Nestled in Lexington’s Central Public Library’s third floor is a vast archival haven filled with stories. Some are told through centuries-old newspapers and biographies, others through microphones just a few steps down the hall.
Central Library Manager David Bryant and Virtual Services Librarian Erin West recently shared on WRFL’s Campus Voices in September how they are helping to preserve Lexington’s history and promote accessibility of information through “Tales from the Kentucky Room,” a long-running podcast series sharing the city’s stories through the library’s archives.
The physical research room holds large collections of archival material dating all the way back to the 18th century, decades before Lexington’s founding in 1775. It houses references on all 120 of Kentucky’s counties, history books, genealogy resources, historic maps, postcards, photographs and first and second editions of newspapers that predate the Herald-Leader, like the Kentucky Gazette and Lexington Transcript. To someone passing by the door, it might resemble a miniature museum.
“It’s kind of a way to really experience the old-school library feel,“ Bryant said. “You can come in and say, I’m looking for research on African American hamlets, or something like that. We can direct you towards resources for that.”
Often, Bryant and West find inspiration for podcast episodes through overhearing real-life research requests made by library patrons.
“We’ll help a customer who’s researching something that we find really interesting, and we ask them, ‘hey, is your research at a place where you want to come talk about it on our podcast?’” Bryant explained. “We haven’t been turned down yet. People want to share what they’re working on for Lexington’s history.”
Six years ago, Rand Dotson, the Editor in Chief of the LSU Press, contacted the Kentucky Room seeking information to use in his research on Lexington Colonels Cassius Goodloe and Armistead Swope and their long-standing political rivalry, which culminated in a deadly duel in the Lexington Post Office.
The library’s archives held the key to his research – once Bryant and West found out, it quickly became a podcast episode. So far, it’s West’s favorite story from the series.
“They were political rivals in the worst way,” said West. “They hated each other’s guts. And one day, Armistead Swope was standing in front of Goodloe’s mailbox.”
On November 9, 1889, Swope and Goodloe entered the old Lexington Post Office building on the northwest corner of Broadway and Short Street. The two had many years of palpable tension between them and had hinted at dueling in the past – even Goodloe’s uncle, Kentucky politician Marcellus Cassius Clay, encouraged his nephew to kill Swope with a Bowie knife or give up the family name.
As Goodloe waited to collect his mail, he quickly grew impatient and was heard by witnesses telling Swope he was being obstructed from obtaining his mail.
In response, Swope shot Goodloe twice with his revolver before Goodloe drew his knife, stabbing Swope around 13 times until he lay dead on the post office floor. Goodloe stood up, walked calmly out the door and headed directly to his physician’s office. He would die two days later.
“That’s just one of my favorite stories because it happened in the post office. It happened right downtown,” said West. “These two guys just could not stand each other. And so, they took each other out.”
“And there are so many stories like that.” added David.
Now, since 1891, Kentucky’s official oath has had an anti-dueling clause, a response to a period in the 1800s when Kentucky had a long history of dueling and was considered particularly violent.
“If you’ve ever heard somebody take an oath of office in Kentucky, they have to swear that they have never participated in a duel, nor have they ever attended a duel,” said West. “Even to this day, 2025, our library board members had to swear that they had never participated in or attended a duel. So, we have a very long history of violence in that way.”
But that’s not the only legacy that has been upheld. Kentucky’s long, sometimes violent history is now able to be preserved in the Kentucky Room and retold through headphones and aux cords across the world.
“We have listeners all across the globe hearing about Kentucky’s history,” said West. “You don’t have to be bound by library hours to experience the kind of culture we have here in Lexington.”
Podcasts and digital media have become more popular throughout the last decade, especially at the height of COVID-19. Among the most famous are those of The New York Public Library and American Library Association. Bryant and West feel that podcasting works for libraries – in terms of public media and library archival work, the new medium is a bonus to get people to come to the library.
“Tales from the Kentucky Room” began in 2018 as a medium for Lexington librarians to share their book recommendations before shifting to local history. Six years later, it’s still going, and the project celebrated its 100th episode this year.
“Podcasts are gaining popularity with libraries,” West said. “Other libraries are starting to have virtual programming, asynchronous programming. It’s a really good way to reach people when your hours aren’t all day, every day.”
“I think it kind of goes along with some of our other formats we’ve added at the library,” Bryant agreed. “E-books, downloadable audiobooks, things like that are hugely popular.”
They both agree “Tales from the Kentucky Room” has a great reach.
“We’re celebrating [Lexington’s] 250th anniversary this year, you know, a year before America as a whole,” West said. “Sometimes there’s the stereotype about Kentucky and what we’re like, but I feel like in a way that our podcast maybe helps people see just the depth that is here. How long we have been here, what our history is, how important we were in the early history of America.”
After over 100 episodes, West and Bryant still learn something new with every recording. Sometimes it’s the story of a violent post office duel, other times, magical experiences in Kentucky’s forests or perspectives on the city’s segregated history.
Every time, it’s a way to amplify Lexington’s past and ensure its survival for generations to come.
“Tales from the Kentucky Room” is an audio-only production and can be found on all online podcast services and the library’s website.
Listen to the “Tales from the Kentucky Room” Campus Voices episode, aired September 16, 2025: