Los Angeles Public Library

A Los Angeles Public Library was renamed the Will and Ariel Durant Branch by the Board of Library Commissioners. The husband-wife team wrote the 11-volume series "The Story of Civilization" and Will Durant was the author of "The Story of Philosophy," which has been printed in 12 languages. Both died in 1981, Will at 96, Ariel at 83.

Venice may be known for its boardwalk performance artists and musicians, but the beach community can also boast of another treasure: the newest library in Los Angeles. The city is dedicating the Venice branch of the Los Angeles Public Library today. Community activists helped plan the 10,500-square-foot building on Venice Boulevard. "This has been a very democratic process," said Fontayne Holmes, assistant director of branches for the library system.

More than $250,000 in grants to the Los Angeles Public Library will go to expand the "Grandparents and Books" program, and add computers to the Hyde Park branch. The Ralph M. Parsons Foundation donated $150,000 to support educational and cultural programs at the Central Library, and $100,000 came from the Annenberg Foundation for Grandparents and Books, an inter-generational program in which seniors read to children at branch libraries.

A new computerized homework center has opened at the Baldwin Hills branch of the Los Angeles Public Library. The CBS Homework Center, the third in the city's library system, will provide students with tutoring and computers, library spokesman Robert Reagan said. Workstations have been set up at the Baldwin Hills library and computers have been loaded with software to help students with their studies, from programs that aid in math instruction to encyclopedias and databases, Reagan said.

Los Angeles City Librarian Elizabeth Martinez Smith has appointed Barbara Clark as the central regional manager for the Los Angeles Library. Clark, a Windsor Hills resident, was formerly the coordinator of administrative services, a position requiring her to be a liaison with City Hall and the state library system.

Having trouble remembering what Bunker Hill looked like 25 years ago? Can't conceive of the San Fernando Valley without Gallerias? Need proof that liberal Santa Monica once sported segregated beaches? Not to worry. History may have been plowed over, but it hasn't been forgotten.