Golden Gate Theater · Photo: Los Angeles · CC BY-SA 4.0East Los Angeles’ library is a branch of LA County Library, which lends less per resident than 82% of systems its size
East Los Angeles’s library is the East Los Angeles Library, a branch of LA County Library, which serves 3,248,285 people and lent 11M items last year.
The short version on East Los Angeles’s library
Few programs for a library this size
The LA County Library system offered 12,795 programs last year, 3.9 per 1,000 residents against a typical 9. Kids & programs ↓
48% of borrowing happens on a screen
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 48% of loans. Print still makes up 52%, much of it kids’ books. What people borrow ↓
Four branches in East Los Angeles
East Los Angeles has four branches of the LA County Library, which serves 3,248,285 people across the area. One card works at all of them, and at every other branch in the system. The buildings ↓
This summary is written from the numbers on this page. Numbers are the library’s own report to the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024; East Los Angeles’s library is a branch of LA County Library, so they cover the whole system (3,248,285 people), not just the East Los Angeles branch.
What’s behind East Los Angeles’ civic life grade
East Los Angeles isn’t graded on civic life: it’s unincorporated, so its nonprofits can’t be counted reliably (mailing addresses don’t follow its boundary) and its library is a branch of LA County Library, so there is no town figure for visits.
Civic life counts registered nonprofits, library visits and online volunteering groups, so it can miss civic life that runs through congregations, mutual aid or neighbors looking out for each other.
Library visits: IMLS Public Libraries Survey, FY2024. Nonprofits: IRS Exempt Organizations Business Master File, October 2026. Volunteering: Social Capital Atlas (Opportunity Insights), from data by Meta Platforms, Inc.; Chetty et al., Nature 2022. How TownRatings grades civic life →
Volunteering in East Los Angeles
East Los Angeles is unincorporated, so its nonprofits aren’t counted: they file by mailing address, which doesn’t follow its boundary.
2.4%
2.4% of East Los Angeles’ Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 5.9% in the typical California town and 7.5% nationally.
Volunteering: Social Capital Atlas (Opportunity Insights), from data by Meta Platforms, Inc.; Chetty et al., Nature 2022. ZIP-code figures, weighted by where East Los Angeles’ residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 3 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S.
LA County Library serves 3,248,285 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
Every hour the doors are open, about 52 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole LA County Library system. The library’s own count.
48% of borrowing is digital
11M loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
4,997,082 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 140 kids’ programs a week
Story times, clubs, classes and events, across the whole system, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.
4 places to borrow in East Los Angeles
East Los Angeles Library, 4837 East Third St., Los Angeles.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every LA County Library branch.
New in East Los Angeles? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other LA County Library branches in East Los Angeles
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average East Los Angeles cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $195M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $169M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $195M budget.
Fine-free. No late fees on books returned late.
Retail prices are typical, rounded down: a new book $17, a kids’ book $12, an e-book or e-audiobook $15, a movie rental $4, a class or program $10, a computer or Wi-Fi session $3. The average cardholder’s month = the library’s yearly loans, attendance and Wi-Fi sessions ÷ its 2,115,003 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Who has a library of their own, and how much each town borrows. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles | Central Library fine-free | 6.7 | 57 | D |
| Commerce | City of Commerce Rosewood Library | 3.5 | 43 | C |
| Monterey Park | Monterey Park Bruggemeyer Library fine-free | 3.2 | 33 | C− |
| East Los Angeles | East Los Angeles Library fine-free | — | 60 | — unincorporated |
| Montebello | Montebello Library fine-free | — | 40 | D− |
Loans = print + digital items borrowed in the library’s fiscal year, per person it serves. — = no library of its own, a county or regional system (its numbers cover many towns), or no report. Civic life: — = not graded (unincorporated places, whose nonprofits can’t be placed by mailing address, or towns with fewer than two of the three inputs).
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. East Los Angeles Library is one branch of LA County Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 3,248,285 people it serves.
Hours are the survey’s yearly average; libraries are compared with others serving about as many people. How TownRatings uses library figures →
Questions about the library and civic life in East Los Angeles
Does East Los Angeles have a public library?
Yes: East Los Angeles Library, 4837 East Third St., is a branch of LA County Library, which serves 3,248,285 people. The branch is open about 60 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is LA County Library fine-free? Does it lend e-books?
Yes to both: no late fees, and e-books, audiobooks and research databases with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is East Los Angeles’ library?
It logged 1.7 visits and lent 3.2 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.
What is East Los Angeles’ civic life grade?
East Los Angeles isn’t graded on civic life: it’s unincorporated, so its nonprofits can’t be counted reliably (mailing addresses don’t follow its boundary) and its library is a branch of LA County Library, so there is no town figure for visits. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in East Los Angeles.
Libraries: Institute of Museum and Library Services, Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024. Each library reports its own numbers. Distances are straight-line from the town center. “What your card is worth” uses typical retail prices and is an estimate, not an official figure.