Authors at the Library
Courier Journal presents housing policy expert and author Leah Rothstein at the Main Library
Wednesday, October 25, 12 p.m. • Main Library
Join housing policy expert and author Leah Rothstein for a discussion of her new book, Just Action: How to Challenge Segregation Enacted Under the Color of Law, co-written with her father Richard Rothstein. The book is a follow-up to her father’s bestseller, The Color of Law, which examined institutionally-created segregation in America. Just Action lays out ways our society can undo this institutional segregation – including housing reform.
This event is free and open to the public; no registration required.
Spalding University presents Award-winning poet, author, and professor Honorée Fanonne Jeffers
Wednesday, November 15, 6 p.m. • Main Library
Acclaimed poet, essayist, and novelist Honorée Fanonne Jeffers is the recipient of the 2023 Spalding Prize for the Promotion of Peace and Justice in Literature for her bestselling novel The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois. Jeffers has forged a new American epic novel centered on a Black family in the American South, starting in the pre-Civil War era and running through the Civil Rights Movement and up until the present. A highly anticipated debut novel from this much lauded poet, The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois won the National Book Critics Circle Award in Fiction, was longlisted for the National Book Award in Fiction, and was included in “Ten Best Books of 2021” by The New York Times and The Washington Post.
The 2023 Spalding Prize for the Promotion of Peace and Justice in Literature honors a work of literature that exemplifies the mission of Spalding University community’s core commitment to compassion. Join Professor Jeffers for a discussion of her work at 6 p.m., Wednesday, November 15, at the Main Library (301 York Street). The event is presented in partnership between the Naslund-Mann Graduate School of Writing at Spalding University and the Louisville Free Public Library, and is free and open to the public. Register online at LFPL.org/Authors, or call (502) 574-1644. A book signing will follow.
The Craig Buthod Author Series - named in honor of former library director Craig Buthod - is an endowed library program that brings award-winning and New York Times bestselling authors to Louisville. Previously called Authors at the Library, the series was endowed in 2015 by donors to the Library Foundation.
To make a gift to the Craig Buthod Author Series endowment:
Welcome to MyLibraryU
Whether you have been out of school for a while and miss the learning experience, or you're thinking of starting college or returning to finish your degree, LFPL's MyLibraryU wants to connect you to new, free learning opportunities.
Fast Classes at the Library
LFPL's Fast Classes are one-time educational events taught by local experts. Some explore current events, literature, and science; others teach practical skills and history.
New In Lou: Immigration and the International Community of Louisville
Wednesday, October 25, 6:30 - 8:00 p.m., Main Library
Delve into the history of immigration in Louisville with Emilie Dyer, Executive Director of the Americana World Community Center, and explore answers to questions like, "How can we support and welcome the newest members of our community, who have come from all over the globe?" and "How does immigration status affect their integration into the community?" This MyLibraryU Fast Class will be a great introduction to LFPL’s new series, "Celebrating Our Neighborhood," premiering in November, which will focus on Louisville's Cuban community.
This program is presented by MyLibraryU and is free and open to the public. Registration is requested online or by calling (502) 574-1623.
Recently Completed Short Course at the Library
LFPL's Short Courses are taught like real college courses by professors and experts in their fields. Some will require reading and encourage field trips. All will be free and open to anyone with no academic background required.
Humans and the Environment: A Geographer’s Perspective
Thursdays, September 7 – 28, 6:30 - 8:00 p.m., Main Library
The work of land system geographers plays an important role in understanding, maintaining, and sustaining the environment and well-being of communities across the globe. This short course will introduce participants to different human-environment systems, discuss how geographers think about them, and foster critical thinking skills for a better understanding of the world around us.
Dr. Gaughan teaches in UofL's Department of Geographic & Environmental Sciences. Her works focuses on what it means to measure sustainability, and how we understand and study global environmental change from a human-environment perspective.
Downloads
Humans and their Environment Week 1
Humans and their Environment Week 2
Humans and their Environment Week 3
Humans and their Environment Week 4
Missed a Fast Class or a Short Course?
Visit our Podcast page to see if the class or author event that you missed is available as a podcast. Also available through a variety of providers (Ex: Spotify, Apple, Google, Stitcher).
COLLIDER Artist-in-Residence Program
COLLIDER, South Central Regional Library’s paid artist-in-residence program, connects the public with art and the people who create it.
Generous funding from Councilwoman Madonna Flood makes the COLLIDER Artist-In-Residence program possible.
We are currently accepting applications for artists for January - June 2024. All interested artists — including visual artists, traditional craftspeople, musicians, dancers, digital artists, writers, and more — are encouraged to apply.
Application Deadline: Saturday, September 30, 2023 11:59 p.m.
September
Jenna Richards - Visual Artist
Jenna Leigh Richards is a visual artist and designer. Richards holds a Master of Fine Arts Indiana University and a Bachelor of Fine Arts from University of Louisville.
Richards participated in residencies at The Little Loomhouse, Penland School of Craft, Vermont Studio Center, Figure One Gallery, and Haystack Mountain School of Crafts.
Richards has taught college courses at University of North Texas (UNT), Dominican University, Concordia University Chicago, and College of DuPage including digital fabrication, ceramics, 3D design, 2D design, and artist books courses. Her work was exhibited in exhibitions: One in Herself at Woman Made Gallery, Small Expressions 2016 at Milwaukee Art Museum, Materials: Hard & Soft at the Patterson-Appleton Center for the Visual Arts, and Larry and Ladonna Was Here, The Artist-Collector Relationship at KMAC Museum.
Check out Jenna's workshops:
- Friday, September 8, 3-4:30 p.m. "Stick It" Ages 13+
- Friday, September 22, 1-3 p.m. "Can Hardly Contain Myself" Ages 18+
- Saturday, September 30, 11 a.m.-3 p.m. "Make the Cut Glowforge Demo" at South Central Library's Family S.T.E.A.M. Day
Registration is required for September 8 & 22 programs; email Liz.Magee@lfpl.org to register.
October
Ryan Case - Maker of Monsters
Ryan Case is an established artist in Louisville, Kentucky, known for his wild colors and often-nightmarish subjects.
He’s known as a maker of monsters and teaches an all-ages, step-by-step painting class on how to make creatures while battling the fears and anxieties of life in a creative process.
Ryan works diligently to spread the PMA (Positive Monster Attitude) message, and loves to talk about his artistic process.
Check out Ryan's workshops:
- Friday, October 13, 3-4:30 p.m. "Making Monsters with Ryan Case" All ages
- Friday, October 20, 3-4:30 p.m. "Making Monsters with Ryan Case" All ages
- Friday, October 27, 3-4:30 p.m. "Making Monsters with Ryan Case" All ages
Registration is requested; email Liz.Magee@lfpl.org to register.
November
Allison Lutes - Knitwear Designer/Artist
Allison Lutes is a knitwear designer and fiber artist from Louisville, Kentucky. She specializes in colorwork designs that encourage knitters to engage in creative play during the making process and beyond.
Her patterns often feature stranded colorwork, which is the process of knitting with multiple strands of yarn at once to create a design, akin to drawing with yarn.
Her patterns have been published in Pom Pom Quarterly, Taproot magazine, Universal Yarn collection, and independently. She has been spinning yarn for two years and knitting for more than a decade.
She’s interested in exploring color throughout the spinning and knitting process.
December
Ashleigh Morton - Painter/Illustrator
Ashleigh Morton is a mixed media artist whose colorful paintings explore themes based on her personal experiences with isolation and anxiety. Her art has been selected in several juried exhibitions and was recently shown in the 2023 PYRO Gallery Invitational in Louisville, Kentucky.
Ashleigh is a graduate of IU Southeast, having earned her BFA in Drawing & Painting in 2020. Besides Ashleigh’s artistic practice, she is also a teaching artist specializing in making the fundamentals of drawing and painting accessible to all ages.
A past teaching and resident artist for local nonprofits including Louisville Central Community Center, B.A.Y.A. Corp, and KMAC, Ashleigh is currently a teaching artist for the NoCo Art Mobile, which delivers arts enrichment and arts experiences through different community partners in Jeffersonville, Indiana.
Ashleigh is excited to continue engaging with the community for the COLLIDER Artist-In-Residence program.
View a list of our previous COLLIDER artists.
Online Learning
LinkedIn Learning
LinkedIn Learning (formerly Lynda.com) is a premier online learning resource offering more than 16,000 courses available in 7 different languages covering technical skills, creative techniques, business strategies, and more - free with your library card*.
Note: If you are using the LinkedIn Learning app, you will need to enter louisvillefreepubliclibrary when it asks for a Library ID during setup.
*Library cards must be in good standing to access all library services, including LinkedIn Learning. Cards in good standing will have an account balance under $10 and current registration information.
Treehouse
Treehouse is an online, self-paced learning platform that teaches you how to design and develop websites or mobile apps. Classes include coding languages like HTML, Javascript, PHP, Python, Ruby and much more.
Learning with Treehouse is project-based, so you learn by doing with access to over 1,300 videos. Projects are taught through a combination of short videos, code challenges, and quizzes to maximize engagement. You keep track of your accomplishments through gamification - earning badges to mark your progress.
Treehouse is free with your library card, but if demand exceeds the available number of allotted Treehouse licenses, LFPL will implement a check-out policy similar to checking out a book. Please note: Treehouse accounts that have no activity for 21 days may be disabled to make room for a new active user.
LearningExpress
Prepare for academic and professional exams (ACT, SAT, GED, GRE, LSAT, Postal Exam, CDL, Nursing, Real Estate, etc.), get resume writing help, and search for jobs and internships.
Language Learning
In-Person Language Learning
Looking for in-person language learning resources? Find a program on our calendar.
Transparent Language
Explore a new language at the library, at home, or on the go using any Internet-connected device. Available in 110+ languages, including ESL/ELL.
Pimsleur Language Programs
Pimsleur Language Programs are available as downloadable audiobooks in Overdrive.
Podcasts
Welcome to LFPL's "At the Library" series, an ongoing podcast featuring author talks, programs, and events at the Louisville Free Public Library.
Grammy-nominated country singer Margo Price on her memoir "Maybe We'll Make it"
Margo Price is a Nashville-based singer-songwriter.She has released three LPs, earned a Grammy nomination for Best New Artist, performed on Saturday Night Live, and is the first female musician to sit on the board of Farm Aid.
Gregory Maupin on how “Failure Is Success”
It’s a common rule of physical comedy. A successful fall on the keister requires that you know how a real pratfall looks. And feels. And who are more qualified to find laughs in the foibles of daily human behavior than those prone to such…foiblings, I guess? (This, by the way, means everyone on Earth is qualified.) Join actor/creator and physical comedy teacher Gregory Maupin for an evening of slapstick recognition that only by identifying patterns of Wrong can we even begin to identify what Right might look like.
Failing Up: Descartes and the Origins of Neuroscience
We often think of science as the result of a gradual process of improvement. On this view, partially successful theories are replaced over time by ever more successful ones. In this class, I argue that deeply flawed theories – which even contemporaries immediately recognize as failures – can influence and encourage scientific investigation and thinking. Descartes’ hydrodynamic conception of neurophysiology provides a specific example of how it is possible to fail up in science.