MPL in the News
‘Fresh out of your own garden’ | Free seeds and gardening program offered at Benjamin Hooks Central Library
ABC 24 MEMPHIS – March 5, 2023
Did you know the Memphis Public Library has a seed library at Central Library on the third floor? ABC24 Visual Storyteller Shiela Whaley took a look.
How a Mid-South technician is helping young & old learn the basic of electronics
ABC 24 MEMPHIS – March 5, 2023
Learning how things work can save people money or even highlight a new career path. Now one class is helping Mid-Southerner get back to basics when it comes to electronics.
“A look at the innovation behind Memphis Public Libraries”
ABC 24 MEMPHIS – November 30, 2022
Did you know the Memphis Public Library is one of the most innovative in the country? ABC24 Visual Storyteller Patrick Niedzwiedz took a look.
“Evicted Exhibition”
Memphis Flyer – November 30, 2022
For the months of December and January, the Benjamin L. Hooks Central Library will host “Evicted,” a multimedia exhibition that explores the causes and consequences of housing insecurity.
The exhibition, presented here by the Memphis Public Interest Law Center and the Black Clergy Collaborative of Memphis, has traveled throughout the country, drawing inspiration from Matthew Desmond’s Pulitzer Prize-winning book of the same name, which followed eight families in Milwaukee navigating housing insecurity.
Photo: Yassine el Mansouri
“‘Parade of Nations’ held by Benjamin L. Hooks Central Libraryons Book Store aims to be more than words”
ABC 24 MEMPHIS – November 20, 2022
“Performances by groups like the Chinese Ensemble and the Memphis Youth Arts Initiative aimed to express different cultures, showing similarities despite differences.”
“How Memphis Created the Nation’s Most Innovative Public Library”
SMITHSONIAN MAGAZINE – November, 2021
“The Benjamin L. Hooks Central Library, a building of pale concrete and greenish glass, rises four stories in midtown Memphis. Walking through its automatic doors on a weekday afternoon, I hear unexpected sounds, muffled but unmistakable, almost shocking in a library context: the deep, quaking bass beats of Memphis hip-hop, plus a faint whine of power tools cutting through metal.”
“Smithsonian Magazine picks Memphis as place with most innovative library in the country”
ABC 24 MEMPHIS – October 26, 2021
“Memphis is back on the map nationally once again. This time for the libraries. Smithsonian Magazine highlighted Benjamin Hooks Library as the most innovative public library in the nation. Shh! This is a library, but it’s more than just books. Check it out.”
“Second Editions Book Store aims to be more than words”
Daily Memphian – August 12, 2022
“When walking into the Benjamin L. Hooks Central Library at 3030 Poplar Ave., it’s not unusual to walk past the Second Editions Book Store without noticing it. A small room nestled just to the right of the library’s front entrance with bookshelves nearly as high as the ceiling, Second Editions Book Store offers thousands of gently used hardback and paperback books for sale, with the average title priced at $3.”
“Raleigh Library opens new Teen Innovation Center”
Action News 5 – July 22, 2022
“The Raleigh Library will have the grand opening for their new Teen Innovation Center Friday, July 22 at 1:30 p.m. Branch Manager Michael King, along with teen staffers Aaren Todd and Madison Virgilio joined Action News 5′s Andrew Douglas at the digital desk to talk about how this new addition will offer free resources for teens including gaming consoles, virtual reality headsets and workstations.”