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This is your gateway to our most popular resources. Search for books and eBooks, access tools for research and learning, and discover our unique collection of genealogy and local history materials.
The Undesign the Redline project unearths the deep and systemic history of structural racism and inequality in the United States. This interactive exhibit explores policies like Redlining, their implications for today, and what we can do to undesign them.
The exhibit was created by social impact design studio designing the WE and has been invited to dozens of cities across the country. A local advisory group has helped to produce local history and stories about Redlining in Lexington.
Amended and Restated Bylaws of the Friends of the Lexington Public Library, Inc.
Melissa Coulston is Partnership Coordinator at Kentucky Refugee Ministries Lexington, where she has worked since 2022. Her role at KRM involves wearing many different hats depending on the day, but she primarily works to engage central Kentucky communities to support KRM's work to welcome forcibly displaced newcomers. Prior to her work in refugee resettlement and newcomer welcome, Melissa served in various positions in academic, public, and government libraries in Kentucky and South Carolina.
Shawntaye Hopkins is the Marketing and Communications Director at the University of Kentucky J. David Rosenberg College of Law. Before landing at the University of Kentucky, Shawntaye worked as a newspaper reporter, a public relations specialist at another university, and as a communications associate for a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization serving state governments. Shawntaye has a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Western Kentucky University. Her hobbies include reading and writing about books, mostly fiction.
We are committed to supporting our democracy by providing nonpartisan voting information, whether you choose to cast an early ballot or go to the polls on Election Day.
Wonderful podcasts and walking tours have been created by our staff. Please enjoy!
The Community Collections consist of objects shared from local community residents and organizations. Individuals have lent items of local significance to the library to give the larger community awareness and access.
Lexington, Kentucky (August 18, 2022) – The Lexington Public Library broke ground on a new, significantly larger facility in the former Village Branch location on Versailles Road to better provide for the needs of the neighborhoods it serves. The new branch will reflect the community’s vision for a state-of-the-art community hub, one that offers robust resources and a myriad of program and service offerings. The groundbreaking ceremony was held on Tuesday at a media event featuring Library and City officials.
Daniel Boone is the quintessential Kentuckian, having blazed the trails that would become the map of Kentucky through courage, love of the newfound region, and his cunning facility with the land and its native peoples. Born November 2, 1734, Boone quickly demonstrated a preference for the outdoors and established himself as an accomplished hunter and explorer.
With your free library card, gain access to a diverse collection of print books, ebooks, audiobooks, online classes and databases, and more. You can apply for a traditional, wallet-sized card and key chain tag or a digital library card to add to your smartphone’s digital wallet (iOS and Android compatible).
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/
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.
Based on historical records, secondary sources, and oral history interviews with quilters across Kentucky, Johnson discusses 19th century quilts made by black women living and working on slave plantations, traditional quilts made by African American women of the 20th century, as well as contemporary art quilts made by women of all cultural groups of the 21st century.
Erin McGuire-Thompson, author of Cross Country Cryptids: A Road Trip Guide to American Monsters, will join us in the Farish Theater to discuss some folklore and origins behind some well-known (and some obscure) cryptids, which cryptids have been reported in Kentucky, and why people are fascinated by cryptids/folklore in general.
Take a step into the past and see how Kentucky has changed through the lens of the Old State Capitol. Engage in a hands-on activity and experience writing with a quill and ink. Take on the role of a historian and analyze artifacts from the Kentucky Historical Society.