Los Angeles Library Foundation - Annual Report 2008-2009

As part of the ALOUD series, Nobel Laureate Toni Morrison held the audience in rapt attention on November 19, 2008 as she read from her new novel, A Mercy, and discussed her work with David L. Ulin, book editor of the Los Angeles Times. The event was held at the Aratani/Japan America Theatre in Little Tokyo.

The Award-winning ALOUD Series

From travel writer Paul Theroux to Slovenian philosopher Slavoj Žižek, from Chris Buckley to Tom Brokaw, from a reading with Uruguayan novelist Eduardo Galeano to an evening with astrophysicist Neil deGrasse-Tyson, over the course of the 2008-2009 ALOUD season the Library Foundation of Los Angeles presented a total of 91 programs free of charge to an audience of over 14,000. In its sixteenth season at the Central Library, ALOUD continued to demonstrate to a diverse audience the great cultural vitality and intelligence of the greater Los Angeles region by pairing visiting authors and artists in conversation with locally based writers, scholars, journalists, critics, and experts in their fields.

In November 2008, ALOUD expanded its presence in Los Angeles by venturing beyond the confines of the Central Library to an 800-seat venue to present an evening with Nobel Laureate Toni Morrison. The success of the sold-out event (with proceeds supporting ALOUD's free programming) set a precedent for future such blockbuster evenings.