The County of Los Angeles Public Library was established in 1912 under
authority of the County Free Library Act. The Library is a special fund
department operating under the authority of the County Board of Supervisors.
Today it is one of the major libraries of our nation, and provides library
service to over 3.5 million residents living in unincorporated areas and to
residents of 51 of the 88 incorporated cities of Los Angeles County. The
service area extends over 3,000 square miles.
The County Library is a network of community libraries which benefit from a
shared collection of materials and the cost-effectiveness of centralized
purchasing, processing, and delivery. Library services are provided by 84
Regional and Community Libraries, 4 bookmobiles, and
7 special reference/resource centers. The County of
Los Angeles Public Library belongs to the
South State Cooperative Library System and is an associate member of the Metropolitan Cooperative Library System.
The County Library plays an essential part in the education and information
infrastructure of our communities. Evidence of this is shown through the
Library's business indicators. In 2003/2004, Library staff circulated over
14.7 million items to 2.3 million cardholders while answering over 10.5 million
reference questions. Library staff clearly fulfilled the County Public
Library's Mission to "satisfy the customer's need to know".
Supplementing the 7.7 million volume book collection, the Library also offers
magazines, newspapers, microfilm, pamphlets, art prints, government
publications, and many specialized reference materials including on-line
database searching. Cassettes, compact discs, and videocassettes are some
of the non-print materials which are circulated. Access to the total
materials collection is available through a catalog located in each community
library. At present, all libraries provide public access to the Internet.
In addition to this extensive materials collection, the Library offers many
special services to the residents of Los Angeles County. Consumer health
information is provided by CHIPS (Consumer
Health Information Program and Services). Four
ethnic resource centers provide
specialized resource materials focusing on the American Indian, African
American, Asian Pacific, and Chicano communities.
Literacy Centers are located in
many community libraries. These centers offer a variety of literacy services,
such as tutoring, English-as-a-Second Language instruction, and family
literacy. The Business Subject Specialty provides access to in-depth business tools.
Library staff provides specialized services to
children and families through the
development of quality collections, reading motivational programming, and
community outreach. The Library serves children and families from birth
through the teen years. The Library provides a strong early childhood
pre-literacy program. Special parent education programs have been developed
with Head Start, Families for Literacy and in cooperation with the Los Angeles
County Department of Health Services and various educational and health
related non-profit agencies. Strong emphasis is placed on working closely
with the educational community to support independent learning and homework
needs. Homework Centers which
provide after-school homework assistance on a one-to-one basis have been
established in 31 libraries. In addition, the Library provides an array of
programs for families to support reading and learning as well as to promote
multi-cultural understanding.
