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The Lexington Public Library’s Digital Archives provide open access to researchers and students to learn more about the rich history of Lexington and Fayette County. It contains a fraction of the Library’s physical holdings, which are housed and available for reference in the Kentucky Room at the Central Library. New material is being digitized and added constantly, so there's always something new to find.
The archives have a simple keyword search, and it is possible to browse the collections by subject, area, or decade. The Lexington Public Library actively reviews and labels materials in our archives with statements that indicate how you may reuse the images, and what sort of permission, if any, you need to do so. Please check the information for each image to determine its legal status.
Wonderful podcasts and walking tours have been created by our staff. Please enjoy!
These tours are guided audio walking tours with a variety of topics focused on Downtown Lexington, KY. Music will play in between each stop, and the listener can pause the track while walking between stops.
Want to learn about new tours as they become available? Subscribe to our Genealogy & Local History newsletter.
Stories of Lexington's history told through the Kentucky Room archives.
Read the latest news from Lexington Public Library.
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.
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.
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.
Fayette County's local businesses and organizations contain a wealth of information about local residents.
Celebrate Lexington, Kentucky’s 250th anniversary all year long. Join us for programs, galleries, podcasts, and more highlighting our city’s history, heritage, and legacy.
Library meeting rooms are available for individuals, non-profit, for profit, study groups, and community organizations seeking to hold meetings, trainings, and workshops. Meeting rooms are free of charge. Sterno and other tools/equipment that have an open flame are prohibited.
In remembrance of the veterans and the fallen of World War II, join acclaimed documentarian and researcher Fanny Hubart-Salmon and the Lexington Public Library for a special showing & presentation.
Join Roda Ferraro, Director of Keeneland Library, as she presents The Heart of the Turf: Racing’s Black Pioneers, a talk with Q&A that highlights the lives and careers of African American horsemen and women from the mid-1800s to today.
The documentary features archival photographs of Maddoxtown and it's residential family as well as Faraway Farm, where Ms. Williams' father worked as a groom for notable thoroughbred racehorses, including the Horse of the Century, Man o' War.
All databases are available from this page.