Search the Library
Jobs at the Library
5 positions available now!
Services & Resources
- Access Your Account
- AskWhyKY
Ask a Librarian - Business Portal
- Catalog Search
- Central Kentucky Radio Eye
- Central Reference Dept. Magazine List
- Community Information (INFORM)
- Document Delivery
- Downloadable Audiobooks
- E-Mail Reference
- Grants Collection
- H1N1 - Swine Flu
- Interlibrary Loans
- Internet Links
- NextReads Archives
- NextReads Newsletters
- Online Job Searches
- Online Reference Room (Database Collection)
- Outreach Services
- Reference Services
- Student Resources
- ThoroBrowser Search
- Wireless Internet Access
Online Reference Room
A Lexington Public Library card is required to access some resources outside the library. A few resources are only available from computers at a library location.
For additional assistance, please see the database troubleshooting guide. If you are encountering errors when trying to access the databases below, click here for assistance.
Combined Search
- Search multiple databases with one click!
- The LPL Quicksearch allows you to search eight databases at once!
Books and Literature
- Literature Resource Center
- Articles on thousands of books, authors, and literary genres from authoritative reference sources.
- LitFinder
- Use the Litfinder to find the full text of thousands of poems, short stories, plays or essays, as well as author biographies and explanations.
- Novelist
- Search over 70,000 fiction titles to find new books to read based on your interests. Provided by the Kentucky Virtual Library.
- OCLC Worldcat
- Find Books in Libraries all over the World
Business and Investing
- Business & Company Resource Center
- Company profiles, company brand information, rankings, investment reports, company histories, chronologies, and periodicals. Search this database to find detailed company and industry news and information.
- Dun & Bradstreet's Million Dollar Database
- The Million Dollar Database provides comprehensive information on both public and private companies and their executives. Company profiles include specialty information like executive biographies and corporate families, SIC codes and more.
- Mergent Online
- Business and financial information for U.S. and international public companies, including, annual reports; company histories and SEC filings.
- Reference USA
- Business directory information including the size, key executives and credit ratings for millions of businesses. (Click here for Norton Internet Security configuration instructions.)
Education
- LearningExpressLibrary
- Use these interactive practice exams to prepare for the GED, SAT, ASVAB and other academic, civil service, military and professional exams.
- Live Homework Help
- Students stumped by tough homework assignments are now able to receive free help from professional tutors from 2 p.m. to midnight every day.
Genealogy and History
- Ancestry Library Edition
- Large genealogy database includes census images, vital statistics, family trees and historic records.
Available only to customers inside the library. - Biography Resource Center
- Biographies of hundred of thousands of individuals, from all fields of interest and throughout history.
- HeritageQuest Online
- Research your family's history online using census records and rare published family and local histories. Includes PERSI, Periodicals Source Index, for genealogical and local history research magazines.
Government
- CQ Supreme Court Collection
- CQ Supreme Court Collection blends historical analysis with timely updates and expert commentary of Supreme Court decisions, biographies of Supreme Court justices, Supreme Court institutional history, and the U.S. Constitution.
Health and Medicine
- Health & Wellness Resource Center
- Use this database to research topics in health and medicine, medications, and wellness. Includes encyclopedias, directories, medical dictionary, magazines, journals, and newspapers.
Kids
- BookFlix
- Read and listen to stories online and then find out more by reading related non-fiction books.
- Searchasaurus
- Searchasaurus is the friendly blue dinosaur and children''s interface for EBSCO''s Primary/Elementary Search and Middle School Search databases. Provided by the Kentucky Virtual Library. Available only to customers inside the library.
Law
- CQ Supreme Court Collection
- CQ Supreme Court Collection blends historical analysis with timely updates and expert commentary of Supreme Court decisions, biographies of Supreme Court justices, Supreme Court institutional history, and the U.S. Constitution.
- Thomson Gale Legal Forms
- A wide selection of Kentucky (and some multi-state) legal forms across the most popular legal areas, including real estate contracts, wills, pre-marital agreements, bankruptcy, divorce, landlord tenant and many others. Also included is an attorney state directory and a dictionary of legal definitions explained in laymen''s language. *DISCLAIMER:* All forms in this database are provided without any warranty as to their legal effect. Library staff are not qualified to give legal advice, including selecting the correct form for your case. Please consult an attorney if you have any questions. The products offered by Thomson Gale Legal Forms are not a substitute for the advice of an attorney.
News and Current Events
- CQ Researcher
- The CQ Researcher is your complete source for in-depth analysis reporting on the most current and controversial issues of the day.
- Newsbank
- Searchable full-text archive of selected national and regional newspapers, including the Lexington Herald Leader. An index of Obituaries and Death Notices is also available.
Ready Reference
- CultureGrams Online
- Find out about other countries, including daily life, customs and history. Most country reports including maps, photos, national anthem, flag, statistics, recipes and biographies of well known citizens.
- Kentucky Encyclopedia Web Edition
- The Kentucky Encyclopedia was commissioned to mark the bicentennial of statehood in 1992. Its 2,000-plus entries are the work of more than five hundred writers. Their subjects reflect all areas of the commonwealth, and this standard reference tool pulls together facts about the people, places, things, and events of the Bluegrass State. The web edition of The Kentucky Encyclopedia contains all the entries in the print edition enhanced for the online environment. It was created and is maintained by the University Press of Kentucky and Morehead State University.
- Kentucky Virtual Library
- Access to library catalogs and 40+ databases, including encyclopedias. Designed to support the KY Virtual University, but helpful for college and high school students and citizens of Fayette County.
- World Book Encyclopedia
- A powerful reference tool that includes encyclopedia articles, multimedia, and primary sources.
State and Local Information
- Local History Index

- Selective finding aid to Lexington newspapers about significant people, places and events from 1787 to December 31, 2007.
Periodical Indexes
- EBSCO Host
- Search for full text and abstracts of periodical articles covering the fields of sociology, religion, psychology, education, agriculture, health and more. Provided by the Kentucky Virtual Library.
- InfoTrac
- Periodical indexes with many full text articles from thousands of magazines. Covers general interest, business and health.
Automotive Repair
- Mitchell on Demand
- Auto repair database for U.S. and foreign cars. Includes maintenance and recall information.
*click "Login Now" to access database.
Available only to customers inside the library.


