The 17th- Annual Los Angeles Archives Bazaar

THE STORIES OF L.A. ALL DAY. ALL IN ONE PLACE.

Saturday, October 22, 2022
10:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Doheny Memorial Library
USC University Park Campus

The L.A. AS SUBJECT consortium brings to life the diverse, often hidden stories that make Southern California such a fascinating place of discovery. The annual LOS ANGELES ARCHIVES BAZAAR, which is free and open to the public, offers a one-stop opportunity to interact with dozens of archives, from large institutions to private collectors.

In addition to exhibitors, the bazaar will feature workshops on preserving fragile books, audio recordings, and home movies, as well as discussions on the World War II-era Nobel Prize-winning author Thomas Mann and the creation of “Weimar on the Pacific,” the origin of the Southern California Filipino community and the preservation of its identity through the Filipino-American Library, and the work done by the youth focused community arts organization Color Compton.

USC follows current Los Angeles County Department of Health guidelines related to the COVID-19 pandemic, which strongly recommend mask wearing indoors. Masks will be provided for exhibitors and attendees.

PROGRAMMING

DML, FIRST FLOOR

FACULTY HALL

10:00–10:50 a.m.

The Legacy of Helen Brown’s Filipino American Library

In 1985 educator and librarian Helen Summers Brown established the first library in the United States dedicated to the Philippines and the Filipino American experience. Over the course of four decades, “Auntie Helen” transformed the collection and research center into a site of activism, education, and community engagement. In 2017 the library collection became part of the USC Libraries, and with generous support from the NEH a large portion of the collection was digitized. Alyssa Adraneda, cocurator of the current Doheny Library exhibition Preserving Filipino Los Angeles: Helen Brown’s Library for the People; historian and filmmaker Florante Ibanez; and advisor to the USC Troy Philippines student organization Alex Montances will reflect on the library’s historical significance, generational education, and Helen’s legacy.

 

11:00–11:50 a.m.

Thomas Mann’s Los Angeles

Nobel Prize-winning author Thomas Mann was forced to flee Germany in the 1930s. He eventually found refuge in Pacific Palisades and became part of a community of like-minded exiled intellectuals dubbed “Weimar on the Pacific.” Benno Herz, program director of the Thomas Mann House, along with former program director Nikolai Blaumer, compiled episodes from this time into the recently published Thomas Mann’s Los Angeles: Stories from Exile 1940–1952. USC’s exile studies librarian, Michaela Ullmann, and Friedel Schmoranzer, head of fellowship programs at Villa Aurora Los Angeles, will join Herz to explore the Mann families’ connections to the city, and what the stories of the 1940s exile community might reveal to us today.

 

12:00 noon–12:50 p.m.

Lost LA Curriculum Project

Discover how the UCLA History Geography Project, in collaboration with the USC Libraries, KCET, and Huntington-USC Institute on California and the West, has developed a set of K-12 lesson plans to accompany the award-winning Lost LA television series. Presenters Amparo-Chavez Gonzalez, Danny Diaz, Cindy Mata, Maia Ruiz, Marissa Matich, Frank Salcedo-Fierro, and Miguel Sandoval De La Torre will share their process for working with teachers in the community to develop lessons that use archival materials, develop historical thinking skills, and are engaging to students.

 

1:00–1:50 p.m.

Reclaiming Hood Stories: Building a Youth Compton Community Archive

Historically, Black and Brown stories and narratives have not been included in traditional schooling and spaces. These archives have routinely been silenced or destroyed—or not controlled by members of the community. The Compton Community Archive, initiated by the art and history nonprofit Color Compton, centers local youth and encourages critical dialogue on archives and narratives. This session, presented by Color Compton’s executive director Abigail Lopez-Byrd and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo student Noel Lopez, will introduce the work done by Color Compton, the collective archive built, and the impact of reclaiming community narratives and archives.

 

2:00–3:00 p.m.

Introduction to Common Book Structures, Proper Handling, and Housing

Conservator Cynthia Kapteyn and archivist Hilary Swett, both members of the Los Angeles Preservation Network (LAPNet) will demonstrate the proper care and preservation of books. They will discuss common book structures and the types of damage books typically endure, followed by a workshop-style session on the proper handling of bound materials and best practices for their storage. Attendees will learn the basics of preservation and some common protective enclosures. The speakers will provide physical examples of their preservation work and a hand-out listing additional tips and resources.

 

DML, SECOND FLOOR

FRIENDS LECTURE HALL

10:00 a.m.–12:30 p.m. 

Basement Tapes Day
Basement Tapes Day provides the public with access to vintage audio playback devices so they can listen to home recordings on open-reel tapes, cassettes, and micro-cassettes that have been sitting in their attics or basements for years. The annual event is staffed by volunteers from Los Angeles’ audio preservation community, which include archivists, engineers, collectors, restoration experts, conservators, and graduate students from UCLA’s Media Archival Studies program. Attendees can hear and publicly share their tapes, while learning about the history of recorded sound, common deterioration issues with audio formats, and best practices for the storage and care for their collections. Bring a tape to the event or submit a tape to be digitized before the event by emailing basementtapesday@gmail.com.

 

1:00–*4:00 p.m.

Home Movie Day

Organized annually by local archivists since 2003, Home Movie Day Los Angeles has made it possible for folks to watch and reconnect with their own family films by providing access to older (typically analog) equipment and discussing how best to care for collections at home. Home Movie Day at the Los Angeles Archives Bazaar will offer highlights from recent submissions as well as contributions by regional collecting institutions and individual Angelenos. Drop on by for a movie or two and ask moving image archivists any questions about film preservation and how to care for your home movies. Home Movie Day is a project of the Center for Home Movies, a nonprofit organization that facilitates amateur film preservation and outreach.

*Please note exhibitor tables and programs taking place on the 1st floor are 10am-3pm.

For more information, click here.