Lexington Public Library

Website Search

Search Website
Displaying results 1 - 25 of 541

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.

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. 

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.

Thank you for thinking of the Friends Book Cellar for donating your: books, CDs, DVDs, and current year magazines.

Library News
A book club to discuss literary works by black authors

Lexington, Kentucky (January 16, 2024) – Lexington Public Library is proud to announce their new Black Voices Book Club which is dedicated to discussing literary works by black authors. The Club meets on the third Saturday of each month.

Podcast Episode
The Lexington Public Library's virtual book club for our 2016 One Book One Lexington pick, How It Went Down by Kekla Magoon. Join us weekly throughout April as we talk about the book and all the exciting things the library has planned for this year's One
Lexington Public Library Digital Archives

Muhlenberg County Black Marriages Book c.1866

Muhlenberg County Black Marriages Book c.1866
Scans of the Black Marriage records from the Courthouse in Greenville, Kentucky.
Field Collection Item Types

All Digital Archives Collections

Kentucky Progress Magazine (1928-1936)

This issue contains information about Kentucky highways, colleges, and agriculture. It also features articles on Bardstown and the song “My Old Kentucky Home” by Stephen Collins Foster.

Bath County Memorial Library Collection

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…

Imperial Court of Kentucky

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 (1803-1804)

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…

Black Community News

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 Daily Argonaut (1895-1899)

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.

Miscellaneous Newspapers

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.…

Program details the agenda of the December 31, 1916, service commemorating the 25th anniversary of Rev. Mark Collis's affiliation with Broadway Christian Church.

Daily Lexington Atlas (1847-1848)

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 True American (1845-1847)

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…

Sam'l D. M'Cullough's Reminiscences of Lexington

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.

Voyages, Adventures and Situation of the French Emigrants, translated by A Lady Thumbnail

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…

Muhlenberg County Black Marriages Book c.1866

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

Government Documents Collection

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…

The Kentucky Reporter (1817-1830)

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 (1808-1817)

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

Lexington Weekly Press (1881)

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…

Judge Kenneth Lyons 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.

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…

Schools and Yearbooks Collection

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…

Historic St. Paul Catholic Church

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

Directory Collection

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…

Father William T. Punch Letter Collection

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.

Elmer L. Foote Lantern Slide Collection

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.

Duncan-Goff Scrapbook Collection

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

Katherine Pettit Diary

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)…

Podcast
Authored on
Feeds item
Fri, 11/25/2022 - 11:09am

Join librarians Alexa and Jenny as we talk books. What we're currently loving, what we're hating, and what we can't wait to read next!

Podcast Episode
Jennifer and Erin have combed through the summer’s most anticipated releases lists, and discuss the ones they’re looking forward to the most. Erin interviews Doug Tattershall about the library’s gallery spaces.