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Help us help you by answering this one simple question. Submit your answer today! Survey available throughout June.
Summer Camps 2025
Register Today!
The Memphis Public Libraries’ 2025 summer camps offer a dynamic array of free, STEAM-focused programs designed for teens. Participants can engage in hands-on experiences such as robotics, filmmaking, and music production, fostering creativity and skill development throughout the summer.
Explore Memphis – Color Our World
June 1 – July 31
Read during the summer to earn prizes, with grand prize drawings at the end of the summer. New this year, groups will have the opportunity to compete for a grand prize as well! Check in at your local library to learn more.
Let Me Tell You About Cossitt: A Teen’s Perspective
Cossitt Library
Tuesdays and Thursdays
Casting call to all teens, 13-18! We’re in need of an enthusiastic group ready to put on a show. Whether you have experience in the theatrical arts or have never sung or acted before, all are welcome as we go back in time and tell a part of Memphis’ history with a modern flair. This 6-week teen-only production will be directed by award-winning local performer and director Keia Johnson. This will culminate in a community performance for all to come and see in Cossitt’s Performance Space.
Teen Arts Festival
Submissions Open Now!
June 3 – Aug 31
This prestigious show, funded by Friends of the Library, celebrates the talent of young artists through a juried art exhibition. This provides artists ages 13-19 the opportunity to showcase their art to the Memphis/Shelby County and surrounding areas. Accepted artwork in the following forms: paintings, drawings, original prints, fiber art, ceramics, sculpture, photography, and graphic design.
Sankofa African Diaspora Festival
Cossitt Library
Jun 14, 11 AM – 5 PM
Celebrating the rich culture, lived experiences, and creative expression of African descended communities. Join us for an afternoon of performance, dance, art, vendors, readings, and much more in recognition of Black Music Month and Juneteenth commemoration.
Japanese Culture Club
Benjamin L. Hooks Central Library
Jun. 14, 10:30 AM – 12 PM
Join us for MPL’s Japanese Culture Club! This monthly meeting will be dedicated to the appreciation of Japanese culture. The club will focus on immersing attendees in Japanese customs and traditions as well as popular culture in a fun and engaging environment.
Juneteenth Fest
Cordova Library
Jun 14, 11 AM – 3 PM
Please join us for the fourth annual Juneteenth Fest at Cordova Library! Come support local Memphis businesses selling food, drinks, accessories, home decor, and other fun merchandise. We’ll also have a Juneteenth-themed children’s storytime, a quilt-making lesson, local Memphis dancers, writers, poetry performances, an African drumline, and a blood drive!
I Read that Movie @ The Library – Big Fish
Benjamin L. Hooks Central Library
Jun. 28, 2 PM – 5 PM
For June, our “page-to-screen” book club, I Read That Movie @ the Library, is reading the 1998 novel Big Fish: A Novel of Mythic Proportions by Daniel Wallace. Drawing upon elements of the Odyssey and James Joyce’s novel Ulysses, the story tells of a young man’s quest to uncover the truth behind his dying father’s seemingly fantastical life, as he recounts the legends and myths surrounding the older man’s many exploits. Participants are invited to read the book and then attend a screening.
MPL Unbound
A Publication of the Memphis Library Foundation
The second issue of MPL UNBOUND is out now! In this issue, we explore the unexpected ways the Memphis Library Foundation supports the library’s mission, how libraries serve democracy, and pay tribute to Orange Mound and its first library branch. Free print copies are available at any branch or digitally right here!
Activate Your 901 Pass as a Library Card
Do you have a 901 Pass card and would like to use it to access the Memphis Public Libraries? Check here on how we can activate that for you!
MPL Repair Cafe
We are excited to announce that Memphis Public Library will be hosting regular Repair Days in 2025 in partnership with the international Repair Café organization! If you have special skills and would like to volunteer for this effort, let us know here! Our next Repair Day will be August 3rd.
Seed Library and Colorcopia
Benjamin L. Hooks Central Library
3rd Tuesdays, 1-2 PM
Join The Dixon Garden and Gallery’s Shawna White for a monthly arts class inspired by the ever changing seasons. In these nature themed arts classes, all you need to bring is your creativity for a great time while having great conversation. All supplies provided; all skill levels welcome!
Creative Aging Programs
Talented professional artists and musicians play, perform and teach at locations where seniors live and gather. Musical performances and hands-on arts workshops reach diverse audiences, improving participants’ cognitive vitality and emotional well-being, and making arts access a reality.
Gardening Programs with Booker T. Leigh
Make your garden the best yet with Memphis Public Libraries gardening programs, hosted by Booker T. Leigh, happening all over the city!
Long Live the King!-Chess Club
Benjamin L. Hooks Central Library
Tuesdays 6 PM – 7:30 PM
Free chess tutorials for all ages. Beginners are invited to learn to play, and veterans are welcome to challenge each other to a friendly match of strategy and tactics. For this event we will meet in our main lobby behind the escalators. Long Live the King!
Upcoming Events
View our full calendar of events!
Fri., Jun. 13, 12:00 pm
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Best Sellers and Other Suggestions
Library Updates
Cherokee Sewing Classes
Cherokee had another couple of successful sewing classes Saturday! We learned to sew on zippers and made a small zippered,…
Cognitive Harmony Series at Levi
During our third session of our Cognitive Harmony series, our customers and staff continued to make progress through their collective…
“CHEF ELI OF DOS HERMANOS KITCHEN: MEMPHIAN ON THE MOVE AT THE COSSITT LIBRARY”
Choose901 – June 5, 2024 Meet Chef Eli, the culinary genius behind Dos Hermanos Kitchen. The idea of a taco…
Orange Mound Library Grand Opening
More than 40 years ago, the Historic Melrose School in Orange Mound shut its doors. After sitting boarded up and…
Popular Resources
Start your genealogical journey today!
Have a question you need answered? Or a suggestion for the collection? Start Here!
Are you missing the ability to browse our shelves for books for your children? Use Book Bundles and we’ll pick out a bundle of books for your child!
Search the local newspaper all the way back to 1847.
Check out our online Digital Archives and explore Memphis history through photos and more!
Check out E-books and E-AudioBooks through Libby by OverDrive! You can visit the new Libby site or visit the original OverDrive site.
Memphis Public Libraries lends non-traditional items, too! You can try before you buy, discover a new hobby, or borrow a device you’ll only need to use once. Kits include Camping, Karaoke, Yard Games, Outdoor Movies, and Nature Exploration.
If you are looking for help, or want to provide someone with help, just dial 2-1-1 to reach the community information and referral resources of LINC, the Library Information Center at the Memphis Public Library.
Our magazine collection has moved to Libby! Check out our collection of current and popular magazines.
Streaming current local music for free. Local musicians: Submit a sample for inclusion.
The New York Times digital subscription is available at home!
Details on the extended Tax Assistance.
Gale Presents: Udemy is an online learning platform for adults who want to improve work-related skills or further develop a personal interest.
We now offer access to Value Line, a single, cost-effective research package covering multiple asset classes that can transform an average investor into an extremely profitable one.
