Lexington Public Library

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741.5 is written and designed by Lexington Public Library staff member Bill Widener. The inaugural issue came out in January 2017. Sub-titled The Comics & Graphic Novel Bulletin of the Lexington Public Library, its intent is to promote new arrivals to the Library's comics collections. 741.5 takes its name from the numeral designation within the Dewey Decimal System that covers comics and cartooning.

The Lexington Public Library receives most of its operating funds from an Ad Valorem property tax. By State law, the Library receives five cents for every $100 of assessed property value in Lexington and Fayette County.

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The Lexington Public Library’s Digital Archives provide open access to researchers and students to learn more about the rich history of Lexington and Fayette County. It contains a fraction of the Library’s physical holdings, which are housed and available for reference in the Kentucky Room at the Central Library. New material is being digitized and added constantly, so there's always something new to find.

The archives have a simple keyword search, and it is possible to browse the collections by subject, area, or decade. The Lexington Public Library actively reviews and labels materials in our archives with statements that indicate how you may reuse the images, and what sort of permission, if any, you need to do so. Please check the information for each image to determine its legal status.

Discover unique resources in our Digital Archives that tell the story of Fayette County.  Visit cemeteries throughout Central Kentucky using our cemetery maps.  Contact our resident experts in the Central Library's Kentucky Room with questions.

We stand for free and open access to information. That starts with removing unnecessary barriers to our educational resources and technology. The Lexington Public Library no longer charges fines or fees for late, lost, or damaged material.

The Central Library's Parking Garage is available to our customers or anyone needing a parking space.  There are 428 parking spots in the garage, 10 of which are handicapped or van accessible.  The height clearance for garage entry is 13'1".  The height clearance for parking access is 6'4".

Two hours of free parking is provided with a ticket validated inside the Central Library.

The Lexington Public Library offers an Interlibrary Loan (ILL) service which allows cardholders in good standing to borrow books and magazine articles we do not own and cannot purchase. The Lexington Public Library also lends our books to libraries both inside and outside the Commonwealth of Kentucky.

Library meeting rooms are available for individuals, non-profit, for profit, study groups, and community organizations seeking to hold meetings, trainings, and workshops.  Meeting rooms are free of charge.  Sterno and other tools/equipment that have an open flame are prohibited.

Highlight

If books are your thing, this is your place.  Browse the newest titles in our collection, take a deep dive into comics and graphic novels with the 741.5 bulletin, request a personalized "bag of books," and more.

Board Member
Advisory Board

Wendi Keene retired from a thirty year career with the YMCA of Central Kentucky. She held many positions from early education teacher, camp director, and after-school site director until she worked her way to outreach programing. When she left the Y she had become the Executive Director of Community Initiatives for the total Y association with her focus on the arts, literacy and volunteers.

Thank you for thinking of the Friends Book Cellar for donating your: books, CDs, DVDs, and current year magazines.

A book club to discuss literary works by black authors

Lexington, Kentucky (January 16, 2024) – Lexington Public Library is proud to announce their new Black Voices Book Club which is dedicated to discussing literary works by black authors. The Club meets on the third Saturday of each month.

Whether you're just starting out, changing careers, or returning to the workforce, finding a job can be tough.  We can help you land the right position and answer your questions along the way.

Meet with a librarian for one-on-one consultation.  Please submit the Book a Librarian Appointment Request Form or call 859-231-5500 during business hours to schedule an appointment.  Appointments are scheduled Monday-Friday during Library business hours and typically last 30 to 45 minutes.

Please complete this form to request a Destination Kindergarten Storytime Kit.  Kits may be borrowed for 2 weeks.  Each kit contains: 5-7 books, a binder with songs, action rhymes, and fingerplays, and several classroom manipulatives for activities.

Lexington, Kentucky (April 12, 2023) – The Lexington Public Library will be Fine Free for all materials, effective immediately, following a vote at today’s regularly scheduled monthly board meeting. Lexington Public Library customers will no longer incur fines for late, damaged, or lost library materials. Additionally, the Library has forgiven all current, outstanding fines

New facility will remain at previous location with a larger footprint and expanded offerings

Lexington, Kentucky (August 18, 2022) – The Lexington Public Library broke ground on a new, significantly larger facility in the former Village Branch location on Versailles Road to better provide for the needs of the neighborhoods it serves. The new branch will reflect the community’s vision for a state-of-the-art community hub, one that offers robust resources and a myriad of program and service offerings. The groundbreaking ceremony was held on Tuesday at a media event featuring Library and City officials.

Free program being offered at Northside and Village Branches

Lexington, Kentucky (December 20, 2022) – Lexington Public Library announced today that its popular LPL After School program will return in 2023, beginning January 2. 

LPL After School is a FREE drop-in program for kids aged 5-12 that takes place after regular school hours, Mondays through Fridays from 4-6pm.  The Library, in partnership with God’s Pantry, will provide snacks for all participants as well as STEAM and enrichment activities, homework help, and reading recommendations. And there’s no need to register—just show up!

Podcast Episode
Alexa and Jenny are joined this week by our middle school expert, Ellie, as we discuss the very popular book Wonder by RJ Palacio. Wonder tells the story of a very special kid named Auggie, as he navigates his first year of middle school, takes on bullies
Digital Archives - Collection

Tina Belle Green Winters Simpler Young (1880-1930), was born in Elmville, Kentucky. Known as Tiny, she was believed to be a sex worker in the 1920s and 30s, and sent $5.00 a week home to support her sister. For a time she worked in the Crawl section of Frankfort, then she moved to Lexington, and finally lived the rest of her life in Cincinnati. The queerness of sex work, a marginalized woman using sex to support family, provides context both to this collection bearing her name and to the LGBTQ+ community that has historically formed families on the sexual margins.

 

 

The Lexington Public Library has made an effort to ensure that all of our digital collections are public domain, or that we have gotten approval from the copyright holders to display their work. Most - but not all - of these collections, to the best of our knowledge, have no known US copyright restrictions. Some items in the collection are under copyright but qualify for online display by libraries under Section 108(h) of United States Copyright Law. Some of the collections provided in the Library's Digital Archives are made available under an assertion of fair use, which does not necessarily apply to an individual's use of them.