The Friends of the Pico Union Library is a volunteer-led nonprofit dedicated to enriching our neighborhood branch — funding poetry programs for middle schoolers, building out a biodiverse library garden, and hosting community events that bring our block together.
We are parents, teachers, retirees, and former patrons who believe a thriving public library is the backbone of any neighborhood. Public funding keeps the doors open. We raise the rest — for the books, the gardens, the speakers, and the snacks that turn a building into a community.
Every dollar we raise stays right here on Alvarado Street — funding our three signature programs and the dozens of free events we host each year.
From an annual poetry celebration to a thriving library garden, our work is shaped by what our neighbors ask for and what our librarians dream up. Here is what we're building right now.
A neighborhood-wide celebration of young poets, free for every middle schooler on the block.
Now in its fourth year, Poetry Lives in Pico Union pairs local poet laureates with middle school students for an afternoon of readings, workshops, and awards. Past honorees have included young writers from across the district. Food, music, and recognition for every participant — entrada libre, todos bienvenidos.
Turning the library grounds into a living classroom of California-friendly plants.
We are slowly transforming the library's outdoor spaces into a drought-resilient, pollinator-friendly garden. Succulents, native sages, milkweed for monarchs — a living catalog of what can thrive in our climate. Volunteer planting days happen monthly, tools provided, kids welcome.
Workshops, story hours, art days, and the everyday programming that makes a library a gathering place.
We fund a year-round slate of programs — bilingual story hour, ESL conversation circles, citizenship workshops, MLK Day art sessions, summer reading challenges, author visits, and the back-to-school backpack drive. Each one shaped by what our community is asking for.
Every contribution — of time, money, or pan dulce — stays in the building on Alvarado. Pick your way in.
Tax-deductible, one-time or recurring. $25 buys a children's book. $100 funds a storytime. $500 sponsors an author visit.
Donate now →Sort donated books, plant the garden, read on Saturdays, translate for new neighbors, or just bring snacks. We need every kind of help.
Sign up →$25 individual / family · $10 student or senior. Early access to the book sale and our quarterly newsletter in the mail.
Join now →The Pico Union Branch of the Los Angeles Public Library sits at the corner of Alvarado and 11th, in one of the densest, most multilingual neighborhoods in the city. Walk-ins welcome.
Four issues a year. Event picks, garden updates, a featured poem by one of our young writers, and one good recipe. No spam — nunca.