Lexington Public Library

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Community Reads is our Lexington-wide book group. Connect with your friends and neighbors by reading the selected book, joining in a book discussion or related program, and attending a book talk with this year's featured author. 

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You can request a "Bag of Books" to access our materials when you're unable to browse in person.  Complete this form, and we'll pull up to 10 items that match your specified interests.  You can help us locate more items by keeping your requests general.

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Please complete this form to request a Preschool 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.

Together, we’ll enrich our Lexington Public Library for the next 230 years.


Tracing its history back to 1795, the Lexington Public Library is a gateway to knowledge, a bridge to opportunity, and a hub for community connection. The name of the society honors that legacy —  when a small group of citizens came together to create something lasting for their community - a library positioned to evolve to meet the ever changing needs of our community.

Members of the 1795 Society are philanthropic leaders and dedicated library champions. Supporters make a three-year pledge of at least $1,000 per year - whether you are an individual donor interested in making an annual or monthly gift, you are making your estate plans, or you are a corporate partner looking to connect your organization to community impact, we invite you to join this legacy of connection, learning, and leadership in support of the public library! 

Join the 1795 Society, a community who enable the Library’s critical work and build a legacy of learning, access and opportunity for generations to come.
Digital Archives - Collection - Group
group of children in Grade 5B at Constitution School
The Community Collections consist of objects shared from local community residents and organizations. Individuals have lent items of local significance to the library to give the larger community awareness and access. The original objects are not owned by the Lexington Public Library. 
 
Submissions for the Community Collections are open. If you are an individual or organization interested in possibly lending items to be digitized by the library, please contact elibrarian@lexpublib.org. We consider item age, location, content, relevance, privacy considerations, and item condition when determining items to add. Content donors must be the legal copyright holders if the item is not in the public domain.
 
Kentucky History Awards Icon noting this collection received the award in 2019.

 

This collection consists of Black community news published under the headline “Colored Churches,” “In Colored Circles,” or “Colored Notes”; and other articles of social interest, including marriages, public events, and obituaries.

All Digital Archives Collections

Etta Evans Gilmore was born in Fleming County, Kentucky, on February 4, 1885, to Robert Evans and Matilda Fawns. She married Henry Steele Gilmore, a Bath County physician, around 1906. Their son Robert was born in 1906 and daughter…

Program features the activities and accomplishments of the previous year’s Empress and Emperor while providing the layout of the current year’s coronation proceedings. Features advertisements for local businesses and photographs of the…

The Independent Gazetteer was founded and printed by James Charless in 1803, with ads appearing in the Kentucky Gazette about its upcoming publication. The first issue was printed March 29, 1803. The paper was later sold to Robert Kay…

428 East Maxwell Street. August 1984

The Kentucky Leader was published from 1888 until the name changed in 1895 to the Daily Leader. They focused on local and national news. The Daily Leader was published from 1895-1901 until the name was changed to the Lexington Leader.…

The Daily Argonaut began in 1895 and seems to have ceased publication in 1899. This collection includes scattered issues from 1895, 1896, 1897 and 1898.

This collection consists of Black community news published under the headline “Colored Churches,” “In Colored Circles,” or “Colored Notes”; and other articles of social interest, including marriages, public events, and obituaries.

The Kentucky Gazette was the first paper established west of the Allegheny Mountains. The frontier paper focused on East Coast and International news, though some local announcements can be found. Later, the paper focused on…

The diary (ca. 1899) of Katherine Pettit, details her settlement work for the Kentucky Confederation of Women's Clubs, made yearly trips to Hazard during this period and was a central figure in establishing the Hindman (Kentucky)…

The True American was an anti-slavery newspaper started by Cassius Marcellus Clay in June 1845. He ran the paper in Lexington until August of 1845, when he published an article deemed so incendiary that at court injunction was issued…

Compiled by Cyrus Parker Jones, a man formerly enslaved by the Parker family, these funeral notices cover 667 funerals of individuals in Lexington, including seven free blacks. The funeral notices cover the years 1806-1886. Jones…

This work contains information about French Emigrants to America over the years 1789-1799, and provides a history of the French Revolution. The work was originally in French, and was translated into English by an anonymous translator…

This is a handwritten series of lectures detailing Samuel D. McCullough's memories of his childhood and life in Lexington, Kentucky, accompanied by letters and a photograph of his house.

The Eastern Kentucky Review contains articles about Eastern Kentucky State Teachers College. This particular issue contains photos of buildings, graduating seniors, students, clubs, and activities, and includes photos and information…

The Kentucky Reporter is the weekly continuation of The Reporter, which changed names in October 1817. It reports on local and national news. 1827 is the only semi-weekly run of this newspaper.

The Reporter was a weekly Republican paper, occasionally semi-weekly when Congress was in session. Continued publication throughout the War of 1812.

The Lexington Weekly Press was published every Wednesday in Lexington, Kentucky, and contained local, state, and foreign news. The paper focused on Central Kentucky’s “agriculture, manufactures and fine stock”, as well as literary and…

The Daily Lexington Atlas ran from late 1847 through early 1849 and was Lexington’s first daily paper, and the first to publish information from the telegraph lines. It is described by William Perrin in his 1882 History of Fayette…

The Elmer L. Foote Collection is a group of 190 lantern slides. They were created by Elmer L. Foote, a Cincinnati photographer and library staff member whose pictures appeared in the Cincinnati Commercial Tribune.

This collection of letters to and from portrait artist Sudduth Goff (1887-1965) is part of the library's Duncan-Goff scrapbook collection.

This letter collection was collected by Judge Kenneth Lyons. The earliest date of the letters is 1862, from Bourbon and Nicholas Counties, Kentucky. Some letters are fragments.

This half of the record book contains burial records for St. Paul Catholic Church parishioners.

The 1906-07 Lexington cross directory contains residential and business information for the city, arranged both alphabetically and by street, with a business listing by category. It also contains city officials and departments, and…

Scans of the Black Marriage records from the Courthouse in Greenville, Kentucky.

The city report covers the outline of a citizen participation work plan and its connection with neighborhood groups, as well as the results of those meetings and community concerns that took place throughout 1969. It contains…

Letters to and from Father William T. Punch (1874-1933). Father Punch was instrumental in building the 3rd St. Peter Catholic Church on Barr Street in Lexington, KY.

All Digital Archives Collections

Etta Evans Gilmore was born in Fleming County, Kentucky, on February 4, 1885, to Robert Evans and Matilda Fawns. She married Henry Steele Gilmore, a Bath County physician, around 1906. Their son Robert was born in 1906 and daughter…

Program features the activities and accomplishments of the previous year’s Empress and Emperor while providing the layout of the current year’s coronation proceedings. Features advertisements for local businesses and photographs of the…

The Independent Gazetteer was founded and printed by James Charless in 1803, with ads appearing in the Kentucky Gazette about its upcoming publication. The first issue was printed March 29, 1803. The paper was later sold to Robert Kay…

428 East Maxwell Street. August 1984

The Kentucky Leader was published from 1888 until the name changed in 1895 to the Daily Leader. They focused on local and national news. The Daily Leader was published from 1895-1901 until the name was changed to the Lexington Leader.…

The Daily Argonaut began in 1895 and seems to have ceased publication in 1899. This collection includes scattered issues from 1895, 1896, 1897 and 1898.

This collection consists of Black community news published under the headline “Colored Churches,” “In Colored Circles,” or “Colored Notes”; and other articles of social interest, including marriages, public events, and obituaries.

The Kentucky Gazette was the first paper established west of the Allegheny Mountains. The frontier paper focused on East Coast and International news, though some local announcements can be found. Later, the paper focused on…

The diary (ca. 1899) of Katherine Pettit, details her settlement work for the Kentucky Confederation of Women's Clubs, made yearly trips to Hazard during this period and was a central figure in establishing the Hindman (Kentucky)…

The True American was an anti-slavery newspaper started by Cassius Marcellus Clay in June 1845. He ran the paper in Lexington until August of 1845, when he published an article deemed so incendiary that at court injunction was issued…

Compiled by Cyrus Parker Jones, a man formerly enslaved by the Parker family, these funeral notices cover 667 funerals of individuals in Lexington, including seven free blacks. The funeral notices cover the years 1806-1886. Jones…

This work contains information about French Emigrants to America over the years 1789-1799, and provides a history of the French Revolution. The work was originally in French, and was translated into English by an anonymous translator…

This is a handwritten series of lectures detailing Samuel D. McCullough's memories of his childhood and life in Lexington, Kentucky, accompanied by letters and a photograph of his house.

The Eastern Kentucky Review contains articles about Eastern Kentucky State Teachers College. This particular issue contains photos of buildings, graduating seniors, students, clubs, and activities, and includes photos and information…

The Kentucky Reporter is the weekly continuation of The Reporter, which changed names in October 1817. It reports on local and national news. 1827 is the only semi-weekly run of this newspaper.

The Reporter was a weekly Republican paper, occasionally semi-weekly when Congress was in session. Continued publication throughout the War of 1812.

The Lexington Weekly Press was published every Wednesday in Lexington, Kentucky, and contained local, state, and foreign news. The paper focused on Central Kentucky’s “agriculture, manufactures and fine stock”, as well as literary and…

The Daily Lexington Atlas ran from late 1847 through early 1849 and was Lexington’s first daily paper, and the first to publish information from the telegraph lines. It is described by William Perrin in his 1882 History of Fayette…

The Elmer L. Foote Collection is a group of 190 lantern slides. They were created by Elmer L. Foote, a Cincinnati photographer and library staff member whose pictures appeared in the Cincinnati Commercial Tribune.

This collection of letters to and from portrait artist Sudduth Goff (1887-1965) is part of the library's Duncan-Goff scrapbook collection.

This letter collection was collected by Judge Kenneth Lyons. The earliest date of the letters is 1862, from Bourbon and Nicholas Counties, Kentucky. Some letters are fragments.

This half of the record book contains burial records for St. Paul Catholic Church parishioners.

The 1906-07 Lexington cross directory contains residential and business information for the city, arranged both alphabetically and by street, with a business listing by category. It also contains city officials and departments, and…

Scans of the Black Marriage records from the Courthouse in Greenville, Kentucky.

The city report covers the outline of a citizen participation work plan and its connection with neighborhood groups, as well as the results of those meetings and community concerns that took place throughout 1969. It contains…

Letters to and from Father William T. Punch (1874-1933). Father Punch was instrumental in building the 3rd St. Peter Catholic Church on Barr Street in Lexington, KY.

Webform

The Lexington Public Library is pleased to offer teachers, childcare providers, and homeschooling families the "Bucket of Books" service.  We can supplement your curriculum with specially-selected books on a particular topic or provide your classroom with specially-selected books for your students' pleasure reading.

Digital Archives - Collection
David Franklin “Frank” Milam (1918-2000) was born on January 9, 1918 in Charleston, West Virginia.  He married Zelda Bias in September of 1937.    
When the United States entered the war, Frank Milam was
Digital Archives - Collection
The Brown-Hocker Collection is a community collection of photos and realia from African American events and people in Lexington and Kentucky history. 
 
The objects in the collection are primarily for
Digital Archives - Collection

The Black Community News Collection compiles searchable newspaper articles and ads for local Black community events, schools, social gatherings, church events, obituaries, and wedding announcements in older local newspapers in the librar

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.

The William Stamps Farish, III Theater at the Central Library is available to the community for lectures, live music, community forums, film festivals, small theatrical productions, dance performances, literary readings, debates, and other creative uses.

Highlight

How can we help you?  We've gathered a variety of resources for readers, students and educators, job seekers. entrepreneurs and nonprofits, and English language learners.  Request items from other libraries through interlibrary loan.

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.