

Website Search
Throughout June, join us as we celebrate Pride Month with programs, books, podcasts, and more.
Download eBooks, audiobooks, magazines, and more – free with your library card.
Wonderful podcasts and walking tours have been created by our staff. Please enjoy!

The Morton School Number 1, Lexington’s first public city school in 1834, was originally built on the corner of Walnut (later Martin Luther King Dr.) and Short Street.

The Knights of Columbus is a fraternal Catholic service organization begun in the 1880s. In 1903, the local Bluegrass Council 762 became the third chapter in Kentucky, and it acquired its 4th degree status in 1920.

The Kentucky Gazette was the first paper established west of the Allegheny Mountains, founded by John and Fielding Bradford. The frontier paper focused on East Coast and International news, though some local announcements can be found.

The Daily Lexington Atlas ran from December 11, 1847 through November 20, 1848 and was Lexington’s first daily paper, and the first to publish information from the telegraph lines.
Celebrate Black History Month at LPL
Throughout February, join us as we celebrate Black history with programs, materials, podcasts, and more.

The Fayette County Images contains photographs of Lexington and Fayette County Kentucky.

Fayette County churches contain some of the earliest records and information preserved about central Kentucky history. The digital archive contents include church ledgers, minutes, directories, and informational brochures.


The collection contains non-Fayette County school yearbooks and images, dating from 1878-1968.

The True American was an anti-slavery newspaper started by Cassius Marcellus Clay in June 1845.
The Lexington Public Library offers an Interlibrary Loan (ILL) service which allows cardholders in good standing to borrow books and magazine articles we do not own and cannot purchase. The Lexington Public Library also lends our books to libraries both inside and outside the Commonwealth of Kentucky.
Meet the Lexington Public Library's Board, Administrative Team, and Leadership Team. Apply to work or volunteer at the library.
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 Public Library is a FamilySearch Affiliate Library.

The United States Army Armor School began in 1940 as the Armored Force School and Replacement Center at Fort Knox, Kentucky.
The materials in these collections are physically housed in the Kentucky Room at the Central Library and can be viewed during the Central Library's open hours.
For more information about a specific item, including any copyright restrictions on that item, please click on the information button:
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.