BRING OUR LIBRARY HOME
The Shelby Park Carnegie Free Public Library opened its doors on March 26th in 1911 and serviced the local community up until 1994 when it was closed.
Now more than ever there is a need for a community driven space for our residents to gather, learn, engage and build connections. Libraries have always been these very spaces and we’d love to work towards reopening this branch to provide these resources to the residents of Shelby Park and the neighboring communities.
We need your help to advocate, ideate and represent the community to help petition to bring our library home. Click the buttons below to read our letter to Mayor Greenberg and sign the petition to Bring Our Library Home.
History of Shelby Park Library
Designed in the Beaux-Arts style and constructed with limestone, the former Shelby Park Library is the only one built within a Louisville park. Construction was completed in 1911, and it served the surrounding community for the next 80 years.
In 1994, LFPL relocated the branch two miles away to Mid City Mall on Bardstown Road, merging it with another Carnegie library, the Highlands branch. That’s where the Highlands-Shelby Park Library currently operates.
What’s a Carnegie Library?
In the late 19th century, steel industry magnate Andrew Carnegie gave away $60 million — equivalent to ~$2.3 billion today — funding the construction of 1,689 libraries across the US.
Nine of those libraries were constructed here in Derby City, including one in the Shelby Park neighborhood.
Today, only four of the buildings still function as libraries in LOU, including the Main branch. Bonus: Two other Carnegie libraries have recently been given new life — the Parkland Library and the Portland Library.