Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2019/12/18/getting-a-library-card-in-los.html
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Kanopy is fantastic, though the selection depends a great deal on what your library (public or university) has.
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LAPL also has a pretty great zine collection:
The catalog search didn’t reveal any print copies of Boing Boing, but I suspect that they’d take donations 
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I’ve found it’s surprisingly common for neighboring counties to allow people to get library cards. In the old days this didn’t mean that much unless you lived right on the border and the nearest library was in the other county, or if the other county was the capital and had a much better stocked library system, but today it can mean access to a variety of online resources that you can use from anywhere.
Sometimes it means a second chance to not have to wait in line on OverDrive or Libby. Or maybe one county has Hoopla and another has Kanopy. You can really expand your options with multiple library cards.
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I don’t know about other libraries at this point, but the LAPL system has online lookup/availability/location of all books on their shelves; I can even put an online ‘hold’ on any book still available and on the shelf. It’s pretty neat. And the brick and mortar central branch library in LA is near to being a tourist attraction.
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Libraries are the best. My local library gives you a PIN (code) with your library card. You can use it to log into their website and access all kinds of amazing materials, either Linda training or finding old Chilton Manuals for your vehicle repair. They also have a link to online homework help for gradeschool kids on nearly any topic with a live tutor to help them. If you haven’t asked a librarian about what kind of things they offer on their website it’s worth it as you’ll probably be surprised.
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I had Seattle, King County (which Seattle is in) and Sno-Isle cards. It was pretty awesome having 3 nice library systems to choose from.
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It often extends even beyond neighboring counties. In Ohio most of the large library systems offer cards to any state resident. I know Michigan and Pennsylvania have a similar systems, though not as extensive. Actually both Pittsburgh and Detroit allow non state residents to get a card for a small fee.
I thought I was unusual in this, but apparently (according to a recent LA Times article) I’m pretty typical. I live in Los Angeles proper, and have cards from
- Los Angeles
- Los Angeles County
- Beverly Hills
- Santa Monica
- Pasadena/Glendale
- New York
I don’t have Altadena yet, but I may soon.
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WOW! I only have LAPL! I’m gonna have to up my library game!
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I recently read ‘The Library Book’ by Susan Orlean which does a deep dive into the history of the Los Angeles Library system and libraries in general. I highly recommend it.
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Libraries are awesome. Mine even sells pint glasses.
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since there are no cyber cafe left it is a second principle to get on line
if you have a need to do uploads of photos
but that might be five years old now…
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