Louisville Free Public Libraries are not just for Reading Anymore

Louisville is filled with excellent resources for families and community members that are often taken for granted. I myself, am guilty of not taking advantage of some of Louisville’s greatest amenities.

Just one block from my street is Mid City Mall, which houses one of the Louisville Free Public Library branches. It is not the biggest, newest, or most beautiful library in Louisville, but like the other LFPL branches, it offers tremendous value to the neighborhood. The library offers extensive resources for families with children varying from infancy to high-school age. My toddler and pre-schooler love the free story time and the occasional musical guest that follows.

There are eighteen Louisville Free Public Library locations scattered throughout the city, each offering wonderful learning opportunities to it’s members. For young library members, the library has put together several programs to help parents and kids enjoy reading together. Each branch puts on a story time for various age ranges at various times during the week. Children love to be read to, especially by a professional librarian. The Read With Me Program and Summer Reading Program are designed to encourage young children to read at a young age. These programs are also designed to teach children to enjoy reading and to read for fun rather than to read because they have to. For the parent who wants to go a step further, all library branches have “Family Fun Backpacks” available to check-out. These backpacks are packed full of material to help your child develop good reading skills.

For teen-age library members studying for middle school to college entry level exams, the LFPL branches have you covered. Each branch is equipped with computers containing a program called the “Learning Express Library.” This program gives members a chance to study and take practice exams for free. The Learning Express Library helps students pass such tests as the SAT, ACT, and even the GED. Writing a paper, or researching a foreign country for geography class is simple when you come to the LFPL. Free access to online journals, an online encyclopedia, and endless online reference books are available at each branch.

All adult Louisvillians who aren’t aware of the amount of interesting and helpful resources that are available at our local Louisville Free Public Libraries are absolutely missing out. The library offers dozens of programs to help you become a more successful and well-rounded person. At the library you can do everything from listen to a guest author speak about their book to learn how to use a computer on a free program. Adults can even become part of the Mayor’s Book Club. Meeting every third Wednesday of the Month from noon to 1:00pm at the Main Library, the club discusses 50 books throughout the year, all with international themes.

Our Free Public Libraries are incredible resources for our community and incredibly overlooked. I encourage everyone to use them more often. For more information on our Louisville Free Public Libraries or to find the closest branch to you, go to www.lfpl.org