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…
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The Central Kentucky Cemeteries Maps are powered by Google Maps. Counties include: Fayette, Bourbon, Clark, Garrard, Harrison, Jessamine, Lincoln, Madison, Mercer, Montgomery, Nicholas, Powell, Scott, and Woodford.
Do you love to read? Would you like to recommend some books for other readers? This opportunity is for you!
Stories of Lexington's history told through the Kentucky Room archives.
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.
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.
The Materials Selection Policy was initially adopted February 25, 1987 by the Lexington Public Library Board of Trustees and was revised March 24, 1993. The Materials Selection Policy was updated and renamed the Collection Development Policy which was approved by the Board on January 14, 2009. The Board of Trustees assumes full responsibility for all legal actions which may result from the implementation of any policies stated herein.
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 about the Army Specialized Training Program for military training for World War II.
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…
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 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…
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.…
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.
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 Kentucky Gazette was the first paper established west of the Allegheny Mountains. The frontier paper focused on East Coast and International news, though some local announcements can be found. Later, the paper focused on…
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)…
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…
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…
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…
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.
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…
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 was a weekly Republican paper, occasionally semi-weekly when Congress was in session. Continued publication throughout the War of 1812.
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…
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 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.
This collection of letters to and from portrait artist Sudduth Goff (1887-1965) is part of the library's Duncan-Goff scrapbook 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.
This half of the record book contains burial records for St. Paul Catholic Church parishioners.
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…
Scans of the Black Marriage records from the Courthouse in Greenville, Kentucky.
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…
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.
The Kentucky Images collection contains postcards, photographs and slides of people, architecture, and locations in Kentucky and Appalachia.
Do you need to learn new software, technology, creative or business skills to achieve your professional or personal goals? LinkedIn Learning gives you unlimited access to a vast library of high quality video tutorials taught by recognized industry experts. You can work at your own pace with provided exercise files. Available on your personal computer or mobile device. (Note: To log into the mobile app, enter lex for your Library ID. You will be prompted to enter your library card number and PIN.)
The Lexington Public Library welcomes your time and talents! There are a number of volunteer opportunities available, and we will accommodate your preferences for location and hours as much as possible based on what we have available. From After School programs, to ESOL programs, to Makerspace open studio help, and beyond—we have a variety of opportunities for you to connect with your community through volunteering.
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.
Learning doesn’t stop at the end of the school day. The Lexington Public Library is here to support your education at every level, from birth through college, with skill-building tools, live tutoring, standardized test prep, after-school programs, and more.
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.
Everyone deserves a place to discover something new. The Lexington Public Library stands for free and open access to information. We’re a safe, welcoming space for neighbors to come together — opening the door so all Lexingtonians can find what they’re looking for.
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.