E-Card Application

If you already have a physical library card or a Student Success Card, you do not need an e-card. Can't remember your library card number? Contact us to recover your account.

If you live in the City of Los Angeles and need a library card, you can get immediate access to our collections without first having to visit a Los Angeles Public Library location through an e-card.

The e-card gives you immediate and free access to these resources:

E-Media: download or stream e-books, audiobooks, movies, documentary films, music, podcasts, newspapers, and magazines.
Research & Homework: access newspaper archives, genealogy tools, professional magazines, and scholarly journals.
Online Learning: enroll in an online course, learn a new language, take a practice tests, or access Lynda.com.
Physical Collections: Place holds on books, audiobooks on CD, DVDs, etc. and pick them up at your local library.

Complete the online application below, and you will instantly receive your e-card number by email. Questions? Read the FAQs.

Find A Library

Choose Branch:

Support Your Library

Why support the Library?

The Los Angeles Public Library serves the largest most diverse population of any library in the United States.

Through its Central Library and 72 branches, the Los Angeles Public Library provides free and easy access to information, ideas, books and technology that enrich, educate and empower every individual in our city's diverse communities.

With more people than ever before using the library—a record 17 million last year alone—your support helps the Library provide people with the resources they need to succeed and thrive.

How to support the Library

You can support the Los Angeles Public Library in several ways:

Join a “Friends” group. There is a “Friends of the Library” group for most branch libraries and departments of the Central Library. Friends groups raise money for improvements to their library through memberships, used book sales and other activities. For more information click here or talk to your local librarian.

Join the Library Foundation of Los Angeles. The Library Foundation is a non-profit organization that raises funds for Library enhancement programs such as adult and early literacy, children and teen reading clubs, technology, and cultural programs. Foundation members receive a variety of benefits with their membership. For more information, see http://www.lfla.org.

Make a donation by check to the Los Angeles Public Library and send it to:
Support the Library, 630 W. Fifth St., Los Angeles CA 90071 or call (213) 228-7272.