Lexington Public Library

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Destination Kindergarten

Destination Kindergarten is the library’s program aimed at preschoolers and their caregivers- trying to help them practice the skills they need to be ready for Kindergarten.  During each Destination Kindergarten event, preschoolers and their caregivers can find a specalized area in the library with fun books, take-home activities, and information about development milestones and school readiness.

See below for more information on upcoming events and take-home packets and activities.

The William Stamps Farish Fund Theater is a state-of-the-art facility in one of Main Street’s busiest places.

Fully renovated and updated, the theater on the Central Library’s first floor is home to theater, dance, live music, film, community events, and meetings. The Lexington Public Library makes the facility available at some of the city’s best prices, with affordable business, nonprofit, and government rates.

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All databases are available from this page.

Database

Want to learn or improve your skills in a new language? Ready to switch from the bird of prey with ominous reminders? Try Mango Languages to learn practical conversation skills in over 70 world languages on your computer or mobile device. Learn and practice English with ESL courses taught in more than 15 different languages.  You must create an account on the Mango Languages site before you can log into the mobile app.

 

Languages You Can Learn!

  • Arabic (Levantine)
  • Chinese (Cantonese)
  • Chinese (Mandarin)
  • Croatian
  • Czech
  • Danish
  • Dari
  • Dutch
  • English
  • Farsi (Persian)
  • Finnish
  • French
  • German
  • Greek
  • Haitian Creole
  • Hebrew
  • Hindi
  • Indonesian
  • Irish
  • Italian
  • Japanese
  • Korean
  • Norwegian
  • Pashto
  • Portuguese (Brazil)
  • Russian
  • Slovak
  • Spanish (Latin America)
  • Tagalog
  • Tamil
  • Thai
  • Turkish
  • Ukrainian
  • Urdu
  • Vietnamese
  • And more!

 

Mango Languages Mobile App

Delivers fast, easy and effective language learning wherever your travels take you. With free apps from Mango, you can access the same awesome courses when you’re on the go.

 

 

The Central Kentucky Cemeteries Maps are powered by Google Maps.  Counties include:  Fayette, Bourbon, Clark, Garrard, Harrison, Jessamine, Lincoln, Madison, Mercer, Montgomery, Nicholas, Powell, Scott, and Woodford.

Get live expert help with homework and skill building, study tips and tools, and collaborate with friends on your computer or mobile device. Live Homework Help is available for K-12 grades from 2 pm - 11 pm daily with professional tutors.  You must create an account on the Brainfuse site before you can log into the mobile app.

 

Mobile Options (Create Your Account Here First)
Android app logo

Google Play Store

iOS app

Apple App Store

 

Brainfuse HelpNow Demo

Brainfuse HelpNow Demo (Español)

 

 

Do you need to learn new software, technology, creative or business skills to achieve your professional or personal goals? LinkedIn Learning gives you unlimited access to a vast library of high quality video tutorials taught by recognized industry experts. You can work at your own pace with provided exercise files.  Available on your personal computer or mobile device.  (Note:  To log into the mobile app, enter lex for your Library ID.  You will be prompted to enter your library card number and PIN.)
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Friends of the Lexington Public Library provides financial, advocacy and volunteer support to the Library.  Shop at the Friends Book Cellar in the Central Library for a great selection of used books, magazines, CDs, DVDs, audiobooks, and vinyl records, all at discounted prices.

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From early literacy to beyond, we're here to support your child's education.  Find out about programs like Destination Kindergarten, LPL After School, and Student Success.  Educators can apply for a Teacher Card and request a "bucket of books" or storytime kit.

Digital Archives - Collection
Johnston Albert Young III, was born on May 25, 1924, to Johnston and Lillian Shrout Young. Johnston Young’s father died on November 30, 1938, when he was 14. He served in the US Army from April 1943 to January 1946. During that time, he was deployed to the Pacific Ocean theater. He married Carolyn M. Cameron in 1949. Johnston Young died on September 26, 1986, and is buried in Owingsville at the Owingsville Cemetery, along with his wife and parents.
 
This letter collection is a part of the Bath County Memorial Library Community Collection, and was donated to the library by Tatonya Brock for their local history collection. 
Board Member
Board of Trustees

Dr. Rania Belmadani was born in Algeria, lived in Spain for more than 15 years, and now calls Lexington her home. She serves as a Language Access Specialist with GlobalLex. Rania is fluent in five languages – Arabic, French, Spanish, German and English. In addition, she holds multiple degrees from universities in both Algeria and Spain. She received her MBA from the National Business and Administration School (Algiers, Algeria), a Master’s Degree of Advanced Studies (Research Proficiency in Sociology), a Master’s Degree in International Development Cooperation, a PhD in Sociology and a Master’s Degree in Social Mediation, all from the University of Valencia. When she is not working, Rania enjoys reading, swimming and hiking.

E-mail Raina Belmadani

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Need an article from an academic journal? Search EBSCO for articles covering a wide range of the arts, the humanities, and the sciences. Available on your computer or mobile deviceProvided by the Kentucky Virtual Library.

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.

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Read articles from magazines and journals, learn a new language, or locate a newspaper article. These resources can't be found with a search engine but are available for free with your library card.

Digital Archives - Collection - Group
Fayette County History

Fayette County, Kentucky, has changed enormously since it was created in 1792. This collection contains government documents for the city of Lexington, for Fayette County, and for the merged Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government, as well as funeral notices, club directories, scrapbooks, image collections and a history of Lexington Public Library.

 

Database

Discover favorite books and apps, matched to your child's age and interests, and other tools for building early literacy.  Log reading and earn badges on your computer or mobile device.

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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.

Thanks for your interest in joining the Lexington Public Library!  Your library card is the key to checking out books, downloading audiobooks, taking online classes, and much more.  Please check here to find out if you qualify for a library card and how to apply.

Starting your own business or nonprofit is hard work, but we can help you locate the tools you need to get your ideas off the ground.

Are you just starting your family tree, or have you run into a brick wall tracing a distant ancestor? Join us to share tips and learn new research strategies. All levels of experience are welcome!

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.

Digital Archives - Collection
The Lexington Public Library opened a Carnegie library in 1905. It incorporated the collections of the former subscription Lexington Library Company (est.1801) and the former Transylvania Library (est.1795). The library became a free library in 1899, shortly before moving locations. When the city outgrew the Carnegie building, the Central Library was built and it opened in 1989.
 
The system contains six branch locations. The largest is the Central Library, located on E. Main St. The Beaumont Branch, located on Fieldstone Way just off Harrodsburg Rd., replaced the Southside Branch in 1997. The Tates Creek Branch, located on Walden Drive, replaced the Lansdowne Branch in 2001. The Village Branch, located on Versailles Rd. at Village Dr., opened in 2004, and is an English-Spanish bilingual branch, with bilingual staff. The Northside Branch, located on Russell Cave Rd., replaced the previous Northside location in 2008. The Eastside Branch, located on Blake James Dr., replaced the Eagle Creek Branch in 2016. 
 
The contents of the library's digital collection contain some images and brochures at various points in library history. The typed library history by Mary K. Bullitt was a part of the library's cornerstone collection, which was buried in 1902, during the construction of the Carnegie building. It was opened in 1989 when the library moved locations. The other images depict the construction of the Central Library from 1987-1989.
 
Digital Archives - Collection

Dunbar High School opened in 1923 at 545 North Upper Street as the only all-black high school in Lexington’s city school system. The school was named after African-American poet Paul Laurence Dunbar (1872-1906­), whose parents had been enslaved in Kentucky. Dunbar was a source of immense pride for many in Lexington; it was ambitious in academics, formidable in athletics, a meeting place for community organizations, and the first of only eight black high schools to ever be accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.

In 1967, after federal pressure to racially integrate schools, the Fayette County board of education decided to close Dunbar High School. This elicted a substantial outcry from many black Lexingtonians, who saw Dunbar as a community cornerstone, and whose children would be bused longer distances to school. In 1968, the school board promised that the next high school opened in Fayette County would also be Dunbar, which then opened in 1990. After the original closed in 1967, the old Dunbar building remained in use for several years as a junior high school. Most of the building was razed in 1974; what remains of it has been converted into the Dunbar Community Center.

The Dunbar Echo became the student publication, coming out a few times each year. The Lexington Public Library holdings contain the yearbook editions of the publication, which contains information about students, alumni, faculty and teachers, sports, essays, student activities, attendance, budget, and Echo sponsors. There are also black and white photos of some of the students and faculty.

Available yearbooks

Information from:

  • Carpenter, Siona. “New Era Dawns at Dunbar.” Lexington Herald-Leader (Lexington, KY), Dec. 18, 1989.
  • Carpenter, Siona. “New Dunbar: Honoring Poet or Avoiding Past?” Lexington Herald-Leader (Lexington, KY), Jan. 24, 1990.
  • “Dunbar (Paul Lawrence) High School.” Lexington History Museum. Accessed February 26, 2018. http://lexhistory.org/wikilex/dunbar-paul-lawrence-high-school.
  • Marx, Jeffrey. “Alumni of Dunbar Want Name Revived in New High School.” Lexington Herald-Leader (Lexington, KY), Sept. 2, 1987.
  • “Paul Laurence Dunbar High School (Lexington, KY).” Notable Kentucky African Americans Database. Accessed February 26, 2018. http://nkaa.uky.edu/nkaa/items/show/1358.​

 

Digital Archives - Collection

The Kentucky Almanac was a regional almanac that began printing in 1788, at the office of John Bradford’s Kentucky Gazette in Lexington. The Gazette itself began publication in 1787, and other almanacs followed. 

The almanacs contain information about local lunar and solar patterns, predicted weather patterns for the year, and also lists court days for all of Kentucky’s counties for that time.  It continued being published through the 1840s.

Viewable Almanacs

  • 1818 Kentucky Almanac
  • 1829 Lexington Farmer’s Almanac
  • 1830 Christian Almanac for Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana
  • 1840 Christian Almanac for Kentucky

 

Digital Archives - Collection

The Kentucky Mountain Club was founded in 1929 as a social organization for residents of Lexington, Kentucky, who had been born or resided in the counties of eastern Kentucky. While it served as a social and educational club, its members also provided support during regional emergencies and helped establish tubercular sanitoriums in the eastern Kentucky mountains in the 1930s.

The Kentucky Mountain Club directories contain organizational information about the club’s history, activities, officers, woman’s auxiliary, articles of incorporation, and membership. The membership roster is presented alphabetically, then listed again by county. The directory also contains a scattering of poems, photographs, and business advertisements.

Membership for the club was limited to the following counties: Adair, Bath, Bell, Boyd, Breathitt, Carter, Casey, Clay, Clinton, Cumberland, Elliott, Estill, Fayette, Fleming, Floyd, Greenup, Harlan, Jackson, Johnson, Knott, Knox, Laurel, Lawrence, Lee, Leslie, Letcher, Lewis, McCreary, Magoffin, Martin, Menifee, Monroe, Morgan, Owsley, Perry, Pike, Powell, Pulaski, Rockcastle, Rowan, Russell, Wayne, Whitley, and Wolfe Counties.

Digital Archives - Collection

Major Henry Clay McDowell purchased the Ashland Estate from Kentucky University in 1882 with his wife, Anne Smith Clay McDowell, who was a granddaughter of Henry Clay.  The McDowells took great care to revive the grounds to their former glory and made several lasting improvements, including the construction of a glass conservatory adjoining the terrace, which is visible in several of the collection's images. During the period that Ashland was owned by Kentucky University, a large Mechanical Hall was erected on the grounds, which the McDowells converted to a stable and used to reestablish Ashland as a thoroughbred stock farm.  The tenure of the McDowells at Ashland was marked by numerous celebrations and social events on the grounds.  

This photo collection shows one of many gatherings of friends and family, taken circa 1894, which included a parade of the estate’s horses.  Thoroughbreds Impetuous, King Reine, Oratorio, Argentina, and Bracegirdle are all being proudly shown at this event.   Photos also show members of the McDowell family in attendance, including Major McDowell and his wife, and their daughters Nanette, Julia, and Madeline.  The author John Fox Jr. was a frequent guest of the McDowells at Ashland and can be seen in one image playing a banjo on the lawn.

Information on the history of Ashland from Ashland: the Henry Clay Estate by Eric Brooks, 2007.

Digital Archives - Collection

Mountain Ballads for Social Singing contains 15 songs selected for the Vesper Hour gatherings at Berea College. The songs were part of a larger collection, English Folk Songs in the Mountains of the Southern Appalachians, which was published in 1918 as American-English Folk-Songs: collected in the southern Appalachians and arranged with pianoforte accompaniment.

Digital Archives - Collection

The Hamilton Female College catalogs list the school’s Board of Trustees, faculty, alumnae, graduates that year, directory of students, courses of study, and the members of each department. Policies for students and parents regarding boarding, correspondence, school attendance, graduation, and expenses are also included. The included directories cover 1891/1892 and 1895/1896.

Hamilton Female College began in 1869, named the Hocker Female College after founder James M. Hocker. The name was changed in 1878 after a donation by William Hamilton. The Kentucky University – later Transylvania University – gained control of the school in 1903 and Hamilton became a junior college, the first two-year college in the state of Kentucky. The College closed in 1930, with the building converted to the Lyons-Hamilton Hall dormitory and was razed in 1962.

Information from Lexington: Heart of the Bluegrass by John D. Wright, Jr., 1982.