Central Library & Branches Architectural Print

What does a library look like? Los Angeles Public Library, comprised of 73 total branches, including the Richard J. Riordan Central Library, is one of the most sprawling library systems in the nation. Across the city, LAPL's buildings represent a unique narrative about our city's urban landscape, one that elucidates the city's history, style, and community. From the bureaucratic brutalism of branches such as Pio-Pico Koreatown Branch (3) and Vernon Branch (4) to the dynamic, ultra-contemporary visions that sit on cracked concrete street corners such as the Mark Twain Branch (45) and Encino-Tarzana Branch (47), each building holds the sometimes (lovingly) ugly but always aspiring personality of Los Angeles. With wildly different aesthetics, one single question comes to mind: What does a library look like? We might imagine bookshelves, of course, computers, and maybe some seating. But what about the outside? The answer might be in the details. Interconnected with Central Library's theme