Louisville’s Western Library | Kentucky Studies

Louisville’s Western Branch Library, founded in 1905, was the first public library in the nation to serve African American patrons with an exclusively African American staff.

Playing a central role in the Western Branch’s establishment was educator Albert Meyzeek. Meyzeek taught at Central High School in Louisville, and he fought for his students’ right to have access to library books. In 1905, the Western Branch of Louisville Free Public Library opened in a private home with three rooms full of books.

The library was so popular that funding was sought for a larger building. Wealthy industrialist Andrew Carnegie had been donating money for the establishment of public libraries for several years, and in 1908 he agreed to fund the Western Branch library in Louisville. It was the first Black library funded by Carnegie.