Programs & Services of the Vermont Square Branch: Then and Now

From its founding in 1913, the Vermont Square Branch Library has always been a community center. It programs and services were established to benefit the people in the surrounding locale, especially youths (Los Angeles Public Library, 1936, p. 2). Below is a list of the services the library established in its early years. Some of these still exist to this very day.

Clubs:

Girls’ Dramatic Club: a club that was established in 1913 and had a membership between 50 and 60 young girls. They used to put together events such as flower shows. It was discontinued in 1914 due to the library’s small staff (Los Angeles Public Library, 1936, p. 2).

Reading Clubs: clubs such as the Bookworm Reading Club (1934), which was featured in the Southwest Wave, were formed to encourage reading among youths in the community (“Library Club,” 1934). The library also had adult reading clubs such as the Southwest Book Review Club (1930), according to the Southwest Wave; they held their meetings in the library’s auditorium (“Book Club,” 1930). The youth book clubs were discontinued in the late 1960s/early 1970s, after youth interest in the library began to wane. However, though youth reading clubs are no longer a part of the library, there is an adult reading club that exists today. Also, reading programs such as Read To Me L.A. exist today to help boost child literacy rates (M. Jones, personal communication, April 6, 2010).

The Girls’ and Boys’ Wood-Craft League: a club established by the library in 1920 to foster youths’ interests in arts and crafts. It is unknown when it was discontinued; however, there is no mention of it in reports after the late 1930s (Los Angeles Public Library, 1936, p. 3; Vermont Square Branch Library, n.d., p. 11).

The Monday Night Forum: according to the Southwest Wave, this group was established in 1935 (“Monday Night Forum,” 1935). They held discussions in the auditorium every Monday at 7 PM and discussed topics such as ‘Americanization’ (Los Angeles Public Library, 1936, p. 3; “Schools’ Official in Library,” 1939). This group is no longer in existence today (M. Jones, personal communication, April 6, 2010).

-Children's room at Vermont Square Branch Library

Programs, Services, and Entertainment:

Story Hour: began immediately after the library was founded and was a popular activity (Los Angeles Public Library, 1920, p. 2). It went into decline in the early 1990s due to youths’ waned interest in the library; however, it was revived in the early 2000s and continues to be a service offered by the library (M. Jones, personal communication, April 6, 2010).

Book Week: The Southwest Wave reported that Book Week was established by all branches in November of 1933 (“Book Week Programs,” 1933). Children were to read a certain amount of books and vote which one was the best. Whoever voted would have their entry published in a local newspaper. According to the Southwest Wave, Book Week was reestablished in 1941 following a financial crisis during the Great Depression and held long after (“Libraries Hold Book Week,” 1941). However, due to today’s economic downturn, it is no longer held today (M. Jones, personal communication, April 6, 2010).

School Visits: these first began in April of 1929, when students from Manual Arts High School visited the library for a field trip (Vermont Square Branch Library, n.d., p. 16). The library continues this tradition with Manual Arts down to this day (M. Jones, personal communication, April 6, 2010).

Book Fairs: the first book fair was held in November of 1930 and continued to be an integral part of Book Week; it was often advertised in the Southwest Wave("Libraries Observe Book Week,” 1942; Vermont Square Branch Library, n.d., p. 17). However, due to budgetary issues and lack of youth interest, they are no longer held by the library (M. Jones, personal communication, April 6, 2010).

Lecture series: a weekly program in which the Vermont Square Branch would invite a guest speaker come to discuss world current events or a topic of concern in the community. For instance, according to the Southwest Wave, journalist Sam Evans was selected to give a series of lectures for a week at the library in October of 1940 (“Interest Shown,” 1940). Though the branch no longer holds its own lecture series, the Library Foundation of Los Angeles does (the “ALOUD Lecture Series”), according to its website (M. Jones, personal communication, April 6, 2010).

Vacation Reading Contest: this was established by the library in the summer of 1926 (Vermont Square Branch Library, n.d., p. 12). Each summer, children had to read a minimum of 10 books to participate and receive school credit. The school that had the largest amount of readers received a banner as a prize, according to the Southwest Wave(“Vermont Square Library,” 1933; “Vermont Square Library,” 1934). Due to waned interest in reading, the library no longer holds such contests (M. Jones, personal communication, April 6, 2010).

Music Week: according to the Southwest Wave, the library used to hold a weekly series of classical music concerts every summer at either Vermont Square Park or the Central Library (“Library Offers Free Concerts,” 1934). Today, it no longer exists; however, in lieu, the library hosts the event “Paid Performers,” in which musicians and magicians put on shows for youths every summer (M. Jones, personal communication, April 6, 2010).

Piano recitals: beginning in 1913, the library’s auditorium was used by music teachers to conduct piano recitals. This was discontinued in 1933 due to the library’s piano declined condition (Los Angeles Public Library, 1936, p. 2; Vermont Square Branch Library, n.d., p. 4).

Exhibits: the branch library would display special exhibits of artwork, crafts, and related works for the community’s youth. For instance, according to the Southwest Wave, the library displayed the Handicrafts Exhibit, which consisted of arts and crafts created by youths, in July of 1933 (“Vermont Square Library,” 1933). This has thus been a facet of the library for decades, and it continues down to this day (M. Jones, personal communication, April 6, 2010).

Speech Classes: an article in the Southwest Wave stated that in 1944, the library began offering youths courses on public speaking and building self-confidence (“Speaking Classes Offered,” 1944). These courses are no longer available today by the branch. However, there are other classes that the library does provide (i.e. needlepoint, computer literacy) today (M. Jones, personal communication, April 6, 2010).

Organizations:

Friends of the Vermont Library: an organization that was created by the library during World War I to encourage wealthy benefactors to donate funds to the branch (Los Angeles Public Library, 1949, p. 4). It was put on hiatus in 2006 due to the recession; however, the library hopes that it will soon return once the economic climate turns around (M. Jones, personal communication, April 6, 2006).

Holiday:

Easter Egg Hunt: a few days before Easter, the Vermont Branch would host this special event for families in the library’s park. They began to be held sometime in the 1930s but were discontinued in the early 1990s due to budget issues in the library (M. Jones, personal communication, April 6, 2010).