Los Angeles Public Library
Los Angeles Public Library is a municipal public library system based in Los Angeles, California, serving a legal service area of 3,814,318 residents through 73 library buildings. Of all systems profiled nationwide, it ranks first for electronic checkouts, second for population served, second for operating spending and third for print volumes.
Among profiled systems serving 1 million or more residents, it ranks second for local government's share of operating revenue, sixth for print volumes per resident and seventh for operating spending per resident and records the tenth-smallest decline in physical checkouts since FY 2019, but ranks second-lowest for program attendance per resident and fifth-lowest for public computers per resident. Among profiled systems in California, it ranks first for the electronic share of checkouts and third for physical checkouts.
Los Angeles against the 35 systems of its size class
Los Angeles since FY 2019
Visits were 44% below the FY 2019 count of 10.2 million (size-class median: −34%). Physical checkouts moved 16% down over the same span.
- Visits
- Physical checkouts
Who comes to Los Angeles programs
Programs for children up to age 11 drew 54% of all program attendance, and sessions averaged 20 people each.
Los Angeles in numbers, FY 2024
- Visits
- 5,747,048
- Physical checkouts
- 7,657,537
- …of children's materials
- 3,391,395
- Electronic checkouts
- 17,911,689
- …of e-books
- 7,068,132
- …of e-audio
- 7,278,515
- Registered users
- 3,205,992
- Program sessions
- 11,135
- Program attendance
- 227,794
- Print volumes
- 5,780,333
- Audio items (physical)
- 182,619
- Video items (physical)
- 298,203
- Public computers
- 1,459
- Public service hours, all outlets
- 187,173
- Paid staff (full-time equivalent)
- 1,284.0
- Operating spending
- $225 million
- …on books and other materials
- $21.6 million
- Overdue fines on print items
- not charged
Where Los Angeles gets its operating money
Operating revenue came to $243 million, or $63.81 per resident. The local-government share sits 6 percentage points above the combined share for the 170 profiled systems in California. No federal operating revenue was reported.
- Local government
- State
- Federal
- Other (fines, fees, gifts, grants)
Los Angeles, building by building
The 73 buildings cover 1,396,361 square feet in total, 0.37 square feet per resident against a median of 0.39 for the size class. The largest building is Central Library at 538,802 square feet; the smallest is Angeles Mesa Branch at 5,243. The longest hours, 58 a week, are shared by two buildings.
| Building | Type | Town | Hours a week | Floor area, sq ft |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Central Library | Central library | Los Angeles | 57.3 | 538,802 |
| Alma Reaves Woods Watts Branch | Branch | Los Angeles | 49.8 | 12,500 |
| Angeles Mesa Branch | Branch | Los Angeles | 48.5 | 5,243 |
| Arroyo Seco Regional Branch | Branch | Los Angeles | 58 | 14,000 |
| Ascot Branch | Branch | Los Angeles | 49.7 | 10,500 |
| Atwater Village Branch | Branch | Los Angeles | 49.7 | 5,900 |
| Baldwin Hills Branch | Branch | Los Angeles | 47.7 | 12,000 |
| Benjamin Franklin Branch | Branch | Los Angeles | 49.8 | 9,656 |
| Cahuenga Branch | Branch | Los Angeles | 52.5 | 11,000 |
| Canoga Park Branch | Branch | Canoga Park | 49.6 | 12,500 |
| Chatsworth | Branch | Chatsworth | 49.8 | 12,500 |
| Chinatown Branch | Branch | Los Angeles | 48.8 | 14,500 |
| Cypress Park Branch | Branch | Los Angeles | 49.5 | 10,750 |
| Donald Bruce Kaufman Brentwood Branch | Branch | Los Angeles | 49.4 | 10,400 |
| Eagle Rock Branch | Branch | Los Angeles | 49.3 | 12,411 |
| Echo Park Library | Branch | Los Angeles | 48.4 | 17,543 |
| Edendale Branch | Branch | Los Angeles | 48.8 | 12,500 |
| El Sereno Branch | Branch | Los Angeles | 49.8 | 10,500 |
| Encino-Tarzana Library | Branch | Tarzana | 49.8 | 12,500 |
| Exposition Park Regional Branch | Branch | Los Angeles | 57 | 14,311 |
| Fairfax Branch | Branch | Los Angeles | 49.7 | 12,500 |
| Felipe de Neve Branch | Branch | Los Angeles | 49.5 | 9,273 |
| Goldwyn Hollywood Regional Branch | Branch | Los Angeles | 57.2 | 19,000 |
| Granada Hills Branch | Branch | Granada Hills | 50.2 | 11,310 |
| Harbor City-Harbor Gateway | Branch | Harbor City | 48.8 | 14,650 |
| Hyde Park Branch | Branch | Los Angeles | 49.2 | 10,500 |
| Jefferson Branch | Branch | Los Angeles | 49.7 | 9,000 |
| John C. Fremont Branch | Branch | Los Angeles | 49.6 | 7,361 |
| John Muir Branch | Branch | Los Angeles | 48.9 | 8,485 |
| Junipero Serra Branch | Branch | Los Angeles | 48.9 | 10,847 |
| Lake View Terrace | Branch | Lake View Terrace | 49.9 | 10,700 |
| Lincoln Heights Branch | Branch | Los Angeles | 49.4 | 12,912 |
| Little Tokyo Branch Library | Branch | Los Angeles | 49.6 | 12,500 |
| Los Feliz Branch | Branch | Los Angeles | 49.8 | 10,449 |
| Malabar Branch | Branch | Los Angeles | 49.3 | 6,000 |
| Mar Vista Branch | Branch | Los Angeles | 48.9 | 12,500 |
| Mark Twain Branch | Branch | Los Angeles | 48.7 | 9,900 |
| Memorial Branch | Branch | Los Angeles | 49.3 | 10,578 |
| Mid-Valley Regional Branch | Branch | North Hills | 57.9 | 27,000 |
| North Hollywood Regional Branch | Branch | North Hollywood | 54.6 | 15,150 |
| Northridge Branch | Branch | Northridge | 49.1 | 12,500 |
| Pacoima Branch | Branch | Pacoima | 50.2 | 11,300 |
| Palisades Branch | Branch | Pacific Palisades | 49.8 | 11,500 |
| Palms-Rancho Park Branch | Branch | Los Angeles | 49.4 | 10,500 |
| Panorama City Branch | Branch | Panorama City | 49.5 | 12,500 |
| Pico Union Branch | Branch | Los Angeles | 49.2 | 12,500 |
| Pio Pico Koreatown Branch | Branch | Los Angeles | 49.1 | 20,000 |
| Platt Branch | Branch | Los Angeles | 49.6 | 14,053 |
| Playa Vista Branch | Branch | Playa Vista | 49.5 | 10,500 |
| Porter Ranch Branch | Branch | Los Angeles | 50 | 12,300 |
| Robert Louis Stevenson Branch | Branch | Los Angeles | 49.2 | 6,000 |
| Robertson Branch | Branch | Los Angeles | 49.1 | 9,035 |
| San Pedro Regional Branch | Branch | San Pedro | 57.2 | 20,000 |
| Sherman Oaks Branch | Branch | Sherman Oaks | 49.4 | 12,500 |
| Silver Lake Branch | Branch | Los Angeles | 49.5 | 13,600 |
| Studio City Branch | Branch | Studio City | 50 | 11,500 |
| Sun Valley Branch | Branch | Sun Valley | 49.8 | 12,500 |
| Sunland-Tujunga Branch | Branch | Tujunga | 49.5 | 10,500 |
| Sylmar | Branch | Sylmar | 49.3 | 12,500 |
| Valley Plaza Branch | Branch | North Hollywood | 47.7 | 10,500 |
| Van Nuys Branch | Branch | Van Nuys | 49 | 12,814 |
| Venice Branch | Branch | Venice | 49.3 | 10,500 |
| Vermont Square Branch | Branch | Los Angeles | 49 | 8,736 |
| Vernon-Leon H. Washington Jr. Memorial Branch | Branch | Los Angeles | 47 | 10,325 |
| Washington Irving Branch | Branch | Los Angeles | 48.8 | 12,269 |
| West Los Angeles Regional Branch | Branch | Los Angeles | 56.4 | 13,740 |
| West Valley Regional Branch | Branch | Reseda | 58 | 14,000 |
| Westchester-Loyola Village Branch | Branch | Los Angeles | 49.3 | 12,500 |
| Westwood Branch | Branch | Westwood | 49.6 | 12,500 |
| Will and Ariel Durant Branch | Branch | Los Angeles | 47.3 | 12,500 |
| Wilmington Branch | Branch | Wilmington | 47 | 10,800 |
| Wilshire Branch | Branch | Los Angeles | 49.5 | 6,258 |
| Woodland Hills Branch | Branch | Woodland Hills | 49.4 | 12,500 |
Closest in size nationwide
Of these six systems, five record more visits per resident than this one. The highest checkout rate in the group belongs to Chicago Public Library in Illinois.
| System | Based in | Residents | Visits per resident | Checkouts per resident | Spending per resident |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maricopa County Library District | Sun Lakes, AZ | 4,726,247 | 0.36 | 0.73 | $7.51 |
| New York Public Library | New York, NY | 3,662,652 | 3.37 | 2.75 | $100.15 |
| LA County Library | Downey, CA | 3,248,285 | 1.70 | 1.70 | $60.09 |
| Chicago Public Library | Chicago, IL | 2,746,388 | 1.77 | 3.86 | $46.01 |
| Brooklyn Public Library | Brooklyn, NY | 2,736,074 | 2.19 | 2.05 | $58.15 |
| Miami-Dade Public Library System | Miami, FL | 2,406,299 | 1.52 | 1.24 | $38.92 |
Nearest in size within California
- LA County Library · Downey · 3,248,285 residents
- Orange County Public Libraries · Santa Ana · 1,653,718 residents
- Sacramento Public Library · Sacramento · 1,490,915 residents
- San Diego Public Library · San Diego · 1,385,379 residents