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.
