Cincinnati & Hamilton County Public Library

09/05/2026

What's the best book you've read this summer?

09/04/2026

Customer Appreciation Days are back!

Eva Jane Romaine Coombe Director Paula Brehm-Heeger discusses back to school resources for families and educators, and Customer Appreciation Days.

09/03/2026

Due to high building temperatures, the Blue Ash, Harrison, and Madeira branches are closed for the evening (9/3).

09/03/2026

All CHPL locations are closed on Monday, September 7 in observance of Labor Day.

09/03/2026

The former Regal Theater is getting a major renovation, 30 years after its closure ⬇️

Originally built in 1908, the Casino Theater opened in 1914 in the West End community before being renamed to the Regal Theater in 1941. The 17,000 square foot theater featured 1,500 seats and a stage for live performances. Renamed to the Regal theater in 1941, the venue began hosting cartoons, music, and jazz performances. The 1950s brought significant changes to the West End community with the construction of I-75, however the theater remained a symbol of the once vibrant neighborhood. In 1996, the Regal closed after more than 80 years of entertainment.

Though Hamilton County Landbank purchased the theater in 2013 and began stabilization, efforts to preserve West End’s history and culture goes back much further. In 1972, Robert O’Neal, Robert Harris, members of Cincinnati City Council, and other community leaders launched the Art Consortium of Cincinnati (ACC). The organization worked to revitalize West End while preserving and celebrating Black art, history, and culture. ACC operated until 2011.

In 2019, Toilynn O'Neal Turner founded the Robert O'Neal Multicultural Arts Center (ROMAC), continuing the work of her father. Her organization intentionally sought to preserve the Regal Theater to "celebrate, advance, and preserve African American culture and achievement through the arts, history, and education while uplifting the rich diversity of artists and cultures of Greater Cincinnati." In September 2026, ROMAC officially broke ground on the renovation of the Regal Theater, along with a 20,000-square-foot expansion, that will include coworking space, offices, galleries and performance spaces for African and African American arts and culture.

The ROMAC - Robert O'Neal Multicultural Art Center is expected to open in 2028.

09/03/2026

Special thanks to the Mariemont DAR (Daughters of America) Chapter for showcasing displays at the Blue Ash, Loveland, and Oakley branch libraries for Constitution Week!

09/03/2026

Join us for an interactive one-hour session on how our Magazine and Newspaper databases can help expand your genealogical research. Register in advance --> https://bit.ly/4qxzyPc

09/02/2026

In the latest Inside the Writer's Head podcast, Writer-in-Residence is Intisar Khanani interviews Diana Ma, a Chinese American author who writes young adult and middle grade books that feature Asian American heroes. Listen --> https://bit.ly/4gxiTYG

In this episode, 2026 Writer-in-Residence Intisar Khanani interviews young adult and middle grades author Diana Ma.

09/02/2026

⚠️ The last day of service at the temporary Avondale Branch Library is Tuesday, September 15. Holds will be routed to the Walnut Hills Branch Library after that date. Stay tuned for an reopening date announcement of the regular location!

09/02/2026

It's Library Card Sign-up Month, and we asked staff and customers what you can do with a library card. Sign up today and get free access to books, materials, resources, and more.