Sushi and Tea Celebration Marks Opening : Little Tokyo Checks Out Its New Library

The newest Los Angeles Public Library in Little Tokyo had been open for less than an hour Saturday when the first book was returned. It had been checked out from another branch--and was overdue. But the librarians couldn’t get the cash register open to make change for the fine.

Despite a few last-minute snags, the crowd of almost 100 were celebrating. It was the culmination of a 12-year effort of residents to bring library service to their community. In 1977, the Friends of Little Tokyo Public Library Services got the city to send a bookmobile once a week to the area.

Japanese-Americans, Friends president Marian Kadomatsu said, flocked to the bookmobile. “They’re very literate, very hungry for books,” she said.

Then the search for a library site began--hampered by a cash-strapped Los Angeles Public Library. Finally, the Centenary United Methodist Church agreed to provide 2,500 square feet of space rent free for five years in its new community center on the corner of 3rd Street and Central Avenue. The Friends raised about $35,000 to fill the single, small room with books and tables. The city kicked in the rest of the funds and personnel.

City’s 63rd Library

On Saturday, the city’s 63rd--and smallest--library opened, feted with a ceremony featuring Japanese drummers, sushi and tea.

The new library is the first since the Chinatown branch opened in 1977. About 25% of the library’s 6,500 books are in Japanese, mostly popular literature. The periodical section features Japanese magazines, which, because of the strong yen, sell for as much as $18 dollars a copy.

The library is the smallest in the city but backers say it will grow.

“We will have a larger library,” Kadomatsu promised.

As his daughter Jenifer poked through the English section, Ron Hirano predicted that the large number of Japanese-Americans who come to Little Tokyo from throughout the area will take a great interest in the library.

‘Really Great Place’

“This could be a really great place,” he said. “We have people coming in from all over Southern California.”

One elderly woman, her arms holding eight Japanese novels, while she looked for even more, declared the selection “very good.”

The branch will be open Monday through Thursday, 1 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. and Friday and Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.