Kentucky State Library

10/12/2026

It’s Teen Read Week, a national adolescent literacy initiative created by the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA)! Teachers – encourage your teen students to read with one of our book kits. We have many titles from the mystery, adventure, sci-fi, or fantasy genres sure to tantalize even the most reluctant readers. Each kit includes up to 20 copies of the book, an audiobook (when available), and a discussion guide filled with questions and activities. Many kits also include large print and Spanish-language copies. Kits must be requested by your local public library and will be shipped there for pick up. Kits check out for a 9 week period and can be renewed if there are no consecutive reservations. More information is available here - https://buff.ly/IGbXgq3

10/07/2026

They were looking for water. It had been an exceptionally hot, dry beginning to autumn, and central Kentucky was suffering through one of the worst droughts in memory. Men were dehydrated and desperate to quench their thirst. A potential source of good water had been identified near Perryville, KY. Under these miserable conditions, around 16,800 Confederate forces led by General Braxton Bragg and 55,000 forces commanded by General Don Carlos Buell converged on the small Kentucky town on 10/7/1862 and engaged in battle the following day, killing or injuring an estimated 7,612 soldiers. Thus commenced the largest and last major Civil War battle in the Kentucky Campaign. Despite Bragg’s tactical success, the Confederate army retreated and abandoned the offensive, ensuring that Kentucky remained under Union control for the rest of the war. If you’d like to learn more about the Battle of Perryville, check out Decisions at Perryville: The Twenty-Two Critical Decisions That Defined the Battle by Lawrence K. Peterson (2022) - https://buff.ly/Ep3a5dt or Perryville Under Fire: The Aftermath of Kentucky’s Largest Civil War Battle by Stuart Sanders (2012) - https://buff.ly/XfRQBZa

10/01/2026

Spooky season is here! October is a great time to gather round a firepit in the crisp autumn evenings and tell a ghost story or two. Polish your storytelling skills with an item from our Storytelling Collection. This collection consists of CDs, DVDs, literature and textbooks to help you become a master weaver of myths and legends and to inspire your haunting tales - https://buff.ly/XNkJARb

09/30/2026

National Women’s Health and Fitness Day takes place on the last Wednesday of September to encourage women to focus on their well-being, raise health awareness, and promote fitness. Tell us how you stay healthy! Share your routine, meal prep hacks, or an inspiring story of a woman putting her wellness first. Check out some of our latest titles on women’s health and wellness such as Unbreakable: A Woman's Guide to Aging with Power by Vonda Wright, MD or Eat Better, Sleep Better: 75 Recipes and a 28-Day Meal Plan That Unlock the Food-Sleep Connection by Dr. Marie-Pierre St-Onge, PhD, CCSH, FAHA, and Kat Craddock - https://buff.ly/1p01lI0. 'sHealthandFitnessDay

09/23/2026

Be sure to check out our fall edition of the Collection Connection, a quarterly newsletter for Kentucky state government employees -

The Collection Connection

09/17/2026

Spotlight - Kentuckians Who Made a Difference – Born on this day in 1932, Augusta Yvonne Beeler Thomas made a difference in the lives of her patients, and as a lifelong civil rights and labor activist. In 1966, she was hired as a nursing assistant at the Louisville Veterans Administration Hospital. She participated in historic lunch counter sit-ins; spent over 50 years working with the American Federation of Government Employees to advocate for women, fair practices, and voter protection; and was elected, in 1981, to the National Fair Practice Human Rights Commission, serving as a Fair Practice/Affirmative Action Coordinator. In 2013, she received the Carl and Ann Braden Lifetime Achievement Award during the Annual Unity Dinner in Louisville, KY. This is just a small portion of the many fascinating facts and honors associated with this incredible lady. To read more, check out this article from 2025 https://buff.ly/POFcsut You can also discover the stories of other impactful Kentuckians with a book from our Kentucky Collection - https://buff.ly/1p01lI0

09/09/2026

Hit all the right notes by signing up for a State Library card. This month’s honorary ALA chair for National Library Card Sign-Up Month is Laufey, the youngest ever recipient of the GRAMMY® Award for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album (twice!) – and an avid reader. If you’re a state employee, our services will have you singing! Working on a project? Let us help you with your research! Need an article not contained in our fabulous research databases? We’ll get it through interlibrary loan. Looking for your next great read? Our collections, both digital and physical will bring harmony to your TBR list. So, pull out all the stops, get to a computer, and sign up here - https://buff.ly/Hm6AUts -upMonth

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​The State Library is dedicated to meeting the information and training needs of all Kentucky state government employees. If you need assistance or have any questions, please contact the Reference...

09/04/2026

The State Library will be closed on Monday, 9/7 in observance of the Labor Day holiday. Messages may be left at [email protected] or 502-564-8378. We will contact you upon our return Tuesday.

09/03/2026

Today the State Library presented a webinar on Kentucky Libraries Unbound, our digital eBook and eAudiobook collection. Each month, the State Library presents a webinar on our resources for state employees. Next month is NewsBank! Keep an eye out for our webinar announcements and registration by marking our Training Events Calendar page - https://kdla.ky.gov/employees/Pages/Training-Events-Calendar.aspx or check out our Archived Webinars page to view recorded webinars - https://kdla.ky.gov/employees/Pages/Archived-Webinars.aspx

09/01/2026

Today, we honor a great Kentuckian, Wendell Berry. He died at his home yesterday in Port Royal, Ky. at the age of 92. A poet, author, essayist, environmental activist, and agrarian, Mr. Berry advocated for a simpler life, opposing corporate agriculture and championing family-owned farms and environmental conservation. In 1977, his book, “The Unsettling of America,” served as a powerful call to protect small farms from corporate agriculture. It helped spark the modern sustainable farming movement and became a landmark work of environmental conservation. Explore this title or discover one of the many other works by Berry in our collection. https://kdla.on.worldcat.org/advancedsearch