Photo: Melanie Stetson Freeman/CSM Staff.
An assortment of books published by Angel City Press. The press’s owners donated the indie publishing operation to the Los Angeles Public Library in December 2023.
Libraries are under pressure because, you know, they offer people books. One library is taking the general outrageousness of book culture a step further by getting into publishing.
Ali Martin writes at the Christian Science Monitor, “The City of Angels is known for glitz … but Angelenos recognize a deeper creative spirit, found in its eclectic and diverse neighborhoods, where stories of resilience are illuminated with quirky, indelible characters.
“ ‘There’s something really valuable in trying to reflect a true portrait of the city, not just to the people who live here, but [to people] everywhere,’ says Terri Accomazzo, editorial director for Angel City Press. …
“For more than 30 years, the small independent Angel City Press has published nonfiction by local authors. Now, the company’s founders are handing it all over to the Los Angeles Public Library (LAPL) in an arrangement unprecedented in scope — forging what the city’s top librarian describes as a natural alliance. ‘The library is about collecting stories, we’re about preserving stories, and we’re certainly about telling stories,’ says City Librarian John Szabo. …
“With e-books and self-publishing, getting a book to market has never been easier, says Andrea Fleck-Nisbet, CEO of the Independent Book Publishers Association. The hard part is connecting with an audience.
“ ‘By taking a small indie publisher and then being able to continue its life through a nonprofit like a library that’s already serving that market, you have that built-in community,’ she says. …
“Angel City’s donation includes its catalog of published books — titles that might be retired if acquired by a company focused solely on profits, says Ms. Accomazzo, who will keep her position after the transition. It also ensures that the press ‘continues to operate with an eye toward storytelling and a focus on telling things that matter.’ …
“One of those stories is A Handful of Earth, A Handful of Sky: The World of Octavia E. Butler, by Lynell George, about the life of the celebrated science fiction writer. Ms. Butler, a Black woman, grew up poor in Pasadena during the 1950s and ’60s, finding refuge in her journals and sanctuary in the area’s libraries.
“Ms. George, a well-published author, says Angel City’s local focus allows for a ‘much more rich conversation about shaping and sharing stories.’ Publishers from outside California often want LA stories to fit a preconceived narrative, she says. But in working with local publishers, ‘you’re just writing about what you see, what you love, what you have complicated feelings about. You’re not writing in response or retort to … a cliché.’
“In KAOS Theory: The Afrokosmic Ark of Ben Caldwell, author Robeson Taj Frazier brings to life the far-reaching cultural impact of a multimedia arts pioneer. By tracing Mr. Caldwell’s journey from his childhood in the American Southwest to filmmaking at UCLA and the establishment of his media arts center in LA’s Leimert Park neighborhood, Dr. Frazier shines light on civil rights and the Black experience in America.
“The self-described ‘latchkey kid’ who spent much of his childhood in public libraries now runs the University of Southern California’s Institute for Diversity and Empowerment at Annenberg. …
“The LAPL is the nation’s second-largest public library by population served, with the largest digital circulation — more than 10 million e-books, audio books, podcasts, and other electronic media. That kind of reach combined with publishing can have a profound impact, says Sonia Alcántara-Antoine, president of the Public Library Association. …
“The Angel City collaboration builds on an evolution of libraries as maker spaces, where anyone can access resources to build, fix, or create things. ‘This is very much part of where we are in libraries,’ says Ms. Alcántara-Antoine, who heads Baltimore County Public Library, ‘which is not only providing access to content, but facilitating the creation of it.’ …
“Angel City’s 135-plus titles are eclectic, diverse, weird, fun, and beautiful, says Mr. Szabo. As the library picks up that mantle, ‘it’s about telling stories that might not otherwise be told.’ ”
More at the Monitor, here. No paywall.
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