Southwest Georgia Regional Library

The Southwest Georgia Regional Library (SWGRL) is a public library system serving the counties of Decatur, Miller, and Seminole, Georgia. The central library is the Gilbert H. Gragg Library located in Bainbridge, Georgia.

Southwest Georgia Regional Library
The Gilbery H. Gragg Library
30°54′12.3336″N 84°34′11.262″W
LocationSouthwest Georgia
Branches3
Collection
Size204,371 (2016)[1]
Access and use
Circulation177,370 (2016)[1]
Population served42,549 (2016)[1]
Members16,440 (2016)[1]
Other information
DirectorSusan S. Whittle
Websitehttp://www.swgrl.org/

SWGRL 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

Seminole County Public Library

The first public library to open in Seminole County was the Donalsonville Public Library which opened on May 11, 1928. Initially this library existed in an old millinery store before moving in 1929 to the city courthouse.[5]

In 1952 the Decatur-Seminole Regional Library was formed. By 1978 plans were made with the help of the Public Works Program to start raising money for a new library building. A "Buy a Brick" effort began with bricks selling for $2.00 a piece. Land was donated by members of the community and a new building was completed on May 1, 1988.[5]

Decatur County Library

The oldest known library in Decatur County is the Jeffersonian Library and Literary Association, founded in the early 1880s in Bainbridge, Georgia. Newspapers from the era hinted at the difficulty of holding interest in a public library in the town, with one such article suggesting the end of the library by the end of June in 1882.[6]

By 1896 the idea of a public library was given new life, and on March 14 a large group of teachers and educators met at the courthouse to organize the Decatur County Library Association.[7] Originally this library had several hundred volumes which were kept on shelves in a local business, and by 1940 a new library building was constructed as a joint enterprise between the County of Decatur and City of Bainbridge.[8] At the dedication of this new library it was revealed the library was officially founded in 1902 despite the Decatur County Library Association's founding in 1896.[8]

Branches
One of the previous library buildings in Bainbridge.
NameAddress
Decatur County - Gilbert H. Gragg Library301 South Monroe Street, Bainbridge, GA 39819
Miller County - James W. Merritt Jr. Memorial Library259 East Main Street, Colquitt, GA 39837
Seminole County Public Library103 West Fourth Street, Donalsonville, GA 39845

Library systems in neighboring counties

References
  1. "Current Look at Georgia Libraries 2016" (PDF). Retrieved 12 June 2017.
  2. "PINES - About". Retrieved 12 June 2017.
  3. "PINES Facts" (PDF). Retrieved 12 June 2017.
  4. "GALILEO - About". Retrieved 12 June 2017.
  5. Cornerstone of Georgia Seminole County 1920-1991. Roswell, Georgia: WH Wolfe Associates. 1991. pp. 123–128.
  6. "Jeffersonians--Meeting To-Night". Vol. 11, no. 36. The Bainbridge Democrat. June 22, 1882. Retrieved 14 June 2017.
  7. "The Public Library Organized". No. Vol. XXIII, No. 26. The Bainbridge Democrat. March 19, 1896. p. 3. Retrieved 14 June 2017.
  8. Jones, Frank S. (1980). History of Decatur County Georgia. Spartanburg, South Carolina: The Reprint Company. Publishers. pp. 321–322. ISBN 0-87152-336-1.
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