Greater Clarks Hill Regional Library System

The Greater Clarks Hill Regional Library System (GCHRL) is a consortium of eight public libraries working together to serve the populations of Columbia, Burke, Lincoln, and Warren counties in east Georgia.

Greater Clarks Hill Regional Library System
LocationWarren, Burke, Lincoln, and Columbia Counties, Georgia
Established2013
Branches8
Collection
Size291,278 (2016)[1]
Access and use
Circulation661,413 (2016)[1]
Population served181,970 (2016)[1]
Members65,581 (2016)[1]
Other information
DirectorMary Lin Maner
Websitehttps://gchrl.org/

GCHRL is a member of PINES, a program of the Georgia Public Library Service that covers 53 library systems in 143 counties of Georgia.[2] Any resident in a PINES supported library system has access to the system's collection of 10.6 million books.[3] The library is also serviced by GALILEO, a program of the University System of Georgia which stands for "GeorgiA LIbrary LEarning Online". This program offers residents in supported libraries access to over 100 databases indexing thousands of periodicals and scholarly journals. It also boasts over 10,000 journal titles in full text.[4]

History

The Greater Clarks Hill Regional Library System was established in 2013 when Warren, Columbia, and Lincoln counties left the now-defunct East Central Georgia Regional Library System headquartered in Augusta, Georgia. The reason for the move was due to a change in director in 2012 at the central Augusta-Richmond library.[5]

In 2014 Burke County also broke from the East Central Georgia system and joined the GCHRL due to similar issues with the director of the Augusta library. They also cited a lack of funding to their library while in the old system, and expensive dues required to keep their affiliation.[6]

On May 1, 2017, the Harlem Branch Library reopened after renovation to 14,000 feet. The project cost $3.3 million, which was largely raised through a state capital projects grant and a local SPLOST campaign.[7]

On Tuesday, February 26, 2019, the groundbreaking ceremony was held for the new Grovetown Library to replace the existing Euchee Creek location.[8] Euchee Creek Library closed to move to their new location on March 9, 2020.[9] The Grovetown Library opened on a limited basis as of July 20, 2020.[10]

Branches
CountyNameAddress
Columbia County Columbia County Library7022 Evans Town Center Blvd, Evans, GA 30809
Grovetown Library105 Old Wrighstboro Rd, Grovetown, GA 30813
Harlem Branch Library145 N Louisville St, Harlem, GA 30814
Burke County Burke County Library130 Highway 24 South, Waynesboro, GA 30830
Midville Branch Library149 Trout St, Midville, GA 30441
Sardis Branch Library750 Charles Perry Ave, Sardis, GA 30456
Lincoln County Lincoln County Library171 N Peachtree St, Lincolnton, GA 30817
Warren County Warren County Library10 Warren St, Warrenton, GA 30828

Library systems in neighboring counties

References
  1. "Current Look at Georgia Libraries 2016" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 March 2017. Retrieved 8 April 2017.
  2. "PINES - About". Retrieved 8 April 2017.
  3. "PINES Facts" (PDF). Retrieved 8 April 2017.
  4. "GALILEO - About". Retrieved 8 April 2017.
  5. Crawford, Steve (July 13, 2014). "Burke County joins Clarks Hill Regional Library System". The Columbia County News Times. Retrieved 7 April 2017.
  6. Wesley, Brown (March 1, 2015). "Area libraries outside of Augusta benefit from split, formation of new library system". The Columbia County News Times. Retrieved 7 April 2017.
  7. "Breaking new ground" (PDF). Georgia Public Library Service. GPLS News. June 2017. p. 6. Retrieved 20 July 2017.
  8. "Grovetown, GA". City of Grovetown. Retrieved 13 July 2020.
  9. "Grovetown Library". Facebook. Retrieved 13 July 2020.
  10. "Grovetown Library Opening". Greater Clarks Hill Regional Library. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
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