Written by: Michelle Sosa
Edited by: Genevieve Hammang and Adina Vega
The Heavy Manners Library on Alvarado Blvd in Los Angeles.
What would you do if a DIY book project of yours transformed into an overwhelming amount of book donations–large enough to create a library? Well, this is exactly what happened to the founders of Heavy Manners Library, Matthew James-Wilson and Molly Soda. Matthew and Molly were busy working on a book detailing the impact of the internet on contemporary art for the last 30 years. Although the book project was discontinued, Matthew and Molly continued to see donations of books–luckily they already had a place to store them in. In 2021, they opened the doors to the Heavy Manners Library, an independent library in Los Angeles that offers a place to sit and read, attend events, and borrow books with a membership. The primary goal of the library is to offer accessible resources for an art education seeing as a formal education in art is very expensive in California. For instance, the California Institute of the Arts costs $58,318 per year for undergraduate students.
A picture of the library’s interior.
Heavy Manners Library is very quirky and simultaneously cozy. As mentioned above, the library also offers a space for events. There is an exhibit space as well as a basement theater within the library. The library welcomes up-and-coming artists and students to showcase their work and/or learn from others. Established artists are welcome to display their work as well. Upon visiting the events section of the library’s website, one will find workshops such as figure drawing, stitching, comics, and more! The library prioritizes programs that are educational for the community. If one is interested in hosting a program and/or renting the space for a private event, all they have to do is fill out a proposal form in the ‘About’ section of the website.
An art gallery taking place inside the library space.
Seeing as the library is still a fairly new space that was, there are still a variety of resources that are yet to be implemented. One of them is the ‘Journal’ section of their website where the founders intend to house original editorial content from the staff as well as friends of Heavy Manners. Soon, they will be publishing interviews, essays, comics, photo series, and reviews. Furthermore, the library also intends to extend their services to people living outside of Los Angeles. Sometime in the future, they will implement a mailing service so that members from outside the city can check out books as well. At the moment, book loans are limited to Los Angeles residents only. Signing up for a membership is very simple, all the user has to do is create an account through the library website and select the type of membership that they prefer.
The library’s website also contains their catalog which is quite impressive considering that it is an independent website. The website contains a filter to browse through digital audiobooks, magazines, and essays among other items. Overall, their catalog is very comprehensive and user-friendly–however, the majority of the material is art-related. Perfect for any parties interested in and/or studying art. Lastly, the library also sells merchandise and handmade works by artists–all of which are available to view and/or purchase.
If you find yourself in Los Angeles, take a trip to the Heavy Manners Library to check out this one of a kind location! You can find their address and business hours on their website.
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