

Lexington’s African American Heritage Walking Tour
Join us for an on-demand walking tour of Downtown Lexington’s African American heritage sites.
Join us for an on-demand walking tour of Downtown Lexington’s African American heritage sites.
Explore topics related to Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math (STEAM) in this space for youth, grades 3-12.
Learn how the Lexington Public Library Foundation empowers change within our library system.
Learn or develop a personal or professional skill with LinkedIn Learning classes, available for free with your library card.
Did you know physical materials renew automatically if they don’t have a waiting list? Check your account online to see the status of your items.
Mariam interviews Ruth Gaylord about her life and work as Lexington Public Library’s first African American librarian. They discuss her experiences going to school and college in segregated Kentucky; how she balanced working full time, raising four children, caring for an ill spouse, and attending Library School from 1979-1984. They also talk about her long career as a librarian with Lexington Public Library. She began as an assistant on the bookmobile in 1977, and when Ruth retired in 2008, she was the Assistant Manager of the Eagle Creek Branch.
Tales from the Kentucky Room is hosted by Mariam Addarrat and produced by Erin West.
Mariam is the Manager of Collection Services. She has worked at the Lexington Public Library since 2013, where she started as a Librarian at the Central Library. Currently, she’s enjoying listening to podcasts on history, cooking, parenting, and gardening.
Erin is the Virtual Services Librarian. She's worked for Lexington Public Library since 2003 and began her work with audio editing in 2012 while working at the Northside Branch. Erin enjoys listening to history, true crime and tv show recap podcasts.