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Five Innovative Ways the Library Supports Veterans

As we get ready to honor those who have served our country on Veterans Day next week, the Los Angeles Public Library supports veterans in a variety of ways all year long. We checked in with Principal Librarian Alicia Moguel and her team who run these crucial programs for veterans–both by providing access to services online and in person. Here are a few innovative ways the Library works to support veterans through collaborative partnerships.
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“A military tank drives down Broadway as part of the Armistice Day celebration.” November 11, 1947, from LAPL’s Photo Collection.
LAPL, with support from the California State Library, is host to VetNow, a website service which connects veterans with easy-to-access benefits counselors as well as job coaches and tutors. This is a new way for veterans to learn about their benefits, and LAPL was the first library system in the country to go live with this valuable service and serve as a pilot.
Veterans are able to take interactive online courses and practice exams in a wide range of topics through LAPL Online Resources for both personal enrichment and professional development. LearningExpress LibraryLynda.com and Universal Class are just a few examples. 
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“Veterans observance – Legionnaires carry flags of their units as they pass spectators in a Veterans Day parade in Studio City.” November 11, 1963, from LAPL’s Photo Collection.
 3. Voyant
Voyant, one of LAPL’s online resources for users to research job opportunities, allows veterans to use military code to search for jobs. Veterans will be able to translate job skills, find opportunities, reach out to employers and manage the application process to make the most of every career opportunity.
One particularly successful partnership is the Veterans Make Movies grant from Institute of Museum and Library Services along with LAPL and LACMA. This has been a successful three year grant in which veterans have attended 8-week film making classes at one of the four Veterans Resource Centers at the Library. While the grant is coming to close, it has offered many veterans a unique and powerful storytelling opportunity and almost 80 films were made.
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“Members of the U.S. Marine Corps, resplendent in dress uniform, provide precision marching in parade observing the twenty-ninth anniversary of World War I armistice.” November 11, 1947, from LAPL’s Photo Collection.
The LAPL has four Veterans Resource Centers and each provides veterans with in-person guidance from volunteers who can deeply listen and provide the best and most appropriate resources to veterans and their family members seeking assistance from education, employment, housing, health to other benefits for which they may be eligible. Since their inception in 2013, Veterans Resource Centers, which are supported through a grant from the California State Library have helped more than 4,000 veterans.

Although the Library will be closed this Saturday, November 11 for Veterans Day,  you can still access our Media Archive with videos and podcasts from past ALOUD programs. To commemorate Veterans Day, listen to a podcast with Norman Davies looking back at World War II, or a talk with David Finkel on returning from deployment, or watch this video on stories from war:

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Stacy-Lieberman_headshot_President-and-CEO_LFLA

Stacy Lieberman

As President and CEO of the Library Foundation of Los Angeles (LFLA), Stacy Lieberman is an innovative and inclusive leader whose career dwells at the intersection of arts and culture, lifelong learning, storytelling, and equitable access. Stacy guides the Foundation’s philanthropic and public-facing priorities to serve the Los Angeles Public Library, embracing the notion that libraries are beacons of democracy where everyone is welcome. She works intentionally with community leaders, donors, and internal and external strategic partners to raise awareness and resources for the Library and its life-changing initiatives.

With more than 20 years of experience as a senior executive, Stacy has left an indelible mark on iconic L.A. arts, non-profit, and educational institutions such as The Broad, the Autry Museum of the American West, and the Skirball Cultural Center. Building on an early career in book publishing, she has dedicated her professional life to sharing stories and broadening the reach of public institutions to welcome visitors and students of all ages and backgrounds to experience educational, arts, and cultural opportunities.