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Join us for a walking tour of Downtown Lexington’s historic sites. The full tour is available as a single MP3, or you can download individual tracks. For the single MP3, music will play between the stops. You can pause the track while you walk between stops.
This tour covers a walking distance of 1.1 miles.
The music clips used in this tour are from “Walking Barefoot on Grass” by Kai Engel, and are used with a CCBY license. It is available here: http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Kai_Engel/
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.
Lexington, Kentucky (March 9, 2022) – Lexington Public Library and Lexington Public Library Foundation are honored to announce that the Marksbury Family Foundation has committed the lead gift for the capital campaign to rebuild the library branch at the corner of Versailles Road and Village Drive. In recognition of their generosity, the new facility will be named the Marksbury Family Branch when it opens in 2024.
Make buttons and magnets using equipment and supplies available in the Makerspace.
The Eastside Makerspace offers 1.25” and 2.25” button makers for buttons and magnets. The Marksbury Family Branch Makerspace offers 2.25” button makers for buttons and magnets and 1” button makers for keychains, earrings, and paperclip bookmarks. Button, magnet keychain, earring, and bookmark materials are available to purchase.
Celebrate National Poetry Month at LPL
The Lexington Public Library is celebrating National Poetry Month throughout April! Find reading recommendations, explore Lexington’s rich literary history, and discover fun ways to get involved.
We stand for free and open access to information. That starts with removing unnecessary barriers to our educational resources and technology. The Lexington Public Library no longer charges fines or fees for late, lost, or damaged material.
Several pieces of equipment require additional supplies such as PLA filament, vinyl, and metal backings. Some supplies are available for purchase in our learning spaces. Customers ages 13 and up who have signed the Experiential Learning Agreement and Equipment Use Policy, which is available to sign in-person at any of the four learning spaces, and live in Fayette County or a reciprocal county receive an $8 credit each month for material purchases. If you exceed this credit, you can still purchase additional supplies using credit, Mobile App Pay or Mobile Pay, or tapping to pay.
Lexington, Kentucky (April 12, 2023) – The Lexington Public Library will be Fine Free for all materials, effective immediately, following a vote at today’s regularly scheduled monthly board meeting. Lexington Public Library customers will no longer incur fines for late, damaged, or lost library materials. Additionally, the Library has forgiven all current, outstanding fines
Our commitment to listening, learning and changing is ongoing and our work is never complete. We affirm that we achieve more together because of our differences, not despite them. When all voices are heard, we are stronger.
Description coming soon.
Black Community News Collection
All Digital Archives Collections
Duncan-Goff Scrapbook Collection
Various objects found in our Duncan-Goff scrapbook collection.
All Digital Archives Collections
Father William T. Punch Letter Collection
Letters from and/or about Father William T. Punch and the Punch family. Donated by a Lexington resident to Lexington Public Library. Father Punch was instrumental in building the 3rd St. Peter Catholic Church on Barr Street in Lexington, KY.
All Digital Archives Collections
Muhlenberg County Black Marriages Book c.1866
Scans of the Black Marriage records from the Courthouse in Greenville, Kentucky.
All Digital Archives Collections
Miscellaneous Newspapers
The Micellaneous Newspaper collection combines scattered issues of various historic newspapers in our archive collection.
All Digital Archives Collections
Judge Kenneth Lyons Collection
The Judge Kenneth Lyons collection consists of an atlas, a journal, and letters. The atlas features copies of letters written on the blank pages of the atlas. The journal contains family and local history recorded by a Robert K. Bryan. The earliest date of the letters is 1863. Items are from Bourbon and Nicholas Counties, Kentucky.
All Digital Archives Collections
Historic St. Paul Catholic Church
The St. Paul Catholic Church Collection includes materials from the Church's archive. The Roman Catholic church is over 150 years old, and is located on West Short Street, in downtown Lexington.
All Digital Archives Collections
Cyrus Parker Jones Funeral Notices
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 donated his collection to a trustee of the Lexington Public Library prior to his death in 1887, who then added some notices and donated the collection to the Lexington Public Library in 1900.
Directory Collection
The library has a variety of directories and yearbooks with local information. In the library's current digital collection, there is a selection of residential and street directories, yearbooks, school directories, and organizational directories. These are all fully word-searchable.
All Digital Archives Collections
Congregations and Religious Materials Collection
This collection contains materials from Lexington and Fayette County religious groups.