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Tough luck: Some LA County libraries run out of Laufey card. Here's how to get one
The Laufey Book Club library card features a drawing of the East Los Angeles Library.
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Mariana Dale
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LAist
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A matter of time (before the cards are gone)
Jazzy Gen Z singer Laufey debuted an album last week — and a new limited edition LA County Library card to go with it. But several branches have already run out.
“The goal of releasing the card is to engage and introduce new customers and users to LA County Library,” said spokesperson Marnae Theus in a statement emailed to LAist. “And to appeal to existing LA County Library customers who are fans of a musician who is an avid reader and fan of libraries.”
Several libraries across the country are offering similar cards.
Laufey has said she’s a big reader (Joan Didion is one of her favorites) and started convening an online book club in 2022. The Grammy-winning singer and multi-instrumentalist seeks to bridge generations by weaving together classical, jazz, pop and bossa nova influences.
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Laufey’s "bringing back that genre for a younger generation, which is very nice and inspiring,” said medical student Sam Higuera. He was the first person to pick up the card at the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Library in Carson Monday. “Great study music as well. Very peaceful, calm.”
He tried to snag the card Sunday afternoon at the Manhattan Beach Library, but they’d run out — as did several other branches.
Higuera is an almost daily visitor to the county’s libraries.
“The library for me is just like a third space in our community,” Higuera said. “I can get out of my apartment on my own and change up my scenery, especially if I'm studying for a long time."
Sam Higuera was the first person to pick up the Laufey-themed card at a library in Carson on Monday.
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Mariana Dale
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LAist
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How to get the Laufey library card
Each branch has 50 cards, and once they’re gone, they’re gone. It’s only “a matter of time.”
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Your best bet is to try an LA County Library location that was not open Sunday or Monday and instead opens Tuesday.
Getting a library card is free, but it costs $3 to upgrade your existing card to the Laufey edition. You can pay cash in person or by card online.
What an LA County Library card gets you
- Access to more than 6 million books (paper, eBooks and audiobooks), magazines, streaming TV, movie and music options.
- The ability to check out laptops and Wi-Fi hotspots.
- Educational resources for students and families.
- And more available at LA County’s 86 air-conditioned locations and four bookmobiles.
Past limited edition library cards
The last LA County limited edition card was the 2020 19th Amendment Cards Centennial edition.
Laura Vazquez Rodriguez's 2019 card design "honors the courageous women who fought diligently for the right to vote and celebrates those who continue to fight for equal rights today," according to the LA County Library.
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LA County Library
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Moses X Ball's library card design features "five important Black women suffragists who fought for an intersectional vision linking race, class, and gender." They are Ida B. Wells, center, Mary Church Terrell, top right, Nannie H. Burroughs, bottom left, Mary B. Talbert, top left, and Frances E.W. Harper, bottom right.
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LA County Library
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Amy Smith's collage combines "historic suffragette signs with contemporary portraits of diverse women," according to the LA County Library.
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LA County Library
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The L.A. Public Library (the system run by the city) has also released special edition library cards including:
- The 2023 P-22 library card.
- The 2019 Gajin Fujita Japanese folklore-inspired card. (You can also find this design on a variety of merch — and your purchase supports the library.)
- The 2016 Shepard Fairey and Cleon Peterson Central Library card.
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Right now, LAist has lost $1.7M in annual funding due to Congress clawing back money already approved. The support we receive before year-end will determine how fully our newsroom can continue informing, serving, and strengthening Southern California.
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