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The Arboretum Library is circulating to Los Angeles Arboretum Foundation members now. Come check us out!

Welcome to the Arboretum Library

The Arboretum Library houses upwards of 20,000 book titles and 300 current periodical titles on subjects ranging from gardening, horticulture, botany, California native plant life, environmental issues, and agriculture. Members of the general public can use the collection during library hours, and Los Angeles Arboretum Foundation members can check out materials for home use. We are also developing a Children’s book section that includes both fiction and non-fiction suitable for children of all ages. Children will be able to conduct research for school projects and participate in programming designed to promote literacy and environmental awareness.

Collections of The Library

dad reading to child"One of the nine objectives put forth in 1948 by the California Arboretum Foundation Board administrator for the newly founded Los Angeles State County Arboretum, was library service. A reference library for staff members only was the original intent in planning for a library, but since Arboretum objectives included both research and public information, it was soon apparent that the library must eventually become both a staff and a public resource."

 

From: What’s in an Arboretum Library by Lydia S. Bowen
LASCA Leaves Summer 1966 Vol. XVI No. 3

In 1942 the idea for a Library at The Arboretum was born. Collections, or Library Holdings, were gathered through donations and purchases funded by the California Arboretum Foundation, Inc., from societies and individuals. Today The Library still holds the same charm and quaintness as it did over sixty years ago while its resources and its contents have expanded. The collections today cover so many interesting subjects ranging from Plant Science to Gardening to Children’s Fiction and even include early California History. The Library is even in the process of obtaining an online internet resource that will make its collections available to you the house gardener, the landscape architect, the amateur botanist, the photographer, the parent/grandparent, the student (pre-school through grad-school), and the all-around lover of plants, at the click of a mouse.

Collections we have and are constantly adding to

  • Periodicals: Periodicals, or magazines, make up a large part of The Library’s holdings. Periodicals are arranged alphabetically and cover a variety of subjects. The Arboretum Library also has a subscription to Garden, Landscape & Horticulture Literature Index to help you find the articles you want.
  • Gardens: There are thousands of books on gardens of every shape and size in the library. Some subjects that are addressed are “How to Garden,” “English Gardens,” and even “Pests in your Garden.” There are picture books of gardens and how to draw flowers that grow in your garden. We are currently working on collecting pictures of early California gardens, please see below.
  • Taxonomy: Taxonomy is the classification or naming of living things. At The Library’s inception its primary purpose was to be a plant science library and taxonomy of plants was very popular in the late 1800s to mid-1900s. While our Taxonomy books are somewhat laborious to read those who do are often greatly rewarded. They are an excellent source to look up a weed you have found or a tree that you were wondering about in The Arboretum.
  • Kinds of Plants: In addition to the taxonomy are a great many books on different kinds of plants. There are over 265,000 species of plants, and only several hundred families; so it would be easier to find a plant’s family and then search for its species. The Library houses books on many of the most common families. Knowing the families of the plants can help the everyday gardener figure out what to plant in his/her garden by knowing what type of environment their plant came from and can sustain life in.
  • International Books: There are books from around the world in many languages available in The Library’s holdings. The Flora of Mexico is written in Spanish and we have other books that are written in the language that they originated. Books on the flora of Japan for example are written in Japanese. The list goes on! In addition to these books, we also have books that are translated into English from all over the world. We house literature on the flora of Egypt, Japan, Mexico, Turkey, and many more places around the world.
  • Botany: The botany books range from basic botany such as Botany Made Simple to ecological physiology of botany. The subjects include basic sciences like chemistry, physics, and biology, Plant Sciences, Soil Sciences and Plant Pathology of biological, entomological and abiotic factors. This is a very good resource for scientists and students as the collections are accessible and available for photocopying at a small fee.

Collections We Are Building

  • Children’s Collection: In an effort to provide resources and information to our younger members of the community, Susan Eubank, our current Librarian, began “growing” the children’s collection. The collection is housed seperately in the front of the library within easy reach of our customers.
  • Historical Gardens: We would like to gather pictures of historical Southern Californian gardens. If you own any, and would like to donate, we would love to have a photograph quality copy of the print or the actual print itself. We are willing to accept photographs, slides, and any form of visual media. If you are interested in donating your photographs please contact Susan Eubank.
  • Fiction: This is a new area of library collections being explored by The Library. The collection includes any type of fiction that is about plants in some way.

The Children's Section of the Arboretum Library

bookworm illustrationBookworms StoryTime

"Bookworms" is a free storytelling program. Come explore The Library and our great story trees! Enjoy plant & nature stories and a take home craft. Join us for Arboretum Bookworms Story Time on the 1st & 3rd Sunday of the month at 2pm & 3rd Wednesday of the month at 10am.
This program will go rain or shine. It is an indoor/ outdoor program; please dress appropriately.

Bookworm Themes

February, 7th, 2pm, 17th 10am, & 21th 2pm, What is a Seed?

March 7, 2pm, 17th 10am, &  21 2pm, Numbers in Nature

April 4, 2pm, 18th 2pm, & 21 10 am, It's Muddy

May 16th 2pm & 19th 10 am, Who's in Your Backyard

June 6th 2pm, 16th 10am, 20th 2pm, Let's Flutter

Meet your bookworm guide at The Arboretum Main Entrance

Reading the Western Landscape Book Group

The Book Group explores the portrayal of western North American landscape in fiction, non-fiction, and poetry. The group meets the 1st Thursday of the month at the Arboretum Library. The group uses the Shared Inquiry™ method developed by the Great Books Foundation (see http://www.greatbooks.org ). The chosen book of the month must be read in order to participate. New members welcome.

February book selection questions.

Cover of The Meadow

The Meadow by James Galvin (New York: Henry Holt, 1992)

How did Lyle, Frank and Ray know each other?  Why does the narrator juxtapose the three?
How do we get from Ray the boy into Ray the man?
What is the role of the two dreams?
Does Galvin’s language/structure make for clarity or ambiguity?
How do pages like p. 142 contribute to the story?
What do the diary entries tell us? How do they add? Why are they diary entries?
What does it add to Lyle to know how much he read?
How does the narrator feel about what happens to, or in or around the meadow?
What does the a non-linear plot format do for the book?
What are the distinctions between the two different parts to the book?

Upcoming book discussions

March discussion on March 4, 2010, 7:00 p.m.

 Cover of From the Ground Up

From the ground up : the story of a first garden by Amy Stewart, Chapel Hill, N.C. : Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill, ©2001.  Find it in your local library.

 April discussion on April 1, 2010, 7:00 p.m.

Cover of Coming Home to Eat

Coming home to eat : the pleasures and politics of local foods by Gary Paul Nabhan,  New York : Norton, ©2002.  Find it in your local library.

May discussion on May 6, 2010, 7:00 p.m.

Cover of Control of Nature

The chapter “Los Angeles Against the Mountains” from The control of nature by John McPhee, New York : Farrar, Straus, Giroux, 1989.  Find it in your local library. Be sure to get a version that has the complete chapter.

June discussion on June 3, 2010, 7:00 p.m.

Cover of Farewell to Manzanar

Farewell to Manzanar : a true story of Japanese American experience during and after the World War II internment, by Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston; James D Houston, Boston: Houghton Mifflin, ©1973.  Find it at your local library.

 

Arboretum Library Circulation Policy

The Arboretum Library is circulating to Los Angeles Arboretum Foundation members now. Come check us out!

Circulation privileges

Any member of the general public may use library materials on-site, but only Arboretum Foundation Members may check out books. Please be sure to have your Membership Card with you.

Circulation details

Books may be checked out for three weeks at a time, plus an additional two renewals if needed. Items may be renewed in person, by phone, or by email. Current magazines may be checked out for three days, with no renewals.

Overdue items

The Library does not charge overdue fines. The Librarian is happy to accept donations for the Arboretum Library's new acquisitions fund.

Library Hours

The Arboretum Library is located within The Arboretum, past the admission’s ticket counter, and left out the double doors.

Tuesday through Friday
8:30 am to 5:00 pm

Saturdays
8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Sundays

1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Contact Information

Librarian Susan Eubank
Email Susan Eubank
Phone: (626) 821-3213
Fax: (626) 445-1217

For plant information when the Library is closed please call 626-821-3239

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