Dunsmore Elementary School on Friday. The silent reading time kicked-off the school's annual read-a-thon, which runs until the end of the school year. The theme this year is "Reading Works."

It will take teamwork, creativity and compromise for students Christina Farestveit and Joaquin Peres to create an illustrated children's' book together, they decided. The fifth-graders at Fremont Elementary School are participating in "Kids Are Authors," an annual competition designed to encourage students to use their reading, writing and artistic skills to design their own books. "They need to have a positive attitude be a team player and have good behavior," teacher Sherri Downer said.

The side lawn of the Central Library was transformed into a tidy barnyard on Saturday as a laid-back band of farm animals set up camp in Glendale. And where animals roam, children are sure to follow ? which is just what library staff intended, to attract children to the library during the summer as a part of the Summer Reading Program. Two pygmy goats, two alpacas, two chickens and a smattering of ducks and bunnies composed a handy rural backdrop for entertainers Sandy Walker and Barbara Leone, who introduced each animal with a lively jingle.

BURBANK - Young Tae Seo couldn't have left the Pacific League any better. The dominant force on the Crescenta Valley High boys' swimming team the last four years wanted to leave a lasting impact on the league and he did just that, having a hand in setting three new league records - two individual and one relay - at league finals Thursday at Burbank High. PHOTOS: Pacific League Swim finals In his curtain call to the league, Seo left his name in the record books seven of the 11 league events when he swam the leadoff leg of the 400-yard freestyle relay, the final race of the tournament.

Though surrounded by the shops, residences and restaurants that make up the Americana at Brand, the park in the middle is a public one, and is at risk of being sold by the state as Glendale's redevelopment agency winds down. To protect the popular green space, the City Council unanimously voted this week to take advantage of a state rule that allows former redevelopment properties - like the park and the Alex Theatre - that are for “government use” to be transferred to the city's books.

To those harboring overdue library books: if you turn them in before Sunday, the city of Glendale will look the other way. There are currently 2,115 overdue library materials, but because of a weeklong amnesty program through April 20, fines for violators will be waived. The program is in honor of National Library Week. Most library items, including books and compact discs, cost 25 cents per day after their due, with a maximum fine of $25. Overdue fees for books checked out through Glendale that are from partnering libraries in other cities are $1 per day with a $50 maximum.

Back in 1977, Dennis Reed read something that intrigued him: There once had been a vibrant society of Japanese American photographers, including first-rate modernists, but with the advent of World War II and U.S. internment camps, all of their work had been lost. “Nothing survived,” the photography educator and historian remembers reading in that article. He wondered about that. Reed spent the next few years researching the subject. He found that not only was there evidence of the work in books and surviving prints, but the work was exceptional.

The cafeteria at Glendale High School was filled with problem-solving projects on Saturday as the district's Invention Convention featured creations made by elementary students that very well could end up in stores - or on QVC - sometime in the future. It was the 19th year for the event, which received 122 entries that ranged from a toothbrush that holds a variety of dental care items to a Band-Aid that keeps a cut visible while it's healing - both winning entries from fifth-graders.

The Casa Verdugo Library has been sacked. When the library reopened after being remodeled, the majority of the books were gone. The wonderful book collection compiled over a period of 27 years by librarian Mary Alice Wollam is gone. Now only a small wall of books make up the library. Our lovely library has been turned into a cavernous study hall. This is very sad for book-lovers who like to peruse the books and choose different ones of interest. At a time when resources are not there for libraries, why are the books already in a good collection being discarded?

If you think all paper books can be replaced by a Nook, iPad or Kindle, take a good look at “Picasso, Braque, & Léger: Twentieth Century Modern Masters,” an exhibition of works on paper at the Forest Lawn Museum in Glendale. Three early founders of Cubism, the most catalytic movement in modern art, engaged with poets, writers and printers to produce “livre d'artises” (artist books), not only as bound volumes, but as folios, scrolls, fold-outs, loose items in a box and concertinas.

From Washington, D.C. to Small Town, USA, from the building in the heart of Manhattan that is guarded by stone lions to a majestic building in downtown Los Angeles, the public libraries are a great source of knowledge and literature. They also run workshops, classes, lectures and much more. Even now, when states and cities are cutting some libraries' funds, they still function the best they can and they do need our support, financially and otherwise. That is why I am so uneasy when I see some readers have no regard for books they borrow from public libraries.

One of the more hidebound notions about American art is that modern art photography was strictly an East Coast phenomenon, and that Los Angeles represented a cultural backwater. Last fall's publication of “Artful Lives,” Beth Gates Warren's groundbreaking study of modernist photo icons Edward Weston and Margrethe Mather, thoroughly debunks this falsehood. Warren's exhaustively researched tome reveals how Weston's work greatly matured during the 1920s in the semi-rural Tropico, now southern Glendale.

When Glendale and Pasadena began lending ebooks in 2005, demand was low. But an increasing number of patrons are embracing the technology, contributing to what could end up being a sea change in how publishers and libraries interact with readers. In the first study examining ebook consumption, released in April, the Pew Research Center found that at least 21% of Americans had read an ebook. Eleven percent of people who owned a reading device looked for ebooks at their public library.