Horticulture and Gardening

The Whittier History Room is located on the mezzanine of the Central Library and is home to the Whittier Local History Collection. The purpose of this collection is to collect, preserve and make available to the public materials reflecting the development of the City of Whittier and surrounding areas. The main areas of collection are Whittier history, Whittier Hills and California history. The Whittier history collection includes Whittier College yearbooks, local high school yearbooks, Whittier City Directories, local telephone books, Haines Directories, and titles by local authors. The entire book collection is cataloged and searchable through the online catalog. There are various files and archives supporting both the Whittier Hills and the Whittier History collections. These consist of clipping files, periodicals, pamphlets and ephemera. Finding aids are available in Archives that list all items with a brief description. Selected materials have been digitized and are available in the Visual Collection. The Map Collection contains over 250 maps. A listing of the entire collection can be found on this website. A selection of these maps has been digitized and is available online. The Whittier Historical Photograph Collection is a collection of photographs of Whittier, the surrounding areas and its people. It is made up of several smaller collections such as the Espolt, Whittier National Trust & Savings Bank, and (most recently acquired) the White-Bailey, as well as individual gifts. This collection continues to grow and we encourage any donations that would broaden and enhance its scope and depth. The Shades of Whittier Collection was created in 1999 with funding from the federal Library Services & Technology Act (LSTA). It is a collection of photographs reflecting the ethnic and cultural diversity of the community. The 301 photographs in the collection were donated by numerous individuals and depict not only the local area, but also the many geographic areas that the people of Whittier came from. The Oral History Collection includes oral histories, video interviews and written transcripts. The older oral histories were done during the 1960s and ‘70s and include many old Whittier family names such as Perry, Tebbetts, Myers, Milhouse and Hodge. In the late 1990s, as part of the Whittier Hills collection, a series of interviews was conducted with individuals active in the preservation of the Whittier Hills. The more recent interviews are done in video format. The Local Newspaper archives are digitized from 1888-1955 and are keyword searchable. 1888-1923 are available on the web. 1924-1955 is restricted to library use only. 1956 to current is available on microfilm, for library use only. Lastly, a list of Local History Resources has been provided. This list includes links to local history organizations and relevant city departments that strive to conserve not only historic structures and neighborhoods but also natural resources of the City and surrounding hills. The Community Development website includes a listing of the City's historic landmarks and districts.

The collection at the museum is an eclectic assortment of items from the 1800's through the 1900's. There are tools for the home and farm, furniture, household accessories, office equipment, documents, photographs, and all types of clothing. Many items have been contributed by local residents over the years and have a direct connection to the "Upper San Gabriel Valley" and its residents.

The Sierra Madre Historical Archives collects, preserves, and provides access to a variety of materials that tell the Sierra Madre story: photographs, slides, postcards, scrapbooks, city directories, maps, letters, periodicals, posters, works of art, sound recordings, moving images, and ephemera. The archives collection includes the Sierra Madre Oral History Project in which residents describe Sierra Madre social life and customs. The collection's subject area strengths include San Gabriel Mountain resorts accessible via local trails and Sierra Madre art and artists. The local history collection is built on a partnership. It is jointly owned and maintained by the Sierra Madre Historical Preservation Society and the Sierra Madre Public Library.

Little Tokyo Historical Society commemorates the Japanese American history and heritage related to Little Tokyo in Los Angeles through archival collections, photos, videos, gallery exhibits, lectures, and workshops. "Los Angeles's Little Tokyo (Arcadia Publishing, November 2011). "Little Tokyo: The 1930's Golden Years", 2013 calendar now on sale at www.littletokyohs.org.

The Los Angeles County Arboretum & Botanic Garden has a large archive of historic photographs relating to Rancho Santa Anita, Elias J.(Lucky) Baldwin and this history of the Arboretum. It also holds thephotographic archive of William Chrisman Aplin (1912-1993) a photographer who worked for Sunset magazine and photographed extensively the plants and gardens of Southern California.

An online resource exploring the people, places and culture of the greater Los Angeles region.

Pasadena, Sierra Madre, South Pasadena, Altadena, Long Beach, Beverly Hills, Hollywood, Los Angeles, San Pedro, Santa Monica

Collections include 5,000+ oral histories in 250 projects, representing geographical, ethnic, political, religious, and social communities of selected Orange County, Los Angeles, Southern California, and Western US locales. Topics include community histories, environmental studies, including Sierra Club, Laguna Beach Greenbelt, Bolsa Chica, ethnic studies (African American, Native American, Mexican American, Japanese American, Judaica Studies, Vietnamese Americans), politics and government (Orange County politics, conservative women), society and culture (sulf culture, surf music, women with silicone breast implants, sports and society in Cold War Southern California, theater, baseball, women in long-term marriages, transformation of grocery stores, and new wave in Czechoslovakian film, 1990s UCI fertility clinic scandal, Mormon colonies in Mexico), just to name a few.

The Asian Pacific Resource Center was established in 1979, to meet the information needs of a sudden influx of new immigrants from East and Southeast Asia. The center includes resources in English, Chinese, Korean, Japanese and Vietnamese. The emphasis of English language materials is on the Asian Pacific Islander American experience with a core collection on the culture, art, and history of China, Japan, Korea, the Philippines, Vietnam and smaller holdings on Hawaii and American Samoa. The microfilm collection holds over 100 titles of historical Asian American / immigrant newspapers including documents and newspapers from the Japanese American Internment. Programs and book discussions at the center celebrate and explore the rich history and cultural heritage of Asian and Pacific Islander Americans. The Asian Pacific Resource Center provides reference service to researchers and to the general public. The center offers information and referral services to assist in locating agencies that address the needs of the Asian and Pacific Islander community. The Asian Pacific Resource Center strives to promote a deeper understanding and appreciation of the diverse cultures that form Los Angeles County.