BEST Friends of LAPL

BEST Friends of LAPL is the support organization for the Los Angeles Public Library's Business & Economics and Science, Technology & Patents Departments, as well as the Octavia Lab, at downtown LA's Central Library.

We are a nonprofit group whose purpose is to raise funds to provide financial assistance to these Library departments, and to create awareness of the many valuable services that they provide to the public.

Your participation helps BEST Friends of LAPL continue this important work. Join today!

News

Check out our Summer 2026 Newsletter for the latest updates from BEST Friends and the LAPL departments we support!

SIGN UP for our mailing list to receive the BEST Friends of LAPL quarterly newsletter and invitations to upcoming programs.

BEST Friends Member Events

BEST Friends members receive invitations to our hosted events -- see below for the latest!

BEST Friends members and future members are invited to our Fall event: a FREE FILM SCREENING, Q&A, and a MUSICAL PERFORMANCE on Sunday, 9/6/26 at 2 p.m., in the Mark Taper Auditorium at Central Library! BEST Friends will screen “The Opener,” an award-winning documentary featuring singer/ songwriter Philip Labes. (Learn more about this fascinating film and watch the trailer here.) Immediately after the screening, there will be a Q&A with Philip and filmmakers Jeff Toye and Sunya Mara, followed by a live musical performance by Philip! RSVP here to attend.

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We also fund weekly Mindful Meditation sessions at Central Library, which are led by instructors from UCLA's Mindful Awareness Research Center. It's free and open to the public 🕉️

You can view more BEST Friends programs here. To hear about our next events, sign up for our newsletter and join us!

Announcements

Have an announcement you'd like to share with our members?

Feel free to send us a note at best.friends.lapl@gmail.com

More Hidden Heroes, Historic Places is now available for purchase on Amazon!

This family-friendly coloring book celebrates fifteen of Los Angeles’s forgotten heroes through coloring pages, biographies, location descriptions, and activities. Its thirty-four pages give readers—whether they are young or old, L.A. history buffs or people just starting to learn about the city—a fun and interactive way to explore.

The book is published by BEST Friends of Los Angeles Public Library, and all proceeds go to helping sustain library programs. Learn more about the book here.

The original Hidden Heroes, Historic Places is also available on Amazon!

LAPL's Octavia Lab partnered with the LA Conservancy to create a coloring book for all ages. The book celebrates Los Angeles’s forgotten heroes and the architecture of their worlds, through beautiful coloring pages, biographies, location descriptions and activities.

All proceeds from Hidden Heroes, Historic Places go directly to programming, materials, and supplies for LAPL. Joining BEST Friends of LAPL as a member, in addition to purchasing a copy of Hidden Heroes, Historic Places, is what we depend on to sustain our support of the BEST departments at LAPL's Central Library.

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SIGN UP for our mailing list to receive the BEST Friends of LAPL quarterly newsletter, updates about library programs that your membership supports, and invitations to upcoming events!

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