The Eagle Rock Branch of the Los Angeles Public Library (LAPL) hosted its semiannual book and bake sale Oct. 25. According to Martha Pulido-Caceres, a longtime member of the Friends of the Eagle Rock Library, the event is the library’s biggest fundraiser and one of the most anticipated neighborhood gatherings of the year.
“We do our sale twice a year,” Pulido-Caceres said. “Most of the books are two dollars or less, and all the children’s books are 50 cents.”
According to Pullido-Caceres, for community members on a budget, the sale is a great way to cultivate their own library.
“Teachers often rush in to buy boxes of books for their classrooms, turning the sale into a resource for local educators as well as readers,” Pulido-Caceres said.
According to Pulido-Caceres, the Friends of the Eagle Rock Library was formed to raise money for the library when the branch first opened. Pulido-Caceres said over the years, proceeds have gone toward furniture, updates to the youth area and summer reading programs.
“We try to get people interested in literature and in coming to the library,” Pulido-Caceres said. “We want them to see that the library is a place for everyone — not just for books.”
According to Eagle Rock branch librarian Lisa Schloss, the Friends’ support has direct and tangible effects.
“The funds help us bring in additional programs during the summer reading program,” Schloss said. “They also help us fill holes in our collection and purchase new media so we can keep that collection fresh.”
The Eagle Rock Branch also offers hundreds of databases that are open to the public and accessible with a LAPL card, Schloss said.
According to Schloss, students and community members with a library card can also access The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and other major newspapers, along with online language-learning and test-prep tools.
The branch also hosts a wide range of community events, Schloss said.
“We have a monthly book club and an open-mic poetry night every other month,” Schloss said. “We’ve even had Oxy students come and read their poetry. You’ll see people of all ages there, and everyone is so supportive.”
The connection to the college deepened through an ongoing partnership between Occidental College and the Eagle Rock Library, Schloss said. Kristin Peace, a Social Sciences and Data Literacy Librarian at the College, said the collaboration is now in its second year.
“The idea is to expand the relationship in both directions,” Peace said. “We want to bring the Eagle Rock branch to campus so students, faculty and staff can benefit from the resources that the LAPL has that Oxy doesn’t — and at the same time bring [the] college out into the community, which is very much a part of the Oxy promise.”
According to Peace, when she first arrived at Occidental, she discovered that students couldn’t obtain public library cards because campus housing lacked individual street addresses.
“That’s why I reached out to the branch,” Peace said. “They’ve made an exception for Oxy students — even if they use their campus address, they can still get a full-access card.”
Peace said the Occidental library hosts card sign-up drives at the beginning of each semester, and the Occidental library is planning to collaborate with the Eagle Rock branch on joint research-skills workshops.
“We’ve talked with them about going to their branch over the summer to offer college-ready research workshops for incoming or rising first-year students — whether they’re coming to Oxy or not,” Peace said. “The goal is to be a resource that helps new students get research-ready.”
According to College Librarian and Director of the Academic Commons, Sarah Pickle, collaborations like this highlight how public and academic libraries complement one another.
“It’s really important that we draw on local resources and help educate our community about what a public library does versus an academic library,” Pickle said. “It helps cultivate a culture of lifelong learning and engagement that includes not just the campus but the community as well.”
Pickle said the LAPL system offers broader access to streaming media and professional-development platforms, such as LinkedIn Learning. Beyond the digital resources, Pickle said public libraries provide crucial “third spaces” for people of all ages.
“[Third spaces are] community spaces that provide equal and equitable access to everyone, regardless of who they are or what they can afford,” Pickle said. “Quite simply, public libraries and public schools are the foundation of our democracy. We can’t have an informed, functioning public without access to information.”
According to Avery Albert, an Eagle Rock resident who attended the sale for the first time, public libraries are the foundation of a community.
“Books have gotten really expensive,” Albert said. “It’s an amazing way to keep people interested in reading and to show kids that reading in person is still special. It’s available to everyone, and anyone can buy books.”
According to Pulido-Caceres, the accessibility and shared joy are what make the book sale worthwhile.
“When someone finds the book they’ve been looking for, you can see the happiness on their face,” Pulido-Caceres said. “It’s not just about buying a book, but making memories.”
Contact Samhita Krishnan at krishnan@oxy.edu
