The Library Book by Susan Orlean

In 1986 there was a terrible fire in the Los Angeles Central Library.  Over 400,000 books either burned or were destroyed by water and over $2,000,000 of damage was done to the building.  Fire investigators thought the fire was the result of arson, and believed that a man, Harry Peal, was the one that held the match, but there was never enough evidence to convict him.  Thirty years later the library has been rebuilt and expanded, but the mystery remains. In this engaging nonfiction Ms Orlean has done an amazing amount of research to lay all the evidence before the reader.  She also gives an fascinating history of one of the US's most innovative libraries, and a peek into what life at the LA Library is like today.

This book really impacted me.  I was working on a project installing some new book shelves at my own library when I listened to Orlean's gripping description of the spread of the fire through the stacks.  I must say I kept tearing up and struggled to keep my composure because I couldn't imagine how devastated I would be if something happened like that at my library. In other parts of the book I marveled at all the LA Library has done in its 130 year history to try to meet the needs of the community and felt inspired in my own efforts to assess my community's needs. I want to print off the chapter where she follows the current library system director around for a day, and make my library board read it. The book is part history and part love song to public libraries, one the resonates in this librarian's soul. (2018, 336 p.)