THE LIBRARY BOOK by Susan Orlean

I just wish that every book I read were written half as well as this one.   Susan Orlean has educated us here not only about the 1986 Los Angeles Central Library fire but about libraries in general and how their mission and repositories have changed over time.  The LA library houses vast collections of everything from maps to patent documents and serves as a haven for homeless people.  Orlean also weaves in the story of Harry Peak, a pathological liar who told friends that he had torched the library.  His claims alternated between confession and alibi, and authorities were never able to ascertain with certainty that the fire was the work of an arsonist; faulty wiring could have been the culprit.  Ironically, the fire itself got limited news coverage when it happened, because the news of another disaster—Chernobyl--overshadowed it.  The fire may be the central event in the book, but the true everyday heroes are the librarians and staff.  They answer questions that are as diverse as the people who ask them.  They ship gazillions of books to and from the branches and catalog all nature of materials.  I can’t begin to list all of the functions that the library performs that I had never before considered.  This book is truly an eye-opener that will cause me to look at my local branch librarians with a lot more appreciation.