Los Angeles Public Library

The system holds more than six million volumes, and with around 19 million residents in the Greater Los Angeles area, it serves the largest metropolitan population of any public library system in the United States. The system is overseen by a Board of Library Commissioners with five members appointed by the mayor of Los Angeles in staggered terms, and operates 72 library branches throughout the city. In 1997 a local historian described it as "one of the biggest and best-regarded library systems in the nation." It is not to be confused with the LA County Library system which operates several library branches across certain areas of Los Angeles County.

Los Angeles Public Library
South entrance of the Richard J. Riordan Central Library at Hope Street
Location	Headquarters: 630 West 5th Street Los Angeles, California, United States
Type	Public
Established	1872; 152 years ago (1872)
Branches	72
Collection
Size	6,393,429
Access and use
Circulation	18 million (2008)
Population served	4,030,904 (city) 18,783,638 (metro)
Other information
Budget	US$134,630,543
Director	John F. Szabo (Fall 2012)
Employees	944
Website	lapl.org
References:

 

The Los Angeles Library Association was formed in late 1872, and by early 1873, a well-stocked reading room had opened in the Downey Block at Temple and Main streets under the first librarian, John Littlefield.

The original library consisted of two rooms. The larger room was called the "Book Room," and the smaller room was called the "Conversation Room," which contained newspapers, tables, chairs, and spittoons for the chess and checkers players who gathered there.

Women were not initially involved in the conception and development of the Los Angeles Library Association. First Lady of California Maria Downey was given an honorary membership out of "courtesy," but otherwise, no women were listed in the association's founding documents, women were not represented on the board, and women were denied access to the library's reading room. However, this changed in 1876 when the association decided to implement a "Ladies Room." While this new room did not offer any books, it did provide a number of magazines and comfortable sofa and chairs for local clubwomen to use.

After Mary Foy was appointed as the first head woman librarian in 1880, her appointment was viewed as an act of charity by Mayor Toberman, who may have thought Foy to be in need of a job. Joanne Passet even posited that Foy's nomination, and librarian nominations in general, were seen as "an honorable means of assisting needy men and women in the community." This notion was mostly confirmed when Foy was replaced by Jessie Gavitt, whose economic need was deemed greater than Foy's by the board. Following Foy's appointment, the LAPL would go on to be "headed by a series of women administrators" for the next 25 years. These administrators included, Mary E. Foy (1880–1884), Jessie Gavitt (1884–1889), Lydia Prescott (1889), Tessa Kelso (1889–1895), Clara Fowler (1895–1897), Harriet Child Wadleigh (1897–1900), and Mary L. Jones (1900–1905).

There was further speculation as to why the board decided on appointing Foy as the first head woman librarian. It may have been a political choice since she represented values that flourished in women's organizations, aiming to please the city's powerful women's clubs who may have been applying pressure. It's also suggested that Foy's nomination was a financial move; John Littlefield earned a salary of $100 while Mary Foy earned $75, which included janitorial work.

Tessa Kelso was appointed head librarian in 1889. She abolished the membership fee, increased membership from 100 to 20,000, increased the collection from 12,000 to 300,000 volumes, moved the books to open shelves, and permitted children to use the library. She set up an early system of branch libraries and moved the central library in to City Hall. She was forced out after a controversy over the library's acquisition of Jean Richepin's book La Cadet, which was considered indecent at the time.

Mary Jones, who was appointed Librarian in 1905, was fired by the library board in favor of Charles Fletcher Lummis. The only reason given for this was that the library should be run by a man, not a woman. This provoked "The Great Library War". Women in Los Angeles petitioned and marched in support of Jones but she was finally forced out; she took up a position as head of the library at Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania. Lummis established several special collections, including photography, autographs, and California and Spanish history. He oversaw two moves into larger buildings, and he greatly increased use of the library through several outreach programs.

c. 1914, the collection numbered 203,600. The central library was located in the "Hamburger Building at Eighth and Broadway" with plans to soon move to the "Metropolitan Building at Fifth and Broadway." The library had 22 branch "reading rooms" including two (San Pedro and Hollywood) housed in Carnegie library buildings. The library had a total of 41 "branches and distribution points" at that time, and cooperated with the "playground department" to offer "branch libraries" at "the Violet Street, Slauson, Hazard, and Echo Park playgrounds, and at the Recreation Center."

Aggressive expansion and growth of the system began in the 1920s. The first building dedicated exclusively for library use opened in 1926.

City librarians

 

 

 

• 1873–1879: John Littlefield
• 1879–1880: Patrick Connolly
• 1880–1884: Mary Foy
• 1884–1889: Jessie Gavitt
• 1889–1889: Lydia Prescott
• 1889–1895: Tessa Kelso
• 1895–1897: Clara Bell Fowler
• 1897–1900: Harriet Child Wadleigh
• 1900–1905: Mary Letitia Jones
• 1905–1910: Charles Fletcher Lummis
• 1910–1911: Purd Wright
• 1911–1933: Everett Robbins Perry
• 1933–1947: Althea Warren
• 1947–1969: Harold Hamill
• 1969–1990: Wyman Jones
• 1990–1994: Elizabeth Martinez
• 1995–2004: Susan Goldberg Kent
• 2004–2008: Fontayne Holmes
• 2009–2012: Martin Gomez
• 2012–present: John Szabo

 

The Central Library Goodhue building was constructed in 1926 and is a Downtown Los Angeles landmark. It was designed by architect Bertram Goodhue. This was his last work, because the man died suddenly in 1924. The Richard Riordan Central Library complex is the third largest public library in the United States in terms of book and periodical holdings. Originally named the Central Library, the building was first renamed in honor of the longtime president of the Board of Library Commissioners and President of the University of Southern California, Rufus B. von KleinSmid. The new wing of Central Library, completed in 1993, was named in honor of former mayor Tom Bradley. The complex (i.e., the original Goodhue building and the Bradley wing) was subsequently renamed in 2001 for former Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan, as the Richard Riordan Central Library. The building was burned out by a catastrophic fire in 1986 when a million books and many other records (patents, play scripts, photographs) were damaged or totally destroyed. Arson was suspected but never proved.

Besides the Central Library in downtown Los Angeles, the system operates 72 branch locations in the city's neighborhoods. Eight of the larger branches are designated "regional branches."

No.	Name	Photograph	Address	Zip Code	Phone	Area	Neighborhood Served	Notes
01	Benjamin Franklin		2200 E. First St.	90033-3902	323-263-6901	Northeast	Boyle Heights
02	Lincoln Heights		2530 Workman St.	90031-2322	323-226-1692	Northeast	Lincoln Heights
03	Pío Pico-Koreatown (피오 피코 코리아타운 도서관)		694 S. Oxford Ave.	90005-2872	213-368-7647	Hollywood	Koreatown
04	Vernon		4504 S. Central Ave.	90011-3632	323-234-9106	Central Southern	South Central
05	Arroyo Seco		6145 N. Figueroa St.	90042-3565	323-255-0537	Northeast	Highland Park/Garvanza	Regional Branch
06	Exposition Park		3900 S. Western Ave.	90062-1111	323-290-3113	Central Southern	Exposition Park	Regional Branch
07	Junipero Serra		4607 S. Main St.	90037-2735	323-234-1685	Central Southern	South Park
08	Echo Park		1410 W. Temple St.	90026-5605	213-250-7808	Northeast	Echo Park
09	San Pedro		931 S. Gaffey St.	90731-3606	310-548-7779	Central Southern	San Pedro	Regional Branch
10	Wilmington		1300 N. Avalon Blvd.	90744-2639	310-834-1082	Central Southern	Wilmington
11	Goldwyn Hollywood		1623 Ivar Ave.	90028-6304	323-856-8260	Hollywood	Hollywood	Regional Branch
12	John C. Fremont		6121 Melrose Ave.	90038-3501	323-962-3521	Hollywood	Hancock Park
13	Westchester-Loyola Village		7114 W. Manchester Ave.	90045-3509	310-348-1096	Western	Westchester
14	Vermont Square		1201 W. 48th St.	90037-2838	323-290-7405	Central Southern	Vermont Square
15	Pacific Palisades		861 Alma Real Dr.	90272-3730	310-459-2754	Western	Pacific Palisades
16	Donald Bruce Kaufman Brentwood		11820 San Vicente Blvd.	90049-5002	310-575-8273	Western	Brentwood
17	Jefferson-Vassie D. Wright		2211 W. Jefferson Blvd.	90018-3741	323-734-8573	Central Southern	Jefferson Park
18	Malabar		2801 Wabash Ave.	90033-2604	323-263-1497	Northeast	Boyle Heights
19	Robert Louis Stevenson		803 Spence St.	90023-1727	323-268-4710	Northeast	Boyle Heights
20	Cahuenga		4591 Santa Monica Blvd.	90029-1937	323-664-6418	Hollywood	East Hollywood
21	El Sereno		5226 S. Huntington Dr.	90032-1704	323-225-9201	Northeast	El Sereno
22	Palms-Rancho Park		2920 Overland Ave.	90064-4220	323-840-2142	Western	Palms & Rancho Park
23	Van Nuys		6250 Sylmar Ave.	91401-2707	818-756-8453	East Valley	Van Nuys
24	Canoga Park		20939 Sherman Way	91303-1744	818-887-0320	West Valley	Canoga Park
25	Studio City		12511 Moorpark St.	91604-1372	818-755-7873	East Valley	Studio City
26	Angeles Mesa		2700 W. 52nd St.	90043-1953	323-292-4328	Central Southern	Hyde Park/Leimert Park
27	West Los Angeles		11360 Santa Monica Blvd.	90025-3152	310-575-8323	Western	West Los Angeles	Regional Branch
28	Cypress Park		1150 Cypress Ave.	90065-1144	323-224-0039	Northeast	Cypress Park
29	Wilshire		149 N. St. Andrews Pl.	90004-4019	323-957-4550	Hollywood	Mid-Wilshire
30	Ascot		120 W. Florence Ave.	90003-1805	323-759-4817	Central Southern	Florence
31	Will & Ariel Durant		7140 W. Sunset Blvd.	90046-4416	323-876-2741	Hollywood	Hollywood
32	Eagle Rock		5027 Caspar Ave.	90041-1901	323-258-8078	Northeast	Eagle Rock	Article on the former building
33	Hyde Park-Miriam Matthews		2205 W. Florence Ave.	90043-5101	323-750-7241	Western	Hyde Park
34	John Muir		1005 W. 64th St.	90044-3605	323-789-4800	Central Southern	Vermont-Slauson
35	Sunland-Tujunga		7771 Foothill Blvd.	91042-2137	818-352-4481	East Valley	Sunland & Tujunga
36	Los Feliz		1874 Hillhurst Ave.	90027-4427	323-913-4710	Hollywood	Los Feliz
37	North Hollywood Amelia Earhart		5211 Tujunga Ave.	91601-3119	818-766-7185	East Valley	North Hollywood	Regional Branch
38	Mar Vista		12006 Venice Blvd.	90066-3810	310-390-3454	Western	Mar Vista
39	Panorama City		14345 Roscoe Blvd.	91402-4222	818-894-4071	East Valley	Panorama City
40	Venice-Abbot Kinney		501 S. Venice Blvd.	90291-4201	310-821-1769	Western	Venice
41	Washington Irving		4117 W. Washington Blvd.	90018-1053	323-734-6303	Hollywood	Arlington Heights/Mid-City
42	Robertson Branch Library		1719 S. Robertson Blvd.	90035-4315	310-840-2147	Western	Beverlywood/Cheviot Hills/Pico-Robertson	Closed Saturday and open Sunday due to widespread observation of Shabbat in this neighborhood
43	Alma Reaves Woods-Watts		10205 Compton Ave.	90002-2804	323-789-2850	Central Southern	Watts
44	Atwater Village		3379 Glendale Blvd.	90039-1825	323-664-1353	Hollywood	Atwater Village
45	Mark Twain		9621 S. Figueroa St.	90003-3928	323-755-4088	Central Southern	Vermont Vista
46	Baldwin Hills		2906 S. La Brea Ave.	90016-3902	323-733-1196	Western	Baldwin Hills
47	Encino-Tarzana		18231 Ventura Blvd.	91356-3630	818-343-1983	West Valley	Encino & Tarzana
48	Felipe de Neve		2820 W. 6th St.	90057-3114	213-384-7676	Hollywood	Westlake
49	Memorial		4625 W. Olympic	90019-1832	323-938-2732	Hollywood	Country Club Park
50	West Valley		19036 Vanowen St.	91335-5114	818-345-9806	West Valley	Reseda	Regional Branch
51	Sherman Oaks		14245 Moorpark St.	91423-2722	818-205-9716	East Valley	Sherman Oaks
52	Sun Valley		7935 Vineland Ave.	91352-4477	818-764-1338	East Valley	Sun Valley
53	Pacoima		13605 Van Nuys Blvd.	91331-3613	818-899-5203	East Valley	Pacoima
54	Sylmar		14561 Polk St.	91342-4055	818-367-6102	East Valley	Sylmar
55	Playa Vista		6400 Playa Vista Dr.	90094-2168	310-437-6680	Western	Playa Vista
56	Granada Hills		10640 Petit Ave.	91344-6452	818-368-5687	West Valley	Granada Hills
57	Valley Plaza		12311 Vanowen St.	91605-5624	818-765-9251	East Valley	Valley Glen/North Hollywood	Formerly known as Vanowen Park Branch
58	Woodland Hills		22200 Ventura Blvd.	91364-1517	818-226-0017	West Valley	Woodland Hills
59	Northridge		9051 Darby Ave.	91325-2743	818-886-3640	West Valley	Northridge
60	Chatsworth		21052 Devonshire St.	91311-2314	818-341-4276	West Valley	Chatsworth
61	Fairfax		161 S. Gardner St.	90036-2717	323-936-6191	Hollywood	Fairfax
62	Lake View Terrace		12002 Osborne St.	91342-7221	818-890-7404	East Valley	Lake View Terrace
63	Chinatown		639 N. Hill St.	90012-2317	213-620-0925	Northeast	Chinatown
64	Little Tokyo		203 S. Los Angeles St.	90012-3704	213-612-0525	Northeast	Little Tokyo
65	Platt		23600 Victory Blvd.	91367-1349	818-340-9386	West Valley	West Hills
66	Mid-Valley Regional		16244 Nordhoff St.	91343-3806	818-895-3650	West Valley	North Hills	Regional Branch
67	Porter Ranch		11371 Tampa Ave.	91326-1729	818-360-5706	West Valley	Porter Ranch
68	Harbor City-Harbor Gateway		24000 S. Western Ave.	90710-1741	310-534-9520	Central Southern	Harbor City & Harbor Gateway
69	Edendale		2011 W. Sunset Blvd.	90026-3122	213-207-3000	Northeast	Echo Park
70	Pico-Union		1030 S. Alvarado St.	90006-3712	213-368-7545	Hollywood	Pico-Union
71	Westwood		1246 Glendon Ave.	90024-4914	310-474-1739	Western	Westwood
72	Silver Lake		2411 Glendale Blvd.	90039-3217	323-913-7451	Northeast	Silver Lake

The library offers an online program that allows adult patrons who have not completed high school to earn their high school diploma.

TESSA is Los Angeles Public Library online historical collections. TESSA is named after Tessa Kelso, Los Angeles City Librarian from 1889 to 1895.

In 2023, the library issued a limited-edition library card featuring the mountain lion P-22 in a National Geographic photo with the Hollywood Sign in the background.

 

The Los Angeles Public Library received the National Medal for Museum and Library Service, the nation's highest honor given to museums and libraries for service to the community. City Librarian John F. Szabo and community member Sergio Sanchez accepted the award on behalf of the library from First Lady Michelle Obama during a White House Ceremony on May 20, 2015.

The Los Angeles Public Library was selected for its success in meeting the needs of Angelenos and providing a level of social, educational, and cultural services unmatched by any other public institution in the city. The award recognizes the library's programs that help people on their path to citizenship, earn their high school diploma, manage personal finances and access health and well-being services and resources.

• List of Registered Historic Places in Los Angeles
• Samuel Bradford Caswell (1828–1898), one of the first trustees of the first Los Angeles public library, owned property where the Central Branch was built
• Donald D. Lorenzen, City Council member who supported renovation of library
• Althea Warren, head librarian, 1943–1947
• Leontyne Butler King, first black member of the Los Angeles Library Commission (appointed 1961)
• Central Business District, Los Angeles (1880-1899)