Lexington Public Library

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New facility will remain at previous location with a larger footprint and expanded offerings

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.

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The Marksbury Family Branch Makerspace is an inclusive space where customers of all ages can come to learn, create, and explore together, free of charge. Outfitted with current high-tech and low-tech tools, the Makerspace is designed to promote education and cultivate a do-it-yourself spirit for the whole family.

Marksbury Family Branch
Location Hours

Monday-Thursday: 9:30am-7:00pm
Friday: 9:30am-6:00pm
Saturday: 9:30am-5:00pm
Sunday: 1:00pm-5:00pm

Location Mailing Address

2197 Versailles Road
Lexington, KY 40504

Location
Eastside Branch
Location Hours

Monday-Thursday: 9:30am-7:00pm
Friday: 9:30am-6:00pm
Saturday: 9:30am-5:00pm
Sunday: 1:00pm-5:00pm

Location Mailing Address

3000 Blake James Drive
Lexington, KY 40509

Grand Opening set for Saturday, March 9

Lexington, Kentucky (January 17, 2024) – Lexington Public Library is proud to announce the Grand Opening of the Marksbury Family Branch of the Lexington Public Library.

Festivities include a Media Day event on Friday, March 8 from 8:30-10am and a Grand Opening Celebration on Saturday, March 9 (more details coming soon). The current Village Branch will remain open through 6pm on Friday, February 23.

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.

Tates Creek Branch
Location Hours

Monday-Thursday: 9:30am-7:00pm
Friday: 9:30am-6:00pm
Saturday: 9:30am-5:00pm
Sunday: 1:00pm-5:00pm

Location Mailing Address

3628 Walden Drive
Lexington, KY 40517

Location
Beaumont Branch - Entrance
Location Hours

Monday-Thursday: 9:30am-7:00pm
Friday: 9:30am-6:00pm
Saturday: 9:30am-5:00pm
Sunday: 1:00pm-5:00pm

Location Mailing Address

3080 Fieldstone Way
Lexington, KY 40513

Location
Northside Branch Entrance
Location Hours

Monday-Thursday: 9:30am-7:00pm
Friday: 9:30am-6:00pm
Saturday: 9:30am-5:00pm
Sunday: 1:00pm-5:00pm

Location Mailing Address

1733 Russell Cave Road
Lexington, KY 40505

Free program being offered at Northside and Village Branches

Lexington, Kentucky (December 20, 2022) – Lexington Public Library announced today that its popular LPL After School program will return in 2023, beginning January 2. 

LPL After School is a FREE drop-in program for kids aged 5-12 that takes place after regular school hours, Mondays through Fridays from 4-6pm.  The Library, in partnership with God’s Pantry, will provide snacks for all participants as well as STEAM and enrichment activities, homework help, and reading recommendations. And there’s no need to register—just show up!

Digital Archives - Collection

Lexington's school system dates back to the city charter of 1831, and it first school opened in 1834. From a single building in 1834 with about 100 students, today the Fayette County Public School system has over 40,000 students and 68 schools and programs. Lexington and Fayette County combined districts in 1968, shortly before the city/county government merger in 1974.

Digital Archives - Collection

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. William Morton, who died in 1836, established a trust to be invested and used to maintain a free public school in Lexington, and the first public school was named in his honor. It became the Morton High School in 1904 and the Morton Junior High School in 1917. The school was relocated to Tates Creek Road as a middle school in 1938.

In this episode we'll talk about the events that happen in pages 1-80, we'll go over all the characters that are introduced and how they fit in to the story. We'll share our opinions (lots of them) and talk about what we want to see in the rest of the boo
Digital Archives - Collection
​The Kentucky School for the Deaf, located in Danville, was created in 1822.  The first class of students were admitted beginning in April 1823.  Through a partnership with Centre College, the school's board identified John Adamson Jacobs as a potential instructor for the school and sent him to train at the first school for deaf students in the US, the American School for the Deaf in Hartford, Connecticut.  He served as instructor, principal, and superintendent for KSD during the years from 1825-1869.  Jacobs Hall was built in 1857 and was named for him.  It is classified as a National Historic Landmark and is still in operation as the school's museum today.  From the beginning, KSD was committed to educating students academically while teaching life skills and providing vocational training. Deaf African American students began attending in 1885.
 
The Centennial History provides a detailed account of the formation of the school and its facilities, as well as its evolution through the first 100 years.  Financial structure of the school, methods of instruction, and the creation of the school newspaper and literary society are all discussed.  The book also contains lists of the names of all donors, trustees, commissioners, and students.  Officers of the school, which include superintendents, principals, teachers, and staff have a short biographical summaries accompanying their names.

We are working to raise $5 million to build the library our community deserves — and we are over 80% of the way there! We need you to help us cross the finish line. Every contribution, no matter the size, will make a lasting positive impact on our community.  

 Your donation will support the spaces and programs the new library will bring to the community. Gifts are tax deductible and can be made over a five-year pledge period.  

Thank you for investing in your public library.

Digital Archives - Collection

The United States Army Armor School began in 1940 as the Armored Force School and Replacement Center at Fort Knox, Kentucky. It spent a few years post World War II as inactive, until the 3rd Armored Division was reactivated in 1947, and became the US Army Training Center, Armor (USATCA), in 1956. Both Army and Marines soldiers received training on a variety of subjects and equipment.

Fort Knox hosted the school until it moved to Fort Benning, Georgia, in 2010, as the US Army Armor School. The yearbooks in the collection contain the names and photographs of the officers, NCOs, and graduates of the 8 week basic combat training at Fort Knox. There are also many photographs of the various buildings, training, and activities.

Digital Archives - Collection

In 1917, the Woman’s Club of Central Kentucky hosted a series of speakers giving historical sketches on people and places of local interest. Maude Ward Lafferty’s speech in February of 1917 detailed a brief history of Lexington and specifically detailed the Block House on Main and Mill, Lexington’s first house, and the Town Branch Trail running through downtown Lexington. The entirety of the speech was printed in the newspaper, along with relevant maps.

Digital Archives - Collection

Dunbar High School opened in 1923 at 545 North Upper Street as the only all-black high school in Lexington’s city school system. The school was named after African-American poet Paul Laurence Dunbar (1872-1906­), whose parents had been enslaved in Kentucky. Dunbar was a source of immense pride for many in Lexington; it was ambitious in academics, formidable in athletics, a meeting place for community organizations, and the first of only eight black high schools to ever be accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.

In 1967, after federal pressure to racially integrate schools, the Fayette County board of education decided to close Dunbar High School. This elicted a substantial outcry from many black Lexingtonians, who saw Dunbar as a community cornerstone, and whose children would be bused longer distances to school. In 1968, the school board promised that the next high school opened in Fayette County would also be Dunbar, which then opened in 1990. After the original closed in 1967, the old Dunbar building remained in use for several years as a junior high school. Most of the building was razed in 1974; what remains of it has been converted into the Dunbar Community Center.

The Dunbar Echo became the student publication, coming out a few times each year. The Lexington Public Library holdings contain the yearbook editions of the publication, which contains information about students, alumni, faculty and teachers, sports, essays, student activities, attendance, budget, and Echo sponsors. There are also black and white photos of some of the students and faculty.

Available yearbooks

Information from:

  • Carpenter, Siona. “New Era Dawns at Dunbar.” Lexington Herald-Leader (Lexington, KY), Dec. 18, 1989.
  • Carpenter, Siona. “New Dunbar: Honoring Poet or Avoiding Past?” Lexington Herald-Leader (Lexington, KY), Jan. 24, 1990.
  • “Dunbar (Paul Lawrence) High School.” Lexington History Museum. Accessed February 26, 2018. http://lexhistory.org/wikilex/dunbar-paul-lawrence-high-school.
  • Marx, Jeffrey. “Alumni of Dunbar Want Name Revived in New High School.” Lexington Herald-Leader (Lexington, KY), Sept. 2, 1987.
  • “Paul Laurence Dunbar High School (Lexington, KY).” Notable Kentucky African Americans Database. Accessed February 26, 2018. http://nkaa.uky.edu/nkaa/items/show/1358.​

 

Digital Archives - Collection

Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill has existed outside of Harrodsburg for over 200 years, and is a popular site to visit today. The library's collection contains a considerable amount of information on the community's origins and history. 

The "Shakertown" pamphlet was written in 1921, and gives a very brief overview of the history and purpose of the original Shaker settlement outside of Harrodsburg in 1805. Old Shakertown and the Shakers by Daniel Mac-Hir Hutton was published in 1936, and contains illustrations, photos, and history of Shaker Village from 1805-1936. Both items are in the public domain.

Destination Kindergarten

Destination Kindergarten is the library’s program aimed at preschoolers and their caregivers- trying to help them practice the skills they need to be ready for Kindergarten.  During each Destination Kindergarten event, preschoolers and their caregivers can find a specalized area in the library with fun books, take-home activities, and information about development milestones and school readiness.

See below for more information on upcoming events and take-home packets and activities.

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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.

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Find out what's happening at our locations.  Browse upcoming events and discover our dedicated learning spaces.  Reserve a meeting room.  Explore our galleries and special collections.