Kelly Besser appointed to City of Los Angeles Board of Library Commissioners

Kelly Besser and her father, stand near the signed Oath Book at the Los Angeles City Clerk’s Office in City Hall, 12th October 2023. Courtesy of Kelly Besser.

Besser is the first librarian and archivist to ever serve on the Board, which is the legal head of the Los Angeles Public Library.

Mayor Karen Bass has appointed Kelly Besser as the first librarian and archivist to serve on the Los Angeles Public Library (LAPL) Board of Library Commissioners. Besser, an archivist for UCLA Library Special Collections, will serve on the board for a five-year term. The Board acts as the legal head of the Public Library, which is a department of the City of Los Angeles.

Since joining UCLA Library in 2010, Besser has preserved, arranged, and described countless collections related to Los Angeles history. In addition to her work at UCLA Library, Besser’s dedication to preserving local histories extends to a wide range of institutions including the African American Firefighter Museum, the Mayme A. Clayton Library and Museum, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and Tom of Finland Foundation.

From 2008 to 2023, Besser led The Miracle, a community-based bookmobile that delivered Queer literature, records, ephemera, zines, music, and films to Angelenos. Before she worked as an archivist, Besser taught high school within the Los Angeles Unified School District for a decade.

Besser received a B.A. in Communication Studies with a specialization in Women’s Studies from UCLA and holds a MLIS with an archival studies specialization from UCLA.

READ THE COMPLETE ARTICLE BY WILLA NEEDHAM

Published: 28th October 2023

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