LOUISVILLE, Ky. — With the freezing temperatures, Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg, D-Louisville, encouraged residents to take advantage of the different resources and indoor activities in the city. 

What You Need To Know

  • Louisville Free Public Library is open during inclement weather

  • Libraries offer various resources such as computers, e-books and movie streaming

  • The libraries have seen  more people come through their doors because of the severe weather
  •  All of Louisville’s 16 libraries are open at their regular hours

Louisville Free Public Library director, Lee Burchfield, said the library has many resources including public computers. Visitors can also watch movies through the library’s streaming service. E-books and audiobooks are also available. Burchfield says it’s a place for community connectivity.

“There is actually research that has shown how having a public library in a community helps a community specifically, and particularly in times where you’ve got a challenge like flooding or winter weather or some sort of [a] pandemic that’s going on. That communities that have public libraries fare better through any kind of challenge like that, because of what that public library brings to their community,” said Burchfield.

Claudia Fitch has worked at the Louisville Free Public Library for over 40 years. She said it hasn’t received snow like this in a while and because of it, they’ve been getting non-stop calls.

She said, “We have phones open for people to call to renew their books and get back on Kindle.”

Residents have called saying they are having issued. She says they are having visitors say, “‘And I can’t get back out to renew my book, to return my books.’ Don’t worry about it. We’re not charging fines. Just return when you can,” said Fitch.

Burchfield said they have seen hundreds of more people come through the library more than usual and many are coming to the library as a place of warmth.

“If you’re outside and you come in here, there is heat and so you are warming. But yeah, we don’t provide some of the kinds of services that other warming centers provide,” said Burchfield.

But Burchfield said the library staff is trained and ready to help those find needed resources.

“Libraries really help build resilience in a community and help communities strive through challenging things like winter storms, thunderstorms, tornadoes, any kind of challenge to a community like that. The ways that libraries help build community and bring people together really help them be prepared for whatever challenges come along,” said Burchfield.

Burchfield hopes visitors will come to the library when they need help and when they just want to have fun and explore. All of Louisville’s 16 libraries are open at their regular hours.

 

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