Anyone who appreciates the value of a public library should read this boom

This book focuses on the devastating Los Angeles Central Library fire of the late 1980s, the subsequent arson investigation, and its rebuilding and grand re-opening. However, much of the book is also part-memoir, part exploitation of the history of the Los Angeles Public Library System, and a more philosophical exploration about the utility and function of a library as an open, inclusive source of communal knowledge within an open, democratic society. Highly recommended.