A course in noticing, feeling, and learning through museums.

What if libraries are our true museums?

In this episode, we wander through three Los Angeles–area libraries (and one surprise stop) to uncover how public spaces quietly carry the soul of a community.

These places aren’t just for books — they’re living exhibits.
📷 Buena Vista Branch Library in Burbank, where local history is preserved through framed maps, pamphlets, and portraits.
🏳️‍🌈 Echo Park Branch Library, where multilingual books, LGBTQ+ archives, and community art make everyone feel seen.
🖼 La Pintoresca Branch Library in Pasadena, a kaleidoscope of sculpture, multilingual books, and so much art!

Through art, architecture, archives, and everyday details, this course explores how local spaces remember who we are — and offer us belonging in return.

LISTEN HERE

WATCH HERE

FEATURED LIBRARIES WITH MUSEUMS

🖼️ Buena Vista Branch Library

• On Display:
  • Burbank History
    • Photographs
    • Framed Pamphlets
    • Art (Painting)
    • Maps
• Why it matters:
  • To form a deeper bond with Burbank and its history
  • Incorporates different stories through art and maps
• Founded:
  • 1948
• Address:
  • 300 N Buena Vista St, Burbank, CA 91505
• Parking:
  • Parking is complimentary in the lot off of Buena Vista St.
• Admission:
  • FREE
• Hours:
  • Monday: 10 AM–9 PM
  • Tuesday: 10 AM–9 PM
  • Wednesday: 10 AM–9 PM
  • Thursday: 10 AM–9 PM
  • Friday: 10 AM–6 PM
  • Saturday: 10 AM–6 PM
  • Sunday: 1–5 PM
• Website: https://www.burbanklibrary.org/branch/buena-vista

⛲️Echo Park Branch Library

• On Display:
  • Happy Birthday America Exhibit
  • Summer Reading List
  • LA History of LGBTQ Communities
  • Photographs & Paintings
  • Multilingual Children’s Books
    • Turns out, they have the largest selection of all Filipino (Tagalog) language books
• Why it matters:
  • Each of these “exhibits” allowed community-members to feel seen
    • To be seen for yourself in your community is everything
• Founded:
  • early 1900’s
  • current building: 1994
• Address:
  • 1410 W Temple St, Los Angeles, CA 90026
• Parking:
  • Parking is complimentary in the lot off Temple
• Admission:
  • FREE
• Hours:
  • Monday: 10 AM–8 PM
  • Tuesday: 12PM–8 PM
  • Wednesday: 10 AM–8 PM
  • Thursday: 12 PM–8 PM
  • Friday: 9:30 AM–5:30 PM
  • Saturday: 9:30 AM–5:30 PM
  • Sunday: Closed
• Website:
  • https://www.lapl.org/branches/echo-park

BONUS: 🏇Santa Anita Denny’s

• On Display:
  • Photographs of old Arcadia
• Why it matters:
  • Connection to the main spots in Arcadia
• Founded:
  • 1967 as Van de Kamp’s Holland Dutch Bakery
    • Van de Kamp’s Holland Dutch Bakery, founded in 1915, was a Los Angeles institution for much of the twentieth century. Its trademark Dutch windmill appeared on its bakeries and coffee shops across the region, but today only this one windmill survives intact.
  • 1999 as the Denny’s
    • Windmill started working again in 2016
• Address:
  • 7 East Huntington Drive, Arcadia, California 91006
• Parking:
  • Park in the lot behind it. It is accessible off Santa Anita. It’s in the same lot as the Bank of America and Post Office.
• Hours:
  • 24/7 – ALWAYS OPEN
• Website:
  • https://locations.dennys.com/CA/ARCADIA/249600

📚 La Pintoresca Branch Library

• On Display:
  • Multilingual Adult, YA, and Children’s Books
  • All Abilities Art
  • “Leaders, Dreamers, and Rebels,” a sculpture by artist Jena Priebe
  • “Yes We Can,” a painting by Pascal Mpeck (displayed at La Pintoresca while Central Library is closed)*
  • Visions of Peace,” a window installation by Lorraine Cleary Dale
  • Illustrations of teens using the skate park, by Pulitzer Prize-winning illustrator Medar de la Cruz
  • Original building blueprints by La Pintoresca’s architects, Bennet & Haskell
  • Linocuts with portraits and stories of Negro League baseball players by Tina Hoggatt
  • Many other portraits, illustrations, a batik, and mixed media artworks.
• Why it matters:
  • Invites community engagement
• Founded:
  • 1930
• Address:
  • 1355 N Raymond Ave, Pasadena, CA 91103
• Parking:
  • Parking is complimentary in the La Pintoresca Park, off Raymond.
• Hours:
  • Sunday: CLOSED
  • Monday: 10am – 6pm
  • Tuesday: 10am – 6pm
  • Wednesday: 10am – 6pm
  • Thursday: 10am – 6pm
  • Friday: 10am – 6pm
  • Saturday: 10am – 6pm
• Admission:
  • FREE
• Website:
  • https://www.cityofpasadena.net/library/branches/la-pintoresca-branch/

WATCH IT HERE

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Learning is better together. Thanks for being here.

NEXT STEPS

Learning doesn’t end with a video — it begins when you look again at the world around you.

Here are a few ways to keep wandering:

📚 Visit your local library
Walk in without a goal. What’s on display? What isn’t? What does it tell you about the people who live nearby?

🖼 Notice what’s framed
In your neighborhood — at a coffee shop, city hall, school, or diner — what’s proudly hung on the walls? What memories are being honored?

💬 Talk to a librarian
Ask what kinds of exhibits or displays they curate. What do people most often ask about? What do they wish more people knew?

🧳 Create a “tiny exhibit” about your life
Choose 3–5 items that tell part of your story: a photo, a note, a map, a worn object. Display them somewhere visible for a week. Notice how it feels.

🗺️ Map a memory
Draw (or list) a few local places where you’ve felt seen, invisible, curious, or connected. What patterns emerge?

👀 Start a visibility wish list
What stories or communities do you wish were more represented in public spaces? How could you help make that happen, even in a small way?

🔍 Share what surprised you
Whether it was a windmill at a Denny’s or a sculpture in a library, tell someone what stood out. Sometimes learning is just noticing out loud.

REFLECTION QUESTIONS

🗺 What spaces in your own community feel like museums — even if they’re not labeled that way?

📚 When was the last time you felt seen by a public space? What made you feel that way?

🎨 What kind of story would someone learn about your neighborhood just by wandering through its libraries or parks?

🏛 Do you think memory lives more in official exhibits or in everyday objects and routines? Why?

🌍 Which language(s), identities, or communities do you see represented — or missing — in your local institutions?

🧠 What might change in your sense of belonging if your history or culture were prominently displayed in public?

🖼 Was there a moment during this course that surprised you — a detail, display, or design choice that stuck with you?

💬 What kinds of stories do you think deserve to be framed and displayed in a place like a library or Denny’s?

📖 If you curated a single-shelf exhibit about your life, what would be on it? Books? Photos? Objects?

🌀 How can you be a steward of memory and visibility for your community, even in small ways?

ABOUT ILA INSTITUTE

ILA Institute is reimagining education as something deeply intuitive, place-based, and wonder-driven. Learn more about who we are here.

ABOUT YOUR GUIDE

Hi, I’m Laura—founder of ILA Institute and your guide for this series.

I created ILA for people who’ve felt out of place in traditional education—people who learn by feeling, by noticing, by wandering. I’m deeply interested in how we come to know what we know, and what happens when we trust curiosity to lead the way.

With a background in teaching, writing, and intuitive research, I believe learning should feel alive, personal, and full of wonder. Through this series, I’m not here to be an expert—I’m here to walk beside you, to ask questions, and to make space for unexpected insight.

Whether you’re reimagining your relationship to learning or just tagging along for the ride, I’m so glad you’re here.

Let’s wander.

FOR MORE PLACES TO WANDER THROUGH

FOR MORE FROM YOUR GUIDE

💬 Leave a Comment

Learning is more alive when it’s shared.
If something in this episode resonated, sparked a question, or reminded you of your own experience—drop it in the comments.

Whether it’s a small thought, a favorite museum memory, or a totally unexpected insight, I’d love to hear what came up for you.

Let’s keep the conversation going. This space is for that.