Southern California Library for Social Studies and Research

The Southern California Library is an independent community library and archive located in South Los Angeles. The Library documents and makes accessible histories of struggles that challenge racism and other systems of oppression so we can all imagine and sustain possibilities for freedom.

Founded 50 years ago, the Library holds extensive collections of histories of community resistance in Los Angeles and beyond. Authors, teachers, students, filmmakers, and artists research the Library’s collections and have created hundreds of books, films, plays, and exhibits that illuminate the stories of communities working to improve their lives, including the book City of Quartz by Mike Davis, the feature film Devil in a Blue Dress, the PBS documentary Black Press: Soldiers without Swords and an upcoming PBS documentary on L.A. Mayor Tom Bradley, the play Chavez Ravine by Culture Clash, and the current exhibit Becoming Los Angeles at the L.A. Natural History Museum.

The Library also makes its space available to local community groups for organizing meetings, workshops, and events, in addition to offering free access to the Foundation Center’s database and other resources for grantseekers across Los Angeles.

The Library's resources are open to all to inspire, inform, and support the everyday work of making new and more just histories.

Website: www.socallib.org