Good Reads / Community Library Notes
The Library Book
Susan Orlean
Review by Priscilla Comen
The Library Book
Susan Orlean
Review by Priscilla Comen
The Library Book, by Susan Orlean, is the story of the Central Library in Los Angeles which opened in 1926 in the middle of downtown L.A.. Author Orlean describes its surroundings and the way people wait for it to open in the early mornings. Employees are already stocking new books, and sending books out to other branches. Children’s librarians are discussing effective story times. Author Orlean gives us a complete picture of early hours at the library. It’s a beautiful building with frescoes and quotes by philosophers on the walls. Millions of old volumes and photographs dating back to 1850 are stored there.
On April 29, 1986, a smoke detector set off an alarm at the fire station. Patrons and staff calmly left the library building, many leaving their belongings thinking they’d be right back. More than two million books were piled everywhere in space intended for one million. Firefighters saw smoke in the fiction section, then it burst into flames. At F 451, when paper burns, the books smoldered and the fire traveled from one book to all others.
Soon, 350 firefighters were on the scene. Many suffered from smoke inhalation or respiratory distress. After seven hours, thirty-eight minutes, the fire died. 400,000 books were destroyed by the fire, and an additional 700,000 badly damaged by smoke or water. The 700,000 books had to be frozen before mold developed. Hundreds of volunteers came to help. They loaded 50,000 books on to trucks.
The city of Los Angeles hired arson investigators and offered a reward of $20,000 dollars for information about the origin. A composite sketch was made from info about a suspect seen by various observers. It looked like Harry Peak, with his long curly blond hair. Author Orlean interviews Peak’s sister Debra. Harry had died seven years after the fire, but Debra gives Orlean a complete picture of him. The Peak family had been unlucky, having troubles from car accidents to autism. Harry was the only one who had graduated from high school, humorous and a magician. He had been assaulted by a camp counselor. He revealed himself as a homosexual, but “He wanted to be straight”, said Debra. He said he was getting roles in movies, but he never did. He needed attention and lived with other “wannabes” in Hollywood.
Author Orlean describes John Szabo who is skilled with books, and views them as partners with the Internet, not as competitors. He was hired as head librarian. As the investigation continues, the staff is questioned. We feel their fear and pain after they return to work in the dusty, empty building. Szabo sets up a storage space for large items belonging to the more than 60,000 homeless people in Los Angeles. Author Orlean is obsessed with numbers.
She describes library fires in other countries where books were burned, such as at the Alexandria Library fire caused by Julius Caesar’s attack nearby in 640. In the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, the Pope ordered books burned in Spain that might have criticized the Catholic church and any books written in Hebrew. The Nazis destroyed 100 million books during their reign. The numbers in Poland and Germany are staggering.
An estimate to replace the 400,000 books lost came to over $14 million dollars. The city planned fundraising, and the head of ARCO offers them office space in his building. A national telethon raises more than two million dollars. Some women became head librarians: Mary Foy at eighteen years of age, then Jesse Kelso, brilliant and forceful. She modernized the library and increased membership to 20,000 from one hundred.
At the end of the 1800s, more women were hired because they required lower salaries. Andrew Carnegie built many fine libraries. He built 1700 libraries supported by tax revenues.
Meanwhile, Harry Peak has told friends that he was at the library when it was burning. He said he had been carried out by a handsome fireman. His friends ignored his story as just another of Harry’s imaginings. Staff members try to recall suspicious patrons on that day. The evidence against Harry was “like mercury,” slippery and inconstant. He had given seven different accounts of his whereabouts that day. On a polygraph test, the examiner said Harry was attempting deception. He was arrested, but released for insufficient evidence. The fire investigators were livid.
Basically, this is a book about libraries, but also about Harry Peak. Had he been joking or trying for attention as he always did? Why had he failed his lie detector test? Where was he really on the morning of the library fire? If he didn’t do it, who did? The Central Library had faulty wiring, bad ventilation, and sizzling light sockets. Could these have started the fire? Try to find the answers in this interesting book on the new non-fiction shelf of your Mendocino Community Library.
On April 29, 1986, a smoke detector set off an alarm at the fire station. Patrons and staff calmly left the library building, many leaving their belongings thinking they’d be right back. More than two million books were piled everywhere in space intended for one million. Firefighters saw smoke in the fiction section, then it burst into flames. At F 451, when paper burns, the books smoldered and the fire traveled from one book to all others.
Soon, 350 firefighters were on the scene. Many suffered from smoke inhalation or respiratory distress. After seven hours, thirty-eight minutes, the fire died. 400,000 books were destroyed by the fire, and an additional 700,000 badly damaged by smoke or water. The 700,000 books had to be frozen before mold developed. Hundreds of volunteers came to help. They loaded 50,000 books on to trucks.
The city of Los Angeles hired arson investigators and offered a reward of $20,000 dollars for information about the origin. A composite sketch was made from info about a suspect seen by various observers. It looked like Harry Peak, with his long curly blond hair. Author Orlean interviews Peak’s sister Debra. Harry had died seven years after the fire, but Debra gives Orlean a complete picture of him. The Peak family had been unlucky, having troubles from car accidents to autism. Harry was the only one who had graduated from high school, humorous and a magician. He had been assaulted by a camp counselor. He revealed himself as a homosexual, but “He wanted to be straight”, said Debra. He said he was getting roles in movies, but he never did. He needed attention and lived with other “wannabes” in Hollywood.
Author Orlean describes John Szabo who is skilled with books, and views them as partners with the Internet, not as competitors. He was hired as head librarian. As the investigation continues, the staff is questioned. We feel their fear and pain after they return to work in the dusty, empty building. Szabo sets up a storage space for large items belonging to the more than 60,000 homeless people in Los Angeles. Author Orlean is obsessed with numbers.
She describes library fires in other countries where books were burned, such as at the Alexandria Library fire caused by Julius Caesar’s attack nearby in 640. In the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, the Pope ordered books burned in Spain that might have criticized the Catholic church and any books written in Hebrew. The Nazis destroyed 100 million books during their reign. The numbers in Poland and Germany are staggering.
An estimate to replace the 400,000 books lost came to over $14 million dollars. The city planned fundraising, and the head of ARCO offers them office space in his building. A national telethon raises more than two million dollars. Some women became head librarians: Mary Foy at eighteen years of age, then Jesse Kelso, brilliant and forceful. She modernized the library and increased membership to 20,000 from one hundred.
At the end of the 1800s, more women were hired because they required lower salaries. Andrew Carnegie built many fine libraries. He built 1700 libraries supported by tax revenues.
Meanwhile, Harry Peak has told friends that he was at the library when it was burning. He said he had been carried out by a handsome fireman. His friends ignored his story as just another of Harry’s imaginings. Staff members try to recall suspicious patrons on that day. The evidence against Harry was “like mercury,” slippery and inconstant. He had given seven different accounts of his whereabouts that day. On a polygraph test, the examiner said Harry was attempting deception. He was arrested, but released for insufficient evidence. The fire investigators were livid.
Basically, this is a book about libraries, but also about Harry Peak. Had he been joking or trying for attention as he always did? Why had he failed his lie detector test? Where was he really on the morning of the library fire? If he didn’t do it, who did? The Central Library had faulty wiring, bad ventilation, and sizzling light sockets. Could these have started the fire? Try to find the answers in this interesting book on the new non-fiction shelf of your Mendocino Community Library.