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New Versailles Road Library Branch to be named Marksbury Family Branch
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.
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.
The Library purchased the site in late 2020 after leasing the facility for 15 years, with plans to demolish the current building. A new two-story facility will replace it with nearly triple the amount of space available for library services. The new building will include community and study rooms, a dedicated classroom, makerspace, outdoor reading area, expanded adult and children’s areas, and a drive-thru window where customers can pick up and return borrowed materials. The Library estimates that it will serve approximately 1 million visitors per year at this location. The Library Foundation has committed to raising $5.3 million in support of this $17 million project through a public-private partnership.
The Marksbury Family Foundation, founded by Davis Marksbury, invests in innovative projects that provide sustainable, life-changing opportunities for individuals and communities. “We are excited to invest in this community-wide resource, which offers countless educational resources to everyone in the greater Lexington area,” said Logan Marksbury, President of the Marksbury Family Foundation. “Our family has been very fortunate, and we love to provide new opportunities for others to succeed through our Foundation.” The Marksbury Family Foundation has supported the University of Kentucky, Lexington Leadership Foundation’s Woodhill Community Center, Blue Grass Community Foundation’s Good Giving Challenge, and many other projects in the educational and entrepreneurial spaces.
This donation is the single largest commitment in the history of the Lexington Public Library Foundation, which has supported our public library system since 1997. “The fundraising success of the Library Foundation speaks to the commitment of our donors and the impact of the Lexington Public Library system,” said Erin Serrate, Chair of the Library Foundation Board. “Like the individuals it serves, the Library has unlimited potential, and our role is to ensure that the Library has the financial resources it needs to meet our community’s educational needs.”
The Library Foundation supports new projects, capital needs, and specialty programs. Recent investments include Destination Kindergarten (with the PNC Foundation’s signature Grow Up Great initiative), the Eastside Branch (contributing $1.3M for the project), and the Kloiber Foundation STEAM Lab, which will open later this month.
“Our Library system thrives when our community comes together,” said Executive Director Heather Dieffenbach. “We are grateful for the support of the Marksbury Family Foundation and the leadership of the Lexington Public Library Foundation. Together, we will accomplish great things to support the citizens of Central Kentucky.” For more information about the project or to get involved, please visit www.lexpublib.org/village.
For general information on Lexington Public Library, their programs, and their partners, please visit www.lexpublib.org and their social media pages @lexpublib. Follow the Library Foundation on Facebook at @lexingtonpubliclibraryfoundation or visit www.lexpublib.org/foundation.
New Versailles Road Library Branch to be named Marksbury Family Branch
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.
Mariam interviews Foster Ockerman, Jr., author of Hidden History of Horse Racing in Kentucky, and President and Chief Historian of the Lexington History Museum about his book and horse racing in Kentucky.
Mariam interviews Tom Eblen about the history and personalities surrounding Lexington’s Newspapers.
Mariam gives a brief history of the public schools in Lexington and Fayette County.
Mariam and Wayne talk about the history of Lexington Public Library spaces, from its beginning as a subscription library in 1795 to the building project for the new Marksbury Family Branch (formerly Village Branch) now in 2022.
Jamie tells an abridged history of Russell’s Cave, Fayette County’s largest cave.
The Kentucky History collection contains Kentucky-related documents not specifically related to Fayette County.
For our 60th episode, The TFKR Radio Players present a dramatic reading of ads about a horse sale gone sideways.
The most exhaustive and up-to-date knowledge and insight on the social sector to fuel any fundraising mission. Expanded, in-depth profiles of each Grantmaker plus inside looks at the grants they've actually made to keep your organization operating at peak effectiveness. Available only to customers inside the Central Library.
The Lexington Public Library opened a Carnegie library in 1905. It incorporated the collections of the former subscription Lexington Library Company (est.1801) and the former Transylvania Library (est.1795). The library became a free library in 1899, shortly before moving locations. When the city outgrew the Carnegie building, the Central Library was built and it opened in 1989.
The system contains six branch locations. The largest is the Central Library, located on E. Main St. The Beaumont Branch, located on Fieldstone Way just off Harrodsburg Rd., replaced the Southside Branch in 1997. The Tates Creek Branch, located on Walden Drive, replaced the Lansdowne Branch in 2001. The Village Branch, located on Versailles Rd. at Village Dr., opened in 2004, and is an English-Spanish bilingual branch, with bilingual staff. The Northside Branch, located on Russell Cave Rd., replaced the previous Northside location in 2008. The Eastside Branch, located on Blake James Dr., replaced the Eagle Creek Branch in 2016.
The contents of the library's digital collection contain some images and brochures at various points in library history. The typed library history by Mary K. Bullitt was a part of the library's cornerstone collection, which was buried in 1902, during the construction of the Carnegie building. It was opened in 1989 when the library moved locations. The other images depict the construction of the Central Library from 1987-1989.
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Discover unique resources in our Digital Archives that tell the story of Fayette County. Visit cemeteries throughout Central Kentucky using our cemetery maps. Contact our resident experts in the Central Library's Kentucky Room with questions.
The Lexington History Museum began in 1999, and opened its doors in the Old Courthouse in 2003. Its purpose is to educate Fayette County about its rich history, and preserve pieces of that history for future generations. The Old Courthouse closed in 2012 for extensive renovations. The History Museum still creates exhibits and works on school and film collaborations to create an understanding and appreciation of local history.
The History Museum's Community Collections currently contains part of the exhibit "Our Fair City: The 1999 Lexington Fairness Ordinance," which was displayed in the summer of 2019 at the Lexington Public Library, to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the ordinance's passage.
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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.
Thursday, February 22 2024 4:30pm - 6:00pm
Teens/tweens can come to the Beaumont Branch to learn about historical/modern protest art and make their own (for any cause they choose). Materials and snacks provided, registration required.
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The Kentucky Room collection is strongest in Fayette County materials, though we do have a limited amount of materials for most counties in Kentucky. We do not have out-of-town newspapers, or microfilmed county records for counties other than Fayette. The largest libraries for genealogy research are located in Frankfort at the Kentucky Historical Society, and the Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives; and the University of Kentucky has a great collection of Kentucky newspaper archives.
Library staff can respond to only the most specific requests. We cannot compile lineages, determine parentage, locate missing persons, or undertake extensive copying projects from books or microfilm. We will provide a free copy of a list of private researchers who can undertake more extensive research on a fee basis.
We are happy to be able to provide this service to everyone, including those living outside of Fayette County and Kentucky. If you would like to show your support, donations can be made to the Lexington Public Library Foundation.
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All the Library Can Be
The library is essential to a thriving community, ensuring equitable access to information, education, and technology for all. We raise funds to support Lexington Public Library programs, services, and special projects that go beyond what public dollars alone can support.
Located on the fourth floor of the Central Library, this space invites children and students to learn about Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math through hands-on experiences. Programming events targeted toward upper elementary and middle-school aged students include circuits, robotics, augmented and virtual reality, coding, 3D printing, recording in the audio booth, and so much more.
Walking Tour
Join us for a walking tour of Downtown Lexington’s historic LGBTQ+ places. 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 1.6 miles.
Join us for a walking tour of Downtown Lexington’s historic LGBTQ+ places. 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.
Search selected articles in Lexington newspapers about significant people, places, and events from 1787-2007.
Digital Archives - Collection
In the summer of 2019, the Lexington History Museum exhibited a 20th anniversary timeline and historical materials exhibit titled, Our Fair City: the 1999 Lexington Fairness Ordinance. The ordinance, Local Ordinance 201-99, passed on July 8th, 1999, and added sexual orientation and gender identity as explicitly protected classes against discrimination in Fayette County employment, housing and public accommodations.
From June 17 - July 19, 2019, the Lexington Public Library hosted the exhibit and several community events surrounding the anniversary. The exhibit also featured a community response section titled, "What Does Fairness Mean To You?" with an opportunity for attendees to give their own response. After the exhibit, the notes were collected and digitized, and are now available for viewing.
To view the 3D interactive exhibit, click here.
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.
Saturday, February 17 2024 3:00pm - 4:30pm
Join us every month to learn about a different artist or art form, and create a unique work inspired by their style (with a touch of your own!).
Black History Month focus: Kehinde Wiley
Wednesday, December 20 2023 2:00pm - 3:30pm
Join us in the Kloiber Foundation STEAM Lab to create a structure that will keep an egg from breaking when dropped from the fifth floor of the library!
For Grades 3-12. Registration is required.
Thursday, December 14 2023 3:30pm - 5:30pm
Join us in the Kloiber Foundation STEAM Lab to learn about snowflakes and make an art piece!
For Grades 3-12.
Thursday, December 21 2023 2:00pm - 3:30pm
Join us in the Kloiber Foundation STEAM Lab to make winter creations with Minecraft!
For Grades 3-12. Registration is Required.
Tuesday, December 12 2023 3:30pm - 5:30pm
Join us in the Kloiber Foundation STEAM Lab to learn about snowflakes and make an art piece!
For Grades 3-12.
Tuesday, December 12 2023 1:30pm - 2:30pm
Join us in the Kloiber Foundation STEAM Lab to learn more about science, technology, engineering, arts and math, with hands-on monthly activities! For Grades 3-12.
Saturday, December 09 2023 2:00pm - 3:30pm
Join us in the Kloiber Foundation STEAM Lab to create lego robotics and experiment with block coding!
For Grades 3-12. Registration is Required.
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.
