After breaking ground nearly two years ago, the Lexington Public Library's newest branch has officially opened — and if you ask us, it's definitely worth checking out.

The Marksbury Family Branch — located at 2197 Versailles Rd. — is a new $17-million, 30,000-sqft space that has taken over the former Village Branch.

"In 2018, we conducted a survey for our Master Plan and 95% of participants agreed that the Village Branch was the library that needed the revamp first," Paige Smith, Development Manager at the Lexington Public Library, told us in 2022.

Let's take a tour of the new branch and its offerings curated for the Cardinal Valley neighborhood.

We're booking it to the library. | Photo by LEXtoday

The space

Spanning two floors, this branch is dedicated to being an educational and collaborative hub for the community. Upon entering the space, you'll find:

A sensory-friendly room with soft lighting
Rentable devices like laptops
Meeting rooms, including the Keeneland Community Room, Blue Grass Community Foundation Study Room + Community Trust Bank Study Room
Dedicated spaces for kids and teens, like the Tempur Sealy Children's Discovery Zone
An outdoor reading area
A massive Spanish collection

All ages are welcome to learn and create in the Makerspace, free of charge. | Photo by LEXtoday

Even more unique is the inclusion of the new Makerspace featuring 3D printers and sewing machines. The library hosts Open Studio hours Mondays + Tuesdays, 11:30 a.m.-6:30 p.m., and the second and fourth Saturday and Sunday of each month, 1:30-4:30 p.m.

Programming

Much like our other library branches, Marksbury Family will host events, classes, and programming for community members of all ages. These include:

Destination Kindergarten that helps kids prepare to enter Kindergarten
LPL After School program for kids aged 5-12 that gives kids snacks and hosts enrichment activities
Free weekly English Language Learning courses and citizenship classes