The Library will be closed Friday, October 3, and Saturday, October 4, for the Kentucky Apple Festival. We will reopen at 9:30 AM on Monday, October 6.
Have a great weekend!

Library Information

As you will learn when you explore the Paintsville Historic Walking tour, library service in Johnson County began with the pack horse library. May Florence Stafford was the first pack horse librarian, serving in 1913-1914. This effort was funded by John C.C. Mayo. Stafford later served as supervisor of 12-15 pack horse librarians in 1938-1943 under the WPA. This group operated out of the Frew Stafford building on the corner of Main and College Streets in Paintsville. The WPA program merged with the library in 1940 when federal funds began to dwindle. The library’s first bookmobile was donated in 1969. The Library opened in a WPA building on the corner of Second and College Streets and remained there until moving to its current location at 444 Main Street in 1970, a site on which once stood the first moving picture house in town (circa early 1900s) with a pianist on site. Wheeler’s Grocery then occupied that building after 1910.

Later, two renovations created nearly 8,000 square feet of space. A third renovation in 2004 included the purchase of the adjoining building to increase the space by roughly half again, to 12,180 square feet. A fourth renovation was completed in 2019. This renovation gave the entire interior of the library fresh, modern décor, an interactive play-on replica of the Library’s bookmobile in the children’s area, and the addition of the multipurpose/story hour room named after long-time Board of Trustees member Robert M. Conley.

Consistent with its mission and vision statements, JCPL leadership and staff strive to keep the Library a key innovator, partner, and gathering place for the community.

Monday, Wednesday, and Friday: 9:30 a.m – 5:00 p.m.
Tuesday and Thursday: 9:30 a.m. – 8:00 p.m.
Saturday: 9:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.
Sunday: Closed

2025 Closings:

  • January 1st – New Year’s Day
  • January 20th – Martin Luther King, Jr. Birthday
  • February 17th – Presidents Day
  • May 26th – Memorial Day
  • July 4th – Fourth of July
  • September 1st – Labor Day
  • October 3rd & 4th – Apple Day (Friday & Saturday, first full weekend in October)
  • November 11th – Veteran’s Day
  • November 27th & 28th – Thanksgiving and the day after
  • December 23rd – December 23
  • December 24th – Christmas Eve Day
  • December 25th – Christmas Day
  • December 31st – New Year’s Eve

President: Tom Salyer
Vice President: Stephanie Gillespie
Secretary: Cindy McCarty
Treasurer: Rebecca Taylor

The JCPL Board of Trustees meets the third Thursday of each month at 4:00 PM in the Creekside Room of the Library. The October meeting is rescheduled to Tuesday, October 28, at the regular time and place. It will, therefore, be a special meeting by change of date. The agenda will be posted as soon as it is ready.

There will be a special meeting Monday, October 13, at 4:30 PM at the regular location.

 

Agenda Oct 13 2025 special meeting with teleconference option

Join Zoom Meetinghttps://us02web.zoom.us/j/87208158745?pwd=dUFCTlJ0eEFlekNnNWxxZTRiS3ByUT09

Meeting ID: 872 0815 8745

Passcode: 704285

 

Mission Statement:

Johnson County Public Library’s mission is to encourage imagination, nurture learning, and cultivate growth within our community through welcoming access to resources, programs, and services.

Vision Statement:

The Johnson County Public Library will be the premier partner for innovative initiatives, modeling and advocating inclusion of all citizens, and providing both human and information resources vital to a prosperous community.

Johnson County Public Library

Strategic Plan, 2025-2030 

Adopted July 17, 2025

PRIORITIES IN BRIEF:

  • DEEPEN ENGAGEMENT WITH THE COMMUNITY
  • FOCUS ON SPACES AND SERVICES FOR YOUTH
  • ENSURE A WELCOMING, ENGAGING LIBRARY EXPERIENCE

 

1. DEEPEN ENGAGEMENT WITH THE COMMUNITY

Goals:

  • Each year, hold a library card drive to sign up new library users, with a specific focus on our pre-school and elementary school students.
  • Develop a marketing plan, focusing marketing and communication outreach on specific target audiences.
  • Develop a Friends of the Library.
  • Establish a consistent schedule of cultural programming and events, including programs focused on preserving our unique culture.
  • Continue involvement in community initiatives/partnerships and intentionally invite partners into the library regularly.
  • Provide regular opportunities for feedback from all sectors of the public, whether in-house, virtually, and/or remotely.

 

2. FOCUS ON SPACES AND SERVICES FOR YOUTH

Goals:

  • Provide STEAM activities for both active and passive interaction.
  • Provide a dedicated teen space with areas for relaxing, for small group work, and for individual or quiet work.
  • Locate the young adult collection so that it is attractive to teens and still accessible to adults.
  • Provide life skills programs for teens and young adults.
  • Diversify the young adult and older juvenile collection to include more manga/graphic novels.

 

3. ENSURE A WELCOMING, ENGAGING LIBRARY EXPERIENCE

Goals:

  • Reconfigure the library first floor using saved library funds, planning and preparing to address any future moves or expansions.
  • Engage with the community to determine the most-desired equipment for a Makerspace as that space is being developed.
  • Engage with the community to best understand long-term needs for library spaces and create a plan to meet those needs.
  • Provide unstructured opportunities that engage all types of patrons to sit and stay awhile.

The Library’s Complete Policy Manual is available upon request.

The Basics
Check out physical items using your library card, a photo of it, or your card stored in a digital wallet. Use the bar code from the back of your card to check out digital items from Hoopla or Libby at jcplky.org.

Important exceptions to the above:
Hoopla is limited to Johnson County residents and students attending any school within the county.

Only those ages 18 and older may borrow DVDs.

How many items may I borrow and how long can I keep them?

New Cardholders: Up to 3 books for 2 weeks. Once the books are returned, we have an ID or photo on file (ages 18 and older), and you have returned the address verification postcard you’ll receive in the mail (Please notify us if you don’t receive this within 1 week), you will be upgraded to a card with full privileges, and follow the checkout guidelines below. 

Digital Downloads: These vary by service. Explore your favorites at jcplky.org to learn more.

Books: Borrow up to 25 books for a 2-week period 3 renewals for books with no wait list. 

DVDs: Borrow up to 7 DVDs for 7 days, with 1 renewal if there is no wait list.

Reservations and renewals may be made online, by phone or in person. If items are not renewed, you will receive an overdue notice in the mail.

You may use the book drop on our front porch for after-hours returns.

Are there fines or fees?
There are no fines for books, but there is a $2 late fee at the end of each 7-day checkout period for each DVD that is not renewed or returned.
The only other fees we charge are for copies and fax. However, you must pay the replacement cost for any lost or damaged items.

I don’t see what I’m looking for on the shelves.
Ask a member of our staff for assistance. We are trained to help with catalog and resource searches, are familiar with our collection, and have access to storage areas outside the main library. If the item you want isn’t available, a staff member can help you place a hold, complete an ILL request (see below), find alternative items that might be of interest to you, or request that the item be purchased.

Interlibrary Loan (ILL) is available to any Johnson County resident with a full privilege card in good standing and two valid phone numbers or a phone number and a working email address. Wait time for the item, length of the loan, and options for renewal vary depending on the policy of the lending library.

Help! I can’t use digital services.
If you’re new to digital, you may call to schedule an appointment with a staff member for a tutorial. We are happy to help with this. Without an appointment, there may be a wait during busy hours.

There are various reasons for interruptions in service. One common problem is that your card has expired. This happens yearly so that we can keep your contact information up to date. Call us at 789-4355 to update registration.

Please call if you experience any issues with digital services, and we will work to solve the problem as quickly as possible. If the problem occurs outside business hours, you may contact us using Facebook Messenger or call and leave a detailed message, including your name and phone number. We don’t guarantee that service will be restored outside library hours, but having your name and number will allow us to reach you if it isn’t a system-wide problem but a problem with your card registration. 

Mailing Address:
JCPL
444 Main St. Paintsville, KY 41240. Get Directions.

Phone: (606)789-4355
Fax: (606)789-6758

E-mail: helpdesk@jcplky.org