A historic time capsule is revealed at Central Library’s 100th anniversary ...Middle East

By FRED SHUSTER

As Los Angeles’ Central Library celebrated its 100th anniversary on Thursday, the contents of a recently unearthed 100-year-old time capsule was revealed, offering a glimpse of a fast-growing city and a local government that churned out nearly as much bureaucratic paperwork then as it does now.

The copper time capsule was buried in the building’s cornerstone during the library’s construction in 1925.

For those who enjoy historic documents, the cache is a civic treasure trove, including photos, pamphlets, resolutions and booklets from local community organizations, annual reports, a copy of the city charter, engineering and fire department reports, coins, and copies of newspapers from 1925.

The library’s time capsule also contained an earlier capsule from 44 years previously.

The smaller box was originally placed in the cornerstone of the State Normal School — precursor to UCLA — which previously occupied the same site and was dedicated in December of 1881 before opening the following year.

The school cache included mementos from the funeral of President Garfield, who had recently been assassinated, holiday greeting cards, coins, newspapers, various documents and booklets.

Thursday’s launch of a year of library-related events tied to Central Library’s centennial took in multiple new exhibits, the unveiling of a new special edition library  card — available at branches throughout the city as long as they last — and, of course, a birthday cake.

It’s a history worthy of a book — or maybe 2.8 million of them.

As City Librarian John Szabo puts it, the Los Angeles Public Library serves one of the largest populations of any library system in the nation, almost 4 million people, through the Central Library and 72 branches. The district also serves a large percentage of non-native English speakers, as well as some of the United States’ wealthiest and poorest residents.

“The library is for all of Los Angeles,” Szabo said. “And our collections are a resource for the city, the nation, and the world. We are always asking ourselves how we can more effectively serve the population, including the most vulnerable people and the migrant community, both documented and undocumented.

“The books that are on the shelves belong to the people of the city.”

Public libraries are largely funded by local government through property taxes, municipal budgets or county levies, typically covering core operations like staffing, collections and facilities. State governments supplement this with direct aid or targeted grants, often administered by state library agencies.

The flagship Central Library — known for its tiled rooftop pyramid and vast, mural-lined rotunda — is the system’s headquarters.

The third-largest central library in the nation, its subject departments contain more than 2.8 million books, 5,000 magazine subscriptions, more than 3 million photographs, 10 million digital access U.S. patents, plus language learning and multimedia materials.

A variety of reference services are also available over the counter, by telephone, mail, e-mail or IM chat. Materials can be ordered by patrons throughout the city and shipped to the borrower’s local branch.

“The public library is very much the people’s university — and I worry about so many areas,” Szabo said.

“Book bans are taking place around the country at a level not seen since the McCarthy era. It’s happening in school districts, in public libraries … it’s not a major threat in the city of Los Angeles, but it has certainly happened in Southern California. It’s an issue that we should all pay attention to … and stand up for intellectual freedom.”

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