Archives for category: Breaking News
We’ve been nominated again this year for “Best Bookstore” in the Downtown News Readers Choice Awards. Last year we won– so we’re hoping to keep our title! To vote, just click here. And while you’re at it, why not vote for Central Library for “Best Free Family Attraction” as well? Thank you!
Our inaugural DIY LA event was a success! We had a crowd of all ages decorating mini books with Washi tape. In case you weren’t able to attend, here’s some instructions for creating your own Washi Tape Mini Book. You’ll need some blank paper (we used regular ol’ copy paper), a piece of card stock for the cover, a paper cutter, a ruler, and some basic sewing skills!
Here you can see we’ve cut the paper to the required size, stacked it up, creased it down the middle, and sewn a single stitch down the middle to keep the pages together. We found it easiest to decorate the cover with Washi tape before attaching it to the pages. Here’s a great example of Washi decorating, created by one of the DIY LA crafters!
Once you’ve decorated your cover with as much Washi tape as it can hold, you’re ready to insert your pages. We found it easiest to just tape them inside with 1/2″ transparent tape, as shown below.
Voila! C’est fini! You have made your very own little Washi tape mini book! If you’d like to see more pictures from our super fun crafting event, check them out here! And if you’d like to be notified of our next crafting event, you can sign up for our newsletter here.
We’re starting a new series of crafting events in collaboration with the Art and Music Department here at the library called D.I.Y. LA, and our inaugural event is happening next Saturday afternoon! We hope you can join us in making Washi Tape mini books! Remember our post all about our obsession with Washi tape? Well, we want to pass that obsession on to you!
Washi tape is super fun and super versatile for crafting. Next Saturday we will be using it to decorate the covers of some mini blank journals– although the possibilities are really limitless when it comes to Washi tape. Check out our Facebook event page here, and let us know you’re coming! Happy crafting!
Have plans for the evening of Tuesday April 19th yet? Why not come down to the Central Library for a FREE program with children’s book author Maya Soetoro-Ng. In her debut book, Ladder to the Moon, Maya presents a lyrical story relaying the wisdom of her late mother to a her daughter, a young granddaughter whom her mother never got to meet. She says she was inspired by her young daughter Suhaila’s questions about her grandmother Ann Dunham. Ann Dunham is mother to Maya as well as to President Barack Obama.
Maya Soetoro-Ng will be speaking on Tuesday, April 19, 2011 , 6:30-8:00pm, in the Mark Taper Auditorium here at the Central Library. Books will be available for purchase courtesy of The Library Store, with proceeds benefiting the Los Angeles Public Library (as always!) ; Maya will be doing a book signing following the program. If you’re not able attend the event, but you’d still like a signed copy of the book- you can purchase a copy online here.
For more information contact Madeline Bryant, Senior Librarian in the Children’s Literature Department, (213)228-7251.
Hope to see you there!
Yesterday we said farewell to our good friend, Kenny the Bookworm. Kenny has retired from public view for now, although if you’d like to give him a new home let us know! We’d love to find him a new home if you’ve got some place he can go, just contact us at the store. We now introduce you to our new window friend, the Diana camera!
We’ve got a new focus at The Library Store right now– film photography. Keeping the Diana Mini cameras company we’ve also got a nifty DIY Pinhole Camera Set, a Fisheye camera, the Pop 9 camera (in gold!), and the Oktomat camera!
We’re pretty hooked on the idea of documenting this spring and summer through real film photography, and as we take those pictures they’ll be featured in the display. Hope this inspires you to take some pictures of your world too!
February is shaping up to be a pretty fantastic month! On top of all the new and exciting things showing up at the store, we found out a few days ago we were listed in the retail section of Los Angeles magazine’s Hidden LA Guide! They describe us as a “bitsy shop” crammed with an eclectic selection of goods… boy, they don’t know the half of it! So thanks LA Mag! We’re delighted to be included.
The construction of a giant bookworm is no simple feat. It took the tireless work of two diligent worker elves, numerous copies of the LA Weekly sourced from a 7-11 in Hollywood, rolls and rolls of masking tape, a rather off color selection of yellowed Science Fiction novels, and quarts of gooey paper mache slop. At times throughout the construction process, the task seemed never ending. Luckily, the worker elves had some good bookworm makin’ tunes to help them along.
Slowly but surely, the bookworm began to come together. Growing from his humble cardboard skeleton, he started to take shape with the addition of layers of newspaper wads. Here’s a picture of his mid-construction nap, taken on the couch.
Then the paper mache process began. Layers of newspaper, topped with layers of paper towels, topped with a shellacked “skin” of book pages and the bookworm was born! Just a quick inspection by the elves little furry friend and the process was just about complete…
The worm was then given some much needed big bright eyes, a mouth made from an old shattered record, and of course– some big green glasses to read with! Come meet Kenny the bookworm in his natural habitat, the downtown Central Library, right outside The Library Store!
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