What is the Story Center?

The Story Center is a part of the Boyle County Public Library (BCPL) and supports the library's mission by inspiring our local community to engage with the county's history through individual and community-led collecting and preservation efforts. The Story Center's objective is to collect, digitize, and make the county's history accessible through exhibitions, programming, and digital initiatives. In December 2023, BCPL was awarded a $1 million grant from the Mellon Foundation to create the Story Center. The Story Center was established to enhance BCPL's current local history services and to bring the community together to preserve and share stories of local life in Boyle County.

Where is the Story Center located?

The Story Center is located in Grayson's Tavern on Constitution Square, 105 E. Walnut Street, Danville, KY 40422. Story Center staff also keep hours at the Boyle County Public Library to assist patrons and to provide access to the special collections and archives, which are housed at the library.

How can I get involved

You can get involved by contacting us at storycenter@boylepublib.org

How do I use the Memory Lab?

To use the Memory Lab, you will need to book an appointment. The Memory Lab has two locations: at the Story Center, located at Grayson's Tavern, and at the Boyle County Public Library. If this is your first time using the Memory Lab, our Digital History Coordinator will provide an overview of the equipment and guide you through the process. You can reserve the Memory Lab for a maximum of 3 hours at a time.

How do I use the Oral History Studio?

To use the Oral History Studio, you will need to have a library card and book an appointment. If this is your first time using the Oral History Studio, our Community History Coordinator will provide an overview of the equipment and guide you through the process. Story Center staff are happy to conduct the oral history interview, but you are also welcome to use the Oral History Studio to record your own story or to interview others. You can book the studio for a 3-hour time slot.

About

We empower everyone to explore and build the legacy of Boyle County.

Stories are essential. Stories explain our individuality, animate our culture, define our place, and bind our generations together, ensuring our experiences don’t slip away. From early indigenous story circles and campfire storytelling to modern dinner tables and written correspondence, people and stories have been intertwined for centuries.
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Story Center is on a mission to collect, preserve, and share stories. We began our journey in 2017 as a pioneering Memory Lab, part of a national grant-funded cohort that championed the DIY digitization model across public libraries. Following our success, we secured expansion funding to launch the Story Center as a standalone branch in 2025.

While history often highlights prominent names and public events, the most compelling accounts are often untold episodes of everyday endurance, triumph, tragedy, and experience. We are dedicated to uncovering and elevating these untold stories of Boyle County. We provide the essential infrastructure — including the Memory Lab, Oral History Studio, and permanent archives — to capture, digitize, and preserve the varied human experiences that define our unique local identity for generations to come.

Our values

Deep listening

We believe that listening deeply is essential to creating meaningful change for individuals and communities. We approach our storytelling work with compassion, self-awareness, and a recognition of the dignity of all people.

Integrity

We hold ourselves to the highest standards of accountability, transparency, and honesty. We strive to build strong and enduring relationships within our organization and with our partners, stakeholders, and community of storytellers.

Respect

We value and honor the diversity of perspectives, culture, and backgrounds that make up our organization and the communities we serve, and we are committed to fairness in our work. We recognize that everyone deserves to be treated with dignity and respect, and that each person has something valuable to contribute.

Creativity

We believe in the power of innovation and curiosity. By embracing new ideas, methods, tools, and storytelling approaches, we constantly seek better ways to provide spaces that foster creative ownership and agency in the individuals and communities we serve.

Cooperation

We understand that change and growth are only possible through collaboration and cooperation. We engage flexibly with each other and with external partners, building bridges and forging alliances across sectors and disciplines.

Humility

We see ourselves as part of a larger storytelling community, and our efforts as part of longstanding movements of change. We view cultural humility as the foundation of effective partnerships and the key to building strong, resilient, and sustainable communities.