The Library's mission is to provide the people of Louisville
and Jefferson County with the broadest possible access to knowledge, ideas, and
information, and to support them in their pursuit of learning.
There are no fees charged for meeting room use.
History:
Like so many other branches of the Louisville Free Public
Library system, the Shively Branch was born from a mixture of community
necessity and civic generosity. In 1942, at the urging of Councilwoman Pauline
Hardy and with the assistance of LFPL, the Shively City Council approved $5,000
to establish a library for the city of Shively. The library was first located
at the Bank of St. Helen's and was later moved to the home of Mary Diersing at
3937 Dixie Hwy., to a room that was used previously for a post office. Adele
Beyer became the first librarian.
The city of Shively paid $25,000 for the library to be
housed in a portion of the Newman Memorial Building (now called the Shively
City Hall), built in 1959 by local contractor, Al J. Schneider. The memorial building,
where the library is still located, was named after the Rev. Joseph A. Newman,
a well-known pastor in Shively and head of the St. Helen's Church community for
many years. Newman was extremely active in the library, and his work stood out
so much that his name was added to the branch also that year.
In 1964, during the tenure of Shively Mayor John Celletti,
it was decided that the library join the Louisville library system, thus
becoming the Shively-Newman Branch of the Louisville Free Public Library. In
1990, during the tenure of Shively Mayor William S. O'Daniel, the library expanded into
the auditorium of Shively City Hall. This latest addition to the Shively
Branch today houses the fiction collection of books and books on cassette and
CD.
During the early 1990s, former mayor James Jenkins served on
the LFPL Advisory Council, continuing the tradition of City of Shively support
for a neighborhood library.
The Shively Branch remains a vital part of the Shively
community, providing library materials, programming for children and adults,
computer access, and homebound services to its residents.
*Newly Renovated*