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Before the internet helped you choose your next read, the Los Angeles Public Library created an index of fiction book review cards.
How it worked: The reviews, a collection of thousands of index cards, contain library staff members' thoughts and opinions about new fiction releases that the library carried. The library system was used starting in the 1920s and into the 1980s.
Keep reading... to learn about how it worked and how to still check out those reviews today.
Before the internet made book reviews widely accessible, where would curious minds go to find information about a new novel's subject matter or a plot?
If you lived in the Los Angeles area, you could reference the Los Angeles Public Library's index of fiction book review cards. The reviews, a collection of thousands of index cards, contain library staff members' thoughts and opinions about new fiction releases that the library carried. The library system was used starting in the 1920s and into the 1980s.
Robert Anderson, who has worked as a librarian at the Los Angeles Public Library since 1980, says the staff review cards were a handy tool that library staff used to answer specific questions the public had about different books.
"In the the pre-internet days, when you couldn't just Google something, if people called and said, 'I've heard about this book and I just want to know what it's about,' you could pull out the card and read it to them or show it to them if they were in person," Anderson said.
The reviews, along with being a helpful public tool, also helped staff pick which books the LAPL would order for their shelves. "They didn't always write reviews for every book, but it was a major way they made the decision on what to buy, particularly for newer authors," Anderson said. If a staff member reviewed a book favorably, they were more likely to carry the title and order multiple copies, he said.
In a recent video posted to the library's social accounts, Anderson describes the review cards and walks viewers through their archive. Although the cards are readily available to the public, housed in large drawers near the Central Library reference desk, Anderson said that the video, which was posted on Friday, will introduce most people to the collection.
"They're in these drawers, but they're not drawers that have a big label saying, 'read these 100-year-old staff reviews,' " he said.
Anderson said the library still has its entire collection of staff reviews — both books rejected and accepted by the library — from between the 1950s and 1980s. But he said the rejections from before the 1950s were discarded just before he started working at the library. "I think if I had been here, I would have found a box or something to put them in and held on to them," he said.
The bygone review process was simple: On an index card, library staff would handwrite or type up a short synopsis of a book they read and give their personal review of it. The staff member would then indicate: whether they thought the library should carry the book, how many copies of the book the library should procure, and other details, such as an evaluation of the text's "literary merit." The cards offered adjectives that the reviewer could underline to indicate how the story might affect readers emotionally.
For example, for the library's review of Virginia Woolf's 1925 book Mrs. Dalloway, the reviewer underlined "wholesome," "pleasant," and "interesting." Of the staff member's characterization of the book, Anderson said he wasn't sure why the writer considered Woolf's writing — which deals with loneliness and other, often dark human experiences — to be wholesome, "but they did."
Other libraries may keep similar review collections, said Anderson — though he wasn't aware of any — but he noted that library space is often an issue for housing extensive physical indexes. The San Francisco Public Library, another large library system in California, for example, does not keep an archive of this kind, according to Andrea Grimes, the program manager for book arts and special collections at SFPL. But, she noted, it has saved other old card catalogs made by SFPL librarians.
The Los Angeles Public Library's index of staff review cards isn't used regularly anymore, Anderson said. But he said the system now serves as a historical record of both the books, some almost 100 years old, as well as the cultural views held by the book-loving library staff of the time.
" They've become an interesting reflection on not just the books themselves, but on the library staff who wrote these reviews and the attitudes prevalent in the 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, on particular subjects," Anderson said. "Just in the short little pieces of writing on these cards, you can find a lot about the particular time when these reviews were written and about the people who are writing the reviews."
Copyright 2025 NPR
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As Santa Ana reckons with a $16 million budget shortfall, the police and city officials on Tuesday reported that around $500,000 was spent responding to anti-ICE protests last summer — and that legal claims filed by protesters could push that cost even higher.
About those costs: Around $400,000 of that amount was spent over four days last year — June 9, 10, 11 and 14 — when residents descended on the downtown area to protest ramped up immigration enforcement actions under the Trump administration.
Additional costs: City Attorney Sonia Carvalho said during Tuesday’s City Council meeting that the city has received four claims and one lawsuit stemming from the police department’s actions during the protests. It’s unclear how much the claims could end up costing the city.
As Santa Ana reckons with a $16 million budget shortfall, the police and city officials on Tuesday reported that around $500,000 was spent responding to anti-ICE protests last summer — and that legal claims filed by protesters could push that cost even higher.
Around $400,000 of that amount was spent over four days last year — June 9, 10, 11 and 14 — when residents descended on the downtown area to protest ramped up immigration enforcement actions under the Trump administration.
City Attorney Sonia Carvalho said during Tuesday’s City Council meeting that the city has received four claims and one lawsuit stemming from the police department’s actions during the protests.
It’s unclear how much the claims could end up costing the city.
Robert Rodriguez, Santa Ana’s police chief, said officers were sent out during the first day of protests after Carvalho received a call from the Department of Justice.
”It wasn't in a threatening manner, but it was basically if your department cannot provide the security that we need, then we're going to bring in federal resources,” she said. “We had a discussion about what that might look like in terms of safety for our community and what that would mean to people in our community.”
That’s when the police department made the decision to send in officers.
Rodriguez said the department was “ trying to create some distance between our community and the federal officers.”
Last June, protesters took to the streets across Southern California calling out the ramped up immigration sweeps across the region. This prompted the Trump administration to send in the military and the National Guard, further inflaming tensions.
But the ensuing local police response during the protests also drew the ire of residents and community members, particularly in Los Angeles and Santa Ana.
One councilmember in Santa Ana, Johnathan Ryan Hernandez, said during a council meeting last year that police officers shot at him using rubber bullets during anti-ICE protests.
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A measure to roll back two kinds of taxes is slated to go before voters in November. The measure would affect cities and taxpayers across the state, but Los Angeles and its controversial “mansion tax” is the prime target.
More details: Branded the “Local Taxpayer Protection Act” by its sponsor, the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, the newly eligible measure would both sharply cap municipal transfer taxes — fees slapped on real estate sales — and make it harder for voter-sponsored campaigns to raise taxes in local elections.
Why the fight is also about L.A.: The focus of the debate, and arguably the primary target of the proposition, is Los Angeles and its controversial “mansion tax,” known as Measure ULA. Since becoming law in 2023, the voter-backed policy has levied a 4% tax on real estate sales over $5 million and 5.5% on those above $10 million — thresholds that have since inched up to match inflation. The tax has raised more than $1 billion in three years. Last week, the city announced a $360 million award for future affordable housing projects.
Read on... for more on why the "mansion tax" is at the center of it.
California's secretary of state announced Tuesday that a tax-chopping proposition — one backers have spent years trying to put before voters — is now officially eligible for the November ballot. Come fall, anti-tax advocates and real estate developers may have reason to rejoice; city governments, public sector unions and the city of Los Angeles could have reason to worry.
The qualification announcement for a real estate-oriented constitutional amendment also gives California's Democratic lawmakers reason to start frantically negotiating toward a deal to keep the measure off the ballot entirely, even though the measure’s backers publicly say they aren’t interested.
Branded the “Local Taxpayer Protection Act” by its sponsor, the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, the newly eligible measure would both sharply cap municipal transfer taxes — fees slapped on real estate sales — and make it harder for voter-sponsored campaigns to raise taxes in local elections.
The measure would hit cities like Berkeley, San Mateo and Alameda — which rely on transfer taxes for a significant share of their funding — especially hard. According to an analysis by the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office, it would cost local governments “a couple of billion dollars” per year, with taxpayers collectively saving just as much.
But the focus of the debate, and arguably the primary target of the proposition, is Los Angeles and its controversial “mansion tax,” known as Measure ULA.
Since becoming law in 2023, the voter-backed policy has levied a 4% tax on real estate sales over $5 million and 5.5% on those above $10 million — thresholds that have since inched up to match inflation. The tax has raised more than $1 billion in three years. Last week, the city announced a $360 million award for future affordable housing projects.
But real estate interests, some elected officials in Los Angeles and a growing number of academics say the tax has triggered a sharp slowdown in new construction, including of affordable housing, across the city, compared to neighboring cities. The levy falls not just on mansions, but apartments, condos, multi-use and commercial developments, too.
The resulting ire among developers, investors and business groups over the Los Angeles tax fueled the statewide proposition campaign, said Jon Coupal, president of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, a conservative group best known for its landmark property tax limiting measure Proposition 13. “I think ULA was not just the straw that broke the camel’s back, but the redwood tree that broke the camel’s back,” he said.
The statewide proposition would trim transfer taxes to just one-twentieth of 1% of a real estate sale’s value. Measure ULA’s top rate is 100 times higher. It would also require some voter-initiated tax measures to clear a two-thirds threshold rather than a simple majority. In Los Angeles, measure ULA passed with 58%.
If the tax-chopping proposition passes, Measure ULA is first on the block.
But that’s a big “if.” More than 57% of likely voters, including a majority of Republicans, opposed the initiative when shown its title as it would appear on the ballot, according to a recent poll by the Public Policy Institute of California.
There’s also a chance the measure won’t even make it onto the ballot.
Under California election law, sponsors can still yank a measure back after gathering enough valid signatures before the official qualification deadline of June 25. In prior election cycles, that window has become a bonanza of backroom dealing in Sacramento as Democratic lawmakers scramble to muscle unwanted measures off the upcoming ballot and deal-hungry interest groups line up to extract concessions.
A notable example: In 2018, the soda industry funded a ballot measure that would have made it harder for local governments across the state to raise taxes. They pulled it at the last minute, but only after lawmakers begrudgingly agreed to pass a 13-year ban on new soda taxes.
At the end of last year’s legislative session, a group of Southern California Democrats, working alongside Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and former state Assembly Speaker Bob Hertzberg, launched a last-minute effort to exempt new apartment developments from the L.A. tax, while adding some new flexibility on how the money could be spent. The bill had a broader purpose too: It would have only taken effect if the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association removed its measure.
In the face of pushback from both business groups on one side and arch defenders of Measure ULA on the other, the effort fizzled. But now that the Howard Jarvis measure is officially headed for the ballot, Sacramento legislators may feel newly inspired to deal. Even if the electoral odds are ultimately stacked against the proposition, Democratic lawmakers and left-leaning campaign funders would be happy to avoid a costly defensive campaign.
In the meantime, changes may be coming out of Los Angeles itself.
Earlier this year, Councilmember Nithya Raman, who is hoping to unseat Bass as mayor, introduced a measure that would have put a series of Measure ULA changes on the June ballot. By exempting new development, it reflected many of the changes proposed in last year’s unsuccessful state bill. But a majority of the council punted.
The council instead delegated the question to a select committee chaired by Councilmember Ysabel Jurado, tasking it with recommending changes to the tax. Some of those changes would require voter approval and could go before voters in November, on the same ballot as the Howard Jarvis proposition.
The committee will also consider a set of tweaks to the law proposed by city staff that would clarify that nonprofit affordable developers are exempt from the tax, while making it easier for developers to pair ULA funds with other sources of funding. City staff say those changes could happen without going back to voters.
Tenant rights groups, some affordable housing developers and trade unions support those changes, but are urging the committee to otherwise leave the tax alone. A coalition of developers, “Yes in My Backyard” advocates and unionized carpenters has popped up to urge the city to consider a broad “fix” — before state lawmakers or anti-tax advocates do that work for them.
“We think it's really important to show that we can drive reform locally,” said Sarah Dusseault, a former city homelessness official who is now co-leading the “Mend It, Don’t End It” campaign. Making those changes locally “will go a long way to prevent more drastic measures.”
Measure ULA’s defenders counter that nothing the city or the state does will be enough to convince the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association to pull its measure.
“We’ve tried to negotiate with the funders of the measure and, both publicly and privately, they’ve been consistent that they have no intention to pull the measure,” said Joe Donlin, director of the United to House L.A. coalition. “They don't want to change taxes, they want to eliminate them.”
Coupal, from Howard Jarvis, agreed that the proposition is not a bargaining chip. “The folks on our side cannot envision any kind of deal that would give us the kind of solace that we would need,” he said.
But campaigns are expensive. Though the proposition campaign has been led by the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, much of the funding has come from the California Business Roundtable, a coalition of major businesses in California, along with a smattering of commercial real estate companies, developers and landlord groups in Los Angeles. For now, the business roundtable says this dispute should be settled by voters. In the coming months, would any of them be willing to cut a deal with desperate Democrats in exchange for dropping their support?
Some legislators in both Sacramento and Los Angeles are eager to find out.
This article was originally published on CalMatters and was republished under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives license.
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Three ships came under fire in the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday, putting the possibility of any peace talks in jeopardy, after a senior Iranian official said that President Trump's last-minute ceasefire extension "means nothing."
More details: The first ship was attacked and damaged by Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, the British military's United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said, though no injuries were reported.
The backstory: The attacks come after President Trump indefinitely extended the ceasefire with Iran at the 11th hour, ahead of its expiration. Trump said he was doing so at the request of mediating country Pakistan and it would give Tehran time to present a "unified proposal."
Read on... for more updates on the war.
Three ships came under fire in the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday, putting the possibility of any peace talks in jeopardy, after a senior Iranian official said that President Trump's last-minute ceasefire extension "means nothing."
The first ship was attacked and damaged by Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, the British military's United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said, though no injuries were reported.
"The Master of a Container Ship reported that the vessel was approached by 1 IRGC gun boat," according to UKMTO.
No warning was given, but it "then fired upon the vessel which has caused heavy damage to the bridge," the center said in a report.
Iran's semiofficial Tasnim News Agency confirmed the incident, saying the container ship had "ignored repeated warnings."
The UKMTO did not immediately say who was responsible for the attack on the second cargo vessel, only that there was no damage or injuries.
Iran's semi-official Fars news agency also reported Iran's Navy had attacked a third ship, the Euphoria. Iranian media reported that the Iranian navy had "seized" the two other vessels, which it identified as the MSC Francesca and the "Epaminodes," likely referring to the Epaminondas.
The attacks come after President Trump indefinitely extended the ceasefire with Iran at the 11th hour, ahead of its expiration. Trump said he was doing so at the request of mediating country Pakistan and it would give Tehran time to present a "unified proposal."
That's after a U.S. delegation had been slated to travel to Islamabad for a second round of peace talks, a plan that dissolved after Iran said it would not be attending.
Mahdi Mohammadi, an adviser to Iran's main negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, posted on X: "Trump's ceasefire extension means nothing, the losing side cannot dictate terms."
Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said earlier that "blockading Iranian ports is an act of war and thus a violation of the ceasefire." He added that the U.S. seizure of an Iranian ship on Sunday was "an even greater violation."
Here are more developments on day 54 of the Middle East war:
Iran's economy | U.K.-France conference | International reaction | Fuel struggles | Points of contention
Despite Iran's refusal to attend negotiations this week, Trump says the country is in dire economic straits.
"Iran is collapsing financially! They want the Strait of Hormuz opened immediately- Starving for cash! Losing 500 Million Dollars a day. Military and Police complaining that they are not getting paid. SOS!!!," he posted on Truth Social late Tuesday.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent posted on X on Tuesday that under Trump's orders the U.S. Navy will continue the blockade of Iran's ports.
"In a matter of days, Kharg Island storage will be full and the fragile Iranian oil wells will be shut in. Constraining Iran's maritime trade directly targets the regime's primary revenue lifelines," he said.
He also said his office would continue to "systematically degrade Tehran's ability to generate, move, and repatriate funds."
The United Kingdom and France are hosting a two-day conference starting Wednesday aimed at reopening the Strait of Hormuz. One of the challenges is to remove undersea mines Iran is believed to have planted there.
Military planners from more than 30 countries are meeting at a Royal Air Force base north of London to put together a multinational mission to safeguard the Strait of Hormuz amid global concerns over oil and energy prices.
A poll in the U.K. shows 1 in 10 people are already stockpiling fuel.
British defense officials have previously floated the idea of deploying autonomous mine-hunting systems from motherships sent to the Gulf. But they caution that whatever plan they come up with at this two-day conference will only take effect after what they call a sustained ceasefire between Iran and the U.S.
U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres cautiously welcomed Trump's announcement of a ceasefire extension.
"This is an important step toward de-escalation and creating critical space for diplomacy and confidence-building between Iran and the United States," he said in a statement shared by his spokesperson.
"We encourage all parties to build on this momentum, refrain from actions that could undermine the cease-fire, and engage constructively in negotiations to reach a sustainable and lasting resolution."
China warned that the Middle East is at a "critical stage."
"The paramount priority remains to make every effort to prevent a resumption of hostilities," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun told a news briefing Wednesday.
Kaja Kallas, the European Union's foreign policy chief, said in an online statement: "Daily U-turns, whether the Strait of Hormuz is open or closed, are reckless. Transit through the Strait must remain free of charge."
She said the EU was widening sanctions on Tehran, adding "none of us want to see a nuclear-armed Iran."
Meanwhile, the war and strait blockade are continuing to rattle global markets and push up costs, with the airline industry particularly hard hit.
On Tuesday, German airline Lufthansa said that because the price of jet-fuel had doubled since the start of the war, it was cutting 20,000 flights through October in an attempt to save fuel.
United Airlines has also been impacted, with Reuters news agency reporting the Chicago-based carrier had forecast second-quarter and full-year profits below Wall Street estimates.
Meanwhile, the Department of Transportation says it is taking "a look" at Spirit Airlines at the request of Trump. Spirit filed for bankruptcy protection in August for the second time in less than a year.
Now soaring fuel costs tied to the Iran war are adding more uncertainty about the carrier's ability to keep operating. It's not the only one:last week a trade association for low-cost carriers sent a letter to Congress asking for temporary tax relief.
For officials in Washington, the main points of contention remain control over the Strait of Hormuz and the future of Iran's nuclear program.
The Trump administration has said it wants commercial shipping through the strategic waterway to be fully restored. Around 20% of the world's crude oil and natural gas typically passes through the strait.
After the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran on Feb. 28, Iran began to exert control over the Strait of Hormuz. It has prevented most commercial ships from transiting and has collected steep tolls from some of the few that did.
Vice President Vance said the first round of ceasefire talks held over a week ago broke down because Iran would not commit to forgoing a nuclear weapon.
"The simple fact is that we need to see an affirmative commitment that they will not seek a nuclear weapon, and they will not seek the tools that would enable them to quickly achieve a nuclear weapon," Vance said.
For Tehran, the key demands for extending the ceasefire include an end to the U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ports and guarantees that the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah will not resume.
Israel and Lebanon agreed on a 10-day ceasefire last week, pausing fighting between Israel's military and the Iran-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. Israel and Lebanon are due to hold fresh talks in Washington on Thursday.
Lauren Frayer in Glasgow, Scotland, Joel Rose in Washington, Jane Arraf in Amman, Jordan, and Kate Bartlett in Johannesburg contributed to reporting.
Copyright 2026 NPR
Topline:
Pizza City Fest returns to L.A. LIVE this weekend with 40 SoCal pizzerias, including 11 first-timers, and a lineup that doubles as a snapshot of where Southern California pizza stands right now.
Why it matters: The fest is one of the few events that brings the full geographic and stylistic range of SoCal's pizza scene under one roof — making the case that L.A. isn't just a pizza city, it's a pizza region. Expect Detroit, NY, Neapolitan, tavern-style, grandma pie and more. No dominant identity, and that's kind of the point.
Why now: The event runs April 25–26, and the scene it's showcasing is as strong as it's ever been — more artisan bakers, more diverse styles, and more pizzerias pushing past city limits into the IE, OC, and beyond.
The backstory: Founded in 2022 by food reporter and James Beard Award winner Steve Dolinsky, Pizza City Fest has grown into a three-city operation. The L.A. edition is now in its fourth year and continues to expand its footprint both geographically and stylistically.
What's next: Tickets are still available at lalive.com/pizzacityfest. GA is $99/day, VIP is $199.
For anyone who doesn't think Los Angeles is serious about pizza, they've never been to Pizza City Fest.
Now in its fourth year, the festival returns to L.A. LIVE's Event Deck this weekend — from 1-5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday — showcasing the full range of styles that define SoCal's pizza scene. The event was founded by three-time Emmy and 13-time James Beard Award-winning food reporter Steve Dolinsky, who has built Pizza City Fest into a three-city operation spanning Chicago, Nashville and Los Angeles. This year, 40 pizzerias will be offering unlimited tastings — general admission runs $99 a day, VIP $199. (Drinks, both alcoholic and NA, are also included in the price).
SoCal pizza isn't specific to L.A. What's most exciting about this year's lineup is how far it stretches — from Orange County and the Inland Empire to the San Fernando Valley and Santa Barbara. It’s a testament to the fact that good pizza is everywhere in the region; you just need to know where to find it.
As Dolinsky puts it: "You don't have to get in your car and drive all over Southern California to try all these great pizzas because they're all going to be made fresh, right there in one place."
Eleven out of the 40 pizzerias are making their Pizza City Fest debuts this year (marked with an asterisk).
Saturday
Dessert: Lei'd Cookies (Culver City) and Uli's Gelato (Los Angeles)
Sunday
Dessert: Wanderlust Creamery (Los Angeles) and Levain Bakery (Los Angeles, Venice, Beverly Hills)
Perhaps one of the most exciting aspects of Pizza City Fest is the sheer range of styles on offer. Detroit, NY, Neapolitan, tavern-style, grandma pie — all under one roof. No dominant identity, and that's kind of the point. Unlike New York or Chicago, where pizza culture rallies around a single style, SoCal's scene is pluralist by nature. You've got Ozzy's Apizza repping New Haven-style, Esco's flying the New York flag, Detroit Pizza Depot doing what it says on the tin, and Bub & Grandma's doing their own artisan thing that defies easy categorization.
Keep an eye on Colossus, based in Long Beach and San Pedro, who earned a glowing review from the LA Times and is bringing a 100% sourdough crust to the fest — the kind of artisan approach Dolinsky says has defined the scene's evolution over the past four years.
And then there's PiiZaa — a mobile operation out of the Torrance Farmers Market whose name is apparently how the Vietnamese community pronounces the word. They'll be making a bánh xèo-inspired dish (a traditional stuffed crepe in pizza form) with turmeric, shrimp and pork.
As Dolinsky puts it, "That to me is very LA. Vietnamese culture meets Neapolitan pizza. That doesn't happen really anywhere else in the country." The fest isn't an argument for one style over another — it's an argument that SoCal can do all of them and do them well.
When you get tired — or full — of stuffing your face with delicious slices, Pizza City Fest has you covered there too.
Saturday's programming kicks off with "The Dough Whisperers" at 2 p.m., featuring Nancy Silverton and Aaron Lindell of Quarter Sheets in conversation about the craft of dough, followed at 3 p.m. by a home baker's masterclass demo from Thomas McNaughton and Ryan Pollnow of SF's Flour + Water — plus a Silverton book signing after.
Sunday brings a backyard pizza oven demo at 2 p.m. from Daniele Uditi of Pizzana. At 3 p.m., Esteban Gutierrez, Sean Lango, and Vito DeCandia make the case that great New York-style pizza doesn't require a New York zip code — moderated by Noah Galuten.
First-timer? Dolinsky's advice: "Go to the places that are furthest from your home ... go to the places from Corona, the IE and Covina. Who knows when you'll go there?"
Tickets at lalive.com/pizzacityfest.
