04/24/2026
Community isn’t just part of the process. It drives it.
This National Library Week, we’re celebrating “Find Your Joy” by honoring the voices, stories, and connections that make libraries come alive.
For the Los Angeles Public Library, that meant meeting Los Angeleno where it is : diverse, creative, and constantly evolving. To understand what the library should become, we went directly to the people who shape it every day, its communities.
Over the past year, we listened to more than 20,000 voices across LA, including partners, leaders, staff, and Angelenos who rely on LAPL. We hosted 40 community partners for conversations over breakfast, conducted 13 branch tours, engaged 370 staff participants, facilitated leadership workshops, and held in-depth interviews to uncover both big-picture aspirations and everyday needs.
Together with stakeholders across the system, Margaret Sullivan Studio in collaboration with Gensler LA, helped translate these conversations into a shared vision for the future. These engagements became a vital part of the strategic planning process, revealing the nuances, challenges, and ambitions of the communities LAPL serves. Our human-centered approach puts users first and builds a library system that truly reflects its city and fosters joy.
Joy shows up in many ways. In a welcoming space. In a meaningful conversation. In being heard.
This is what meaningful outreach looks like. Thoughtful, collaborative, and deeply human.
- Sampriti Sheth, MSS
