Library Foundation Of Los Angeles

Helping students succeed:the foundation helps lapl present a range of public services and programs to support early literacy and social development for children ages 0-5, academic support for k-12 children and teens, civic learning and experiences for teens, and college preparatory resources for youth and their families. Lapl's we read together initiative provides information, resources, and activities for parents and caregivers to learn and practice early literacy techniques with children ages 0-5. With the foundation's support, lapl offers daily story times where librarians model how to read aloud, workshops that help parents integrate early literacy into their children's daily lives, and an outreach service called read baby read that delivers critical information and resources to new and expectant parents on the importance of literacy from birth. The foundation supports school-age youth in multiple ways, including helping lapl deliver expert online private tutoring to all k-12 youth and college students with a library card between 11 am and 11 pm every day, student zones that provide dedicated and direct access to computers and in-person homework assistance at 38 local libraries in low-income communities, and college-prep services to help youth and families prepare for college. The teens leading change program provides lfla-funded mini-grants to groups of youth and librarians to research and pilot strategies to address social issues in their communities.

Engaging the imagination:through its acclaimed aloud cultural programming series, lfla brings renowned and emerging literary artists, filmmakers, scientists, musicians, policymakers, and other luminous minds into direct conversation with the library's patrons. The foundation supports lapl's l.a. Made series that delivers humanities programming, performances, and activities to the city of l.a.'s diverse communities. Lfla and lapl exhibition projects highlight lapl's historic collections, the diverse stories and people of the city of l.a., and contemporary issues that resonate with their lives. In 2023-2024, lfla and lapl launched the second cohort of the lapl creators in residence initiative. The fellowship program engaged two creative practitioners, shing yin khor (an author, woodworker, and game designer) and andy crocker (a creator and producer of live experiences), who produced unique new work informed by lapl's collection and services. Their projects, including an exhibit in central library's first floor galleries and a series of site-responsive experiences available at branch libraries across the city, launched publicly in july/august 2024. Research and planning for a new major exhibition, no prior art: illustrations of invention, continued throughout 2023-24, culminating with a grand opening in september 2024. The foundation also supports digitization projects at lapl that archive and preserve collections of photos, ephemera, maps, and other items so that they can be accessed online by researchers, students, and any other curious minds. With library foundation support, lapl launched the planning phase of "your story is ours: memory and belonging in l.a." the five-year project funded by a mellon foundation grant will cultivate community archiving practices and help lapl enhance its digital special collections related to l.a.'s black, latinx, queer, and skid row communities. Finally, the foundation helped lapl expand the octavia lab at central library by adding two podcasting studios and a black-box photo studio.