A Short History of the Library

7/28/2019 A Short History of the Library

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A Short History of the LibraryIn 1916, according to the Sanborn Fire Insurance Map of Covington from that year, what is now

the Covington Womans Club building at the corner of Washington and Elm streets was then

the Public Library. Heres the link to the map:1916 Map of Covington

According to the History of Newton County, the free public library opened its doors for the first

time in November of 1944. In September of that year, at a meeting in the home of Mrs.

Katherine Paty, plans were made for a public library. Space was provided in the basement of

the Newton County Courthouse.

In 1953 the library became part of the DeKalb Regional Library System, a three-county

regional library system including Newton, DeKalb and Rockdale counties. The growing library

moved from the courthouse basement into the Covington Gymnasium on Conyers Street.

In 1978 funding from James H. Porter Foundation made possible the renovation of the old post

office on Monticello Street and the Porter Memorial Library came into being.

Newton County Library Circa 1978

In 1989 The DeKalb Regional Library System was disbanded and each of the three counties

became individual library systems, DeKalb County Library System, Conyers-Rockdale Public

Library and Newton County Library System.

A Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) passed by the voters of Newton County in

1995 along with a grant from the State of Georgia funded a new 32,000 square-foot building

that opened in 1998 called the Newton County Library. Children's Services in the Covington

Branch are located in Sara's Room, named in honor of Sara Trammell, Chairman of the Newton

County Library Board from 1952 through 1996.

In 2000 the library joined the state-wide consortium PINES, Georgia Public Information Network

for Electronic Services. PINES is a network of public libraries working toward the concept of astate-wide library card by sharing a database and library materials. Benefits for the public

include access to books in libraries across the state, the ability to travel around the state using

local libraries, borrowing and returning materials at PINES libraries with a PINES library card,

and online access to the catalog and your own account in PINES.

In 2008 a formal agreement was entered into with the Newborn Town Council that made their

community developed library become a service outlet and part of the library system.
http://dlg.galileo.usg.edu/sanborn/CityCounty/Covington1916/http://dlg.galileo.usg.edu/sanborn/CityCounty/Covington1916/


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Newborn Library Service Outlet History

In 1981 a deposit collection, or a significant loan of materials for an extended period of time

from the Covington Library, was placed in the Newborn town hall. The deposit collection was

rotated with new books quarterly.

About 2002 a group of community members headed by Janette Ziegler started a Friends ofthe Library organization. They secured an area in the Childs Building and over a period of

years the Friends worked with the Library to expand and improve the space for the deposit

collection eventually creating a1,200 square foot enclosed library area. Both the Library and

the Friends have contributed furniture and books resulting in a small, informal lending library.

Gradually the Librarys expanded its services by providing basic computer equipment for

public use, by providing staff for regular visits including storytime and general library

assistance to the public.

A formal agreement in 2008 between the Newborn Town Council and Library established the

provision of materials and services thus enabling the library to make the Newborn deposit

collection eligible for Service Outlet status with the State of Georgias library servicesgoverning agency. Establishing the Newborn Library Service Outlet makes the library eligible

for grant funding from the state that directly benefits the citizens of Newborn in the form of the

of a permanent lending collection, Internet access and library services for this tiny community.

Porter Memorial Branch Library

Also in 2008 the

Library was

included as part of

a County Impact

fee initiative and

the Library System

was awarded a $2

million grant from

the State of

Georgia to

construct the Porter

Memorial Branch

Library in the western part of the County. Construction was begun on the Library in 2010 and

was completed in January of 2011. The Porter Memorial Branch Library is a state-of-the-art

branch library with self-checkout of library materials, public access computers, informational

television monitors, a teen zone, a quiet room, children's library, a general collection, audio-

visual items, study rooms and a meeting room for the general public. The library facility was

constructed according to LEED standards to be energy efficient and use sustainable materials.

Among the special features of the building is a system that reuses filtered rain water to flush

toilets and water outdoor plants, a system that reduces costs by harvesting sunlight entering

the building to reduce the need for electrical lighting, a raised floor that houses an extremely

energy efficient heating and air-conditioning system, and other features that enabled the

facility to attain a GOLD LEED award.
http://www.newtonlibrary.org/about-your-library/branches/newborn-library-service-outlethttp://www.newtonlibrary.org/about-your-library/branches/porter-memorial-branch-libraryhttp://www.newtonlibrary.org/about-your-library/branches/newborn-library-service-outlethttp://www.newtonlibrary.org/about-your-library/branches/porter-memorial-branch-library


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What are the Library Collections?We have books, movies, music, magazines, newspapers in a variety of formats; for all ages; for

most tastes; for most general purposes; new and old; simple and scholarly; for pleasure and

learning.

Presented by age interest levels our collections are either

Juvenile or Childrens,

Teen or Young Adult and

Adult Collections.

We have special collections in the Covington Branch Library such as the Garden

Collection which specializes in all things gardening including landscaping, water features,

problem solving and of course all the flowers, herbs, shrubs, trees, vines and grasses you

might see, want or need information about.

The Covington Branch Library also houses our local history and genealogy collection in the

Heritage Room.

We have anonline shared catalog of our books. You can search the catalog to find out if we

have what you want, or if other libraries we share with have what you need.

We provide asortable list of titles new to the collections.

We also have some other ways to enjoy our collecions in the form ofsuggested reading lists,

and the reading lists of our book clubs.
http://www.newtonlibrary.org/kids/childrens-collectionshttp://www.newtonlibrary.org/adults/adult-collectionshttp://gapines.org/opac/en-US/skin/default/xml/rresult.xml?if=&it=a%2Ct&bl=&lf=&a=e%2C%20&la=&cl=4043&d=2&l=232&s=rel&sd=asc&adt=ml&tp=&t=keyword%3Agarden&av=&rt=multi&c=25&at=300http://gapines.org/opac/en-US/skin/default/xml/rresult.xml?if=&it=a%2Ct&bl=&lf=&a=e%2C%20&la=&cl=4043&d=2&l=232&s=rel&sd=asc&adt=ml&tp=&t=keyword%3Agarden&av=&rt=multi&c=25&at=300http://www.newtonlibrary.org/adults/genealogy-researchhttp://www.newtonlibrary.org/adults/genealogy-researchhttp://gapines.org/opac/en-US/skin/default/xml/index.xml?ol=232http://gapines.org/opac/en-US/skin/default/xml/index.xml?ol=232http://gapines.org/opac/en-US/skin/default/xml/index.xml?ol=232http://www.newtonlibrary.org/newitemshttp://www.newtonlibrary.org/newitemshttp://www.newtonlibrary.org/discover/suggested-reading-listshttp://www.newtonlibrary.org/discover/book-clubshttp://www.newtonlibrary.org/kids/childrens-collectionshttp://www.newtonlibrary.org/adults/adult-collectionshttp://gapines.org/opac/en-US/skin/default/xml/rresult.xml?if=&it=a%2Ct&bl=&lf=&a=e%2C%20&la=&cl=4043&d=2&l=232&s=rel&sd=asc&adt=ml&tp=&t=keyword%3Agarden&av=&rt=multi&c=25&at=300http://gapines.org/opac/en-US/skin/default/xml/rresult.xml?if=&it=a%2Ct&bl=&lf=&a=e%2C%20&la=&cl=4043&d=2&l=232&s=rel&sd=asc&adt=ml&tp=&t=keyword%3Agarden&av=&rt=multi&c=25&at=300http://www.newtonlibrary.org/adults/genealogy-researchhttp://www.newtonlibrary.org/adults/genealogy-researchhttp://gapines.org/opac/en-US/skin/default/xml/index.xml?ol=232http://www.newtonlibrary.org/newitemshttp://www.newtonlibrary.org/discover/suggested-reading-listshttp://www.newtonlibrary.org/discover/book-clubs

Documents

A Short History of the Library