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The Kentucky Progress Commission was formed in 1928 in order to draw tourism and business to Kentucky. It was formed by the Kentucky Legislature, and was a 12 person board.

The Kentucky Room's collections contain Lexington's residential directories going back over 200 years, and are some of the most useful resources for researchers looking for family information, neighborhood histories, and house histories.

The city reports and ordinances for Lexington contain a wide variety of information about the people, infrastructure, and businesses.

Fayette County's local businesses and organizations contain a wealth of information about local residents.
Casandra Hockenberry is a Program Manager with The Council of State Governments Center of Innovation, where she works across a broad number of initiatives at the crossroads of data, technology and improved outcomes for citizens. She manages the Apprenticeship Data Alignment and Performance Technical Assistance Center, which is dedicated to assisting states to improve their data collection on apprentices in order to support successful programs throughout the country, the Overseas Voting Initiative, which researches ways to improve the voting process for military and overseas citizens.

United States news sources at the local, state, regional and national levels.


The Library's digitized collection includes some non-Fayette County directories for businesses, farms and residences.
The materials in these collections are physically housed in the Kentucky Room at the Central Library and can be viewed during the Central Library's open hours.
For more information about a specific item, including any copyright restrictions on that item, please click on the information button:

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
The Luna Library, a program of Believing in Forever, collects and distributes children's books with an African American history or Black character focus. It is an alternative for African American parents looking for books that provide context and knowledge to understand the stories of the African American experience in this country for their children. Believing in Forever is a champion of diversity and inclusion, and the positive impact books have on children of all races.
Participants are welcome to drop in anytime during the program and stay as little or as long as they would like!
Children 7 and under must be accompanied by a responsible caregiver.
If you are planning on bringing a large group (10+ people) please contact our Experiential Learning Associate for accommodations. (859) 231-5500 ext. 1147
Participants are welcome to drop-in anytime between 3:30-5:30 pm and stay as little or as long as you would like!
Children 7 and under must be accompanied by a responsible caregiver.
If you are planning on bringing a large group (10+ people) please contact our Experiential Learning Associate for accommodations. (859) 231-5500 ext. 1147