In light of Library Lovers Month, the Long Beach Public Library has a slew of events and updates for the public to enjoy. Don’t miss out on the Bay Shore branch’s additional open hours or Susan Orlean, author of The Orchid Thief, speaking at the Main Library about her current research project.

3rd District Councilwoman Suzie Price has provided the funding for the Bay Shore Neighborhood Library to be open on Sundays, starting February 22, from noon to 4:00PM through this Summer 2015. In celebration of the pilot program, the library has invited the public to attend the celebratory activities on the 22nd at 1:00PM. which will include a craft program, an ocean-themed story time and an opportunity to visit an Aquarium on Wheels.

Regular hours for the Bay Shore Library are now Tuesdays and Thursdays noon to 7:00PM, Wednesdays from noon to 6:00PM, Fridays and Saturdays from 10:00AM to 5:00PM and now Sundays from noon to 4:00PM.

Also this month, the LBPL invites readers to explore the African American Resource Area collection, established in 1998, at the Burnett Neighborhood Library. In celebration of National African American History Month, most of the over 3,000 items that celebrate African American history, biography and achievement will be available to check out, including items from the Tucker-Hale Collection of Black Women’s History and Biography, Men of Courage and Gifts of Heritage for Children. The Oxford AFrican American Studies Center database is also available and can be accessed through the library’s website with a current LBPL card.

On the docket at the Main Library, Susan Orlean, author of the book The Orchid Thief and staff writer for the New York Times, will be speaking on Saturday, February 21 from 2:00PM to 4:00PM about her current project, a book about the history of the Central Library of Los Angeles Public Library. The event is made possible through the Friends of the Long Beach Public Library’s Blanche Collins Forum.

All Long Beach Public Libraries will be closed Saturday, February 14 in observance of Presidents’ Day. 

Bay Shore Neighborhood Library is located at 195 Bayshore Ave. The African American Resource Area is located at Burnett Neighborhood Library at 560 E. Hill St. For more information, please call (562) 570-1039. Susan Orlean will be speaking on the lower level of the Main Library Auditorium, located at 101 Pacific Ave.

Asia Morris is a Long Beach native covering arts and culture for the Long Beach Post. You can reach her @hugelandmass on Twitter and Instagram and at [email protected].