LAPL COLLECTIONS

Los Angeles Public Library has one of the largest culinary collections in the country. The Science, Technology, and Patents Department on Lower Level 2 of Central Library in Downtown Los Angeles houses most of the collection. More than 3000 antiquarian culinary books are kept in the Rare Books Department which also stores the library’s menu and culinary ephemera collections. Additional foreign language cookbooks are in the International Languages Department.

Since its inception, the CHSC has donated over $100,000 worth of books and other materials to Los Angeles Public Library. The CHSC donates special new and antique cookbooks, as well as materials on gastronomy, baking, beverages, food science, restaurants, food-related literary appreciations, and biographies.

After a devastating fire in 1986, Central Library lost thousands of books and thousands more were damaged. With the help of the Culinary Historians of Southern California LAPL’s culinary collection was able to rise out of the ashes. Again in 2010, during the Great Recession when LAPL’s materials budget was cut, CHSC stepped up its donations to keep the culinary collection growing.

Currently, Los Angeles Public Library has the largest collection in the world of cookbooks printed in California, as well as one of the largest collections of Spanish-language cookbooks outside of Mexico City. Another high point of the collection is the substantial number of charitable (fundraising) cookbooks.

RARE BOOKS

To see titles held in the Rare Book Room, telephone the Rare Book Room appointment line at 213.228.7350. Leave a message stating your name and telephone number and the title/author information of the items you wish to see. Staff will return your call to set up an appointment within 24 business hours. Alternately, you may submit your inquiry here or email rarebook@lapl.org.

COOKBOOK DONATIONS

To raise funds for the Los Angeles Public Library collection, the CHSC has cookbook sales from time to time. However, we are not currently taking donations because our storage space is full. Once we sell off the current inventory, we expect to resume accepting donations. So, check this page at a later date. In the meantime, try contacting https://www.rebookit.org/.