42 FREE Perks That Come With Your LA Public Library Card!
Your LA Public Library card is one of the best free perks in Los Angeles, and it goes way beyond borrowing books. With that one card, families get free museum and cultural passes, a California State Parks vehicle pass, live homework tutoring, streaming movies and music, digital newspapers, laptops and hotspots, and even a maker lab with 3D printers and a recording studio.
The card is free for California residents; kids can sign up with a parent's signature, and most digital perks work from your couch. Here's everything that comes with your Los Angeles Public Library card, grouped by what your family actually wants to do.
Key Takeaways
Cost: The card is free for California residents, and kids don't need an ID when a parent or guardian signs for them.
Instant Access: LA City residents can get an instant e-card online and start borrowing ebooks and audiobooks right away.
Big Freebies: Museum and cultural passes, California State Parks vehicle passes, Chromebooks, and hotspots are all free to borrow.
Homework Help: K–12 students get free online tutoring through HomeworkCA, plus Student Zones with homework helpers at branches.
Streaming: Libby, hoopla, Kanopy, and Freegal cover ebooks, audiobooks, movies, TV, and music.
No Late Fines: LAPL doesn't charge overdue fines, though lost or damaged items still have replacement fees.
How to Get a Free LA Public Library Card
Any California resident can get a Los Angeles Public Library card for free. Adults bring a photo ID that shows their current address, such as a California driver's license or DMV ID card. If your ID doesn't show your address, bring a photo ID plus proof of address, like a utility bill or bank statement.
Kids don't need any ID at all. A parent, guardian, or adult sponsor simply signs the application. If you live in the City of Los Angeles, you can skip the trip and sign up for an instant e-card on the LAPL library card page, then borrow digital books the same day.
LAUSD students are automatically assigned a Student Success Card, which lets them borrow up to five items and use the digital library. Teens 13 and up anywhere in the U.S. can also get a free digital Read Freely card for access to many of the most challenged books in the country.
Parent Tip: A regular card lets you check out up to 30 items and place up to 30 holds. Books are due in three weeks and DVDs in one week, and most items renew automatically on the due date if no one else is waiting.
Free Passes to Museums, Sports Games, and State Parks
Cardholders can reserve free or low-cost passes to places like the Natural History Museum, the Aquarium of the Pacific, Discovery Cube Los Angeles, The Broad, MOCA, the Petersen Automotive Museum, the GRAMMY Museum, the Museum of Tolerance, and the Skirball. The list also includes LA Kings, LA Galaxy, and Angel City FC games, plus LA Opera, Center Theatre Group, and the Music Center.
Passes are reserved online by an adult 18 or older with a regular LAPL card in good standing and a Los Angeles-area zip code. E-cards and Student Success Cards don't qualify. You can hold two reservations at a time, book up to three months ahead, and new passes drop on the first of each month.
Parent Tip: Set a reminder for the 1st of the month. Popular passes go fast, there's no waitlist, and an unused pass still counts toward your limit, so only book what you'll use.
Check out a California State Parks Pass, like a book, and get free day-use parking for one vehicle at more than 200 participating state park units. That makes beach days and hikes in state parks much cheaper.
The pass covers day-use entry for vehicles only. It doesn't cover camping, boat use, tours, museum fees, or parks run by federal or local agencies, so check the list of excluded parks before you go. Place a hold through the library catalog if your branch has a copy checked out.
Free Ebooks, Audiobooks, and Comics
Libby is the easiest way to borrow ebooks, audiobooks, and digital magazines on your phone or tablet. Kids get their own OverDrive Kids collection with ebooks, audiobooks, and comics sized for young readers. Planning a trip? Libby also offers more than 100 Lonely Planet travel guides that you can borrow anytime.
4. hoopla
Hoopla offers ebooks, comics, audiobooks, movies, TV shows, and full music albums, with no holds. It works in any browser and on most phones and tablets, making it a great backup when the title you want on Libby has a long waitlist.
Graphic novel fans can read thousands of digital comics, graphic novels, and manga with unlimited access. There's a dedicated kids' section, so younger readers can browse titles picked for their age.
Little ones love TumbleBooks, animated talking picture books in seven languages. BookFlix pairs online picture books with book videos, which is perfect for early readers who like to watch and read along.
MakeMake has more than 300 animated, illustrated stories, comics, myths, and legends from Latin American literature for readers 3 and up. Older readers can find Spanish-language ebooks and language courses on Digitalia Public Library.
The Palace Project app combines LAPL's Libby and BiblioBoard collections with free digital books from the State of California in one place. It's handy if you'd rather search everything from a single app.
Free Movies, TV Shows, and Music Streaming
9. Kanopy
Kanopy streams more than 26,000 documentaries and feature films, including titles from the Criterion Collection and the BBC. It's a great pick for family movie night and for the documentaries teachers love to assign.
10. Freegal Music
Download and keep free music on your phone or computer with Freegal. Use it to build a road-trip playlist or a bedtime mix without paying for another subscription.
11. medici.tv
Young musicians and dancers can watch more than 1,800 on-demand concerts, ballets, operas, and master classes. It's an easy way to show your aspiring violinist or ballerina what the pros do.
The Great Courses Video Library streams college-style video lectures through hoopla, while Digitalia Film Library offers mostly foreign-language films plus some classic American movies. Both are good for curious teens and lifelong learners.
Free Homework Help, Tutoring, and Test Prep
K–12 students get free one-on-one online tutoring in math, science, English, social studies, and writing, with a virtual whiteboard and chat. Teens can get help in English or Spanish, plus full-length practice tests, score reports, and video lessons. Check the HomeworkCA page for current live-tutor hours.
14. Student Zones
Many branches offer Student Zones, quiet places to study, computers to use, and trained homework helpers who can walk students through assignments and the library's online resources. Find the closest Student Zone before your next big project.
Skip unreliable websites and use Britannica School, World Book, Gale in Context, Access Science, and National Geographic Kids for school reports. Most of it is done from home with your library card number and PIN.
High schoolers (grades 9–12 and up to age 19) can use free college-prep resources, including Peterson's Test & Career Prep and LearningExpress Library for practice tests and college research. The library also hosts college workshops and parent sessions on applications and financial aid.
Parents get help too. Tutor.com offers free one-on-one tutoring for college coursework, test prep, and job searches every day from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.
Free Online Classes and Language Learning
Pick up new skills with more than 3,000 courses and 150,000 videos on business, tech, and creative topics in seven languages. It's a great résumé booster for teens and parents alike.
Udemy (through Gale) offers self-paced video courses on software, job skills, and personal development. Gale Courses has instructor-led classes, and Universal Class has more than 500 non-credit continuing-education courses.
Learn Spanish, French, Mandarin, and dozens more with Mango Languages, which also includes Little Pim videos for kids 0 to 5. Transparent Language Online covers more than 110 languages, including English as a second language.
Craftsy has thousands of hours of video lessons for creative makers, from beginner to advanced, and ArtistWorks offers music lessons from professional musicians. Both open through the Libby app.
Getting ready for a learner's permit? Teens can take free practice tests for the Class C driver's license, plus motorcycle and commercial license tests.
Adults 19 and older who live in Los Angeles or work for the City of Los Angeles can earn an accredited high school diploma and a career certificate online for free. The library offers a limited number of scholarships, and no transcript or U.S. citizenship is required.
Free Newspapers and Magazines
Skip the paywall. Your library card unlocks digital access to the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and the Washington Post.
Read the Los Angeles Times from 1985 to today, or dig into the historical archive going back to 1881, which is great for school history projects. You also get local papers like the Los Angeles Daily News, Daily Breeze, Pasadena Star-News, and Orange County Register.
PressReader carries more than 2,000 newspapers from 100 countries in 60 languages, and Libby has popular magazines to read on your tablet. Both are perfect for long flights and waiting rooms.
Free Things to Borrow Besides Books
Through the Tech2go program, adults with a card in good standing can borrow Chromebooks, mobile hotspots, or a computer bundle with both for long-term use. The hotspot program is designed for households without internet access at home.
Little listeners can borrow a Yoto Mini audio player at select branches, including Eagle Rock, Fairfax, Playa Vista, San Pedro, Westwood, and the Central Library's Children's Literature Department. Check the Tech2go page for the full branch list.
Tell the library what your child is into, and staff will pick out a bundle of five children's books by theme, interest, or type. You can request up to two bundles per card, and the library lets you know when they're ready.
Each play kit comes with a toy, a book, and a list of activities to do at home with your child, and you keep it for a week. Kits are available at Arroyo Seco, Baldwin Hills, Lincoln Heights, North Hollywood, Panorama City, Pico Union, R. L. Stevenson, Vernon, and Wilmington.
Borrow a backpack with binoculars, a Southern California bird guide, and a birding notepad for six weeks. Kits are available at 21 San Fernando Valley branches, including Sherman Oaks, Studio City, Encino-Tarzana, North Hollywood, and Woodland Hills.
32. Ukuleles
Each ukulele kit includes the instrument, a case, a chord book, and a tuner, and you can keep it for three weeks. It's a low-pressure way to see if your kid really wants music lessons before you buy an instrument.
Turn your block into a science lab with kits for mapping mosquito habitats, monitoring air and water quality, counting stars, tracking clouds, and exploring biodiversity. Call your branch first to make sure a kit is available.
Free Maker Labs, Printing, and Tech Help
Cardholders get free, unlimited access to this maker space on Lower Level 2 of Central Library. It has 3D printers and a 3D scanner, a recording studio, podcast and livestream studios, Macs with Adobe Creative Cloud, a laser cutter, a vinyl cutter, sewing and embroidery machines, and a photography studio.
Parent Tip: Membership requires a library card in good standing, a photo ID, and a signed user agreement. Reserve equipment by calling the lab at 213-228-7150.
35. DIY Memory Lab
Finally, digitize those old family VHS tapes. The Memory Lab, also in the Octavia Lab, has equipment for photos, slides, negatives, VHS, MiniDV, cassettes, vinyl records, CDs, DVDs, and Super 8 film. You'll attend an online orientation first, then book an appointment by phone.
Every day, you get a free printing allotment worth $6.25, which works out to about 25 black-and-white pages. You can even send print jobs from home and pick them up within 24 hours, which is a lifesaver on report due dates.
Reserve a free computer at any branch, or get one-on-one help with technology through the library's Cybernauts program. Can't find what you need? Ask a Librarian online.
Free Programs and Events for Kids and Families
Branches host free storytimes, crafts, and family programs all year. Filter the events calendar by "Babies and Toddlers" or "Kids" to find something near you this week.
This series of virtual and in-person sessions helps children ages 0 to 5 build school-ready skills with their grown-ups. Families are encouraged to read 1,000 books before kindergarten and can track their progress on Beanstack.
40. StoryWalks
On a StoryWalk, the pages of a children's book are posted along a trail, so kids read the story as they walk. It's a sweet way to combine fresh air and reading time.
Every summer, LAPL runs a free reading challenge for kids, teens, and adults with gameboards and prizes. Watch the library website in late spring for the new theme.
The Library Foundation of Los Angeles hosts ALOUD, a series of conversations with authors, artists, and thinkers at Central Library. Check the Library Foundation's calendar for upcoming talks and reservation details, since they make a great night out for book-loving teens.
LA Public Library vs. LA County Library: Which Card Do You Need?
The Los Angeles Public Library serves the City of Los Angeles with more than 70 locations, but any California resident can get a free LAPL card. LA County Library is a separate system that serves unincorporated areas and many other cities in the county, and its card comes with its own perks.
Cities like Santa Monica, Pasadena, Glendale, Burbank, and Long Beach also run their own libraries. Many families carry two or three cards, since each one unlocks different museum passes, streaming services, and things to borrow.
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Takeaway
Your LA Public Library card is the best free membership in town. Between museum passes, state park passes, homework tutoring, streaming movies, maker labs, and kits you can borrow, it can easily save your family hundreds of dollars a year.
If you don't have one yet, sign up for an instant e-card or stop by any branch with your ID. Then pick one new perk to try this month, whether that's a Discover & Go pass, a ukulele, or a family movie on Kanopy.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the LA Public Library card free?
Yes. The Los Angeles Public Library card is free for anyone who lives in California. Adults need a photo ID with their current address or a photo ID plus proof of address. Only people with a permanent address outside California pay a fee, which is $50, and those cards are issued in person.
Can kids get an LA Public Library card?
Yes. Kids don't need any ID to get a library card. A parent, guardian, or adult sponsor just signs the application at a branch. LAUSD students are also automatically assigned a Student Success Card that lets them borrow up to five items and use the library's digital collections.
How do I get free museum passes with my LA library card?
Reserve them through Discover & Go on the LAPL website. You must be 18 or older with a regular card in good standing and a Los Angeles-area zip code. You can hold two reservations at a time, and new passes are released on the first of each month.
Does the LA Public Library charge late fees?
No. The Los Angeles Public Library doesn't charge overdue fines. You'll still pay replacement fees if an item is lost or damaged, and unreturned items can eventually be sent to a collection agency. Most items renew automatically on their due date unless someone else has placed a hold.
What can I borrow from the LA library besides books?
Plenty. Cardholders can borrow California State Parks passes, Chromebooks and hotspots, Yoto Mini players, ukuleles, birdwatching kits, play kits, neighborhood science kits, and Book Bundles To Go. Availability depends on the branch, so check each program's page or call before you go.
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