Los Angeles Public Library

Los Angeles Public Library

South entrance at Hope Street
Country	United States
Type	Public
Established	1872
Location	630 West 5th Street Los Angeles, California
Coordinates	34°03′03″N 118°15′14″W / 34.0508°N 118.2539°W / 34.0508; -118.2539Coordinates: 34°03′03″N 118°15′14″W / 34.0508°N 118.2539°W / 34.0508; -118.2539
Branches	72
Collection
Size	6,393,429
Access and use
Circulation	18 million
Population served	3,844,829 (city) 18,783,638 (metro)
Other information
Budget	US$134,630,543
Director	John F. Szabo (Fall 2012)
Staff	828
Website	www.lapl.org
References:

18,783,638 (metro)

The Los Angeles Public Library system (LAPL) serves the residents of the City of Los Angeles. With more than six million volumes, it serves the largest population of any publicly funded 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 in accordance with the city charter.

Library cards are free to California residents. Circulating books, periodicals, computer access and audiovisual materials are available to patrons. Library materials are loaned for 3 weeks. Fines are charged only if materials are returned late. There is a loan limit of 10 books, 10 magazines, and 4 DVDs or videos at one time up to maximum of 30 items on the patron’s record. Items checked out from Los Angeles Public Library may be returned to any of its 72 branches or to the Central Library. Most items may be renewed a maximum of two times. Entertainment DVDs and videos may be renewed one time.

The Los Angeles Public Library has many community support organizations which work with the library to raise funds and sponsor programs to enhance library service throughout the community. The Library's Rare Books Department is located in its downtown Los Angeles location. There is also an extensive selection of databases covering a wide variety of topics, many of which are available to remote users who hold an LAPL library card. Examples include full-text databases of periodicals, business directories, and language learning tools. The Central Library at 630 West 5th Street, between Grand Avenue and Flower Street in Downtown Los Angeles, remains an important research library, despite the development of accessible databases and public access to the Internet.

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

Aggressive expansion and growth of the system began in the 1920s. Under Library Board of Commissioners Chairman Orra E. Monnette, the system was improved with a large network of branch libraries with new buildings. Thelma Jackman founded the Business & Economics section of the library sometime prior to 1970.

The historic Central Library Goodhue building was constructed in 1926 and is a Downtown Los Angeles landmark. 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.