Newton County Library System

The Newton County Library System (NCLS) is a consortium of three public libraries in Newton County, Georgia. The system has libraries in both Covington and Newborn, Georgia

Newton County Library System
Established1989
LocationNewton County, Georgia
Branches3
Collection
Size177,853 (2016)[1]
Access and use
Circulation300,149 (2016)[1]
Population served108,481 (2016)[1]
Members44,128 (2016)[1]
Other information
DirectorLace Keaton
Websitehttp://www.newtonlibrary.org

NCLS 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 over 10.6 million books in the system's circulation.[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

Early history

The Newton County Library System began in 1916 as a public library service offered by the Covington Womans Club and housed in their own building.[5] This is the only known library in the county during this time until 1944, when plans were made for an official public library to be used by the town. This library was opened and served out of the basement of the Newton County Courthouse.[6]

DeKalb Regional Library System

In 1953 Newton County joined alongside DeKalb and Rockdale counties to make a three-county library system then called the DeKalb Regional Library System. Working as a consortium, rather than independently, these three growing counties allowed their residents a much wider circulation of volumes, which helped increase interest in each town's local library.[7]

Due to increased interest, the Newton branch moved out of the county courthouse and into the Covington Gymnasium to increase the amount of space available for books. By 1978 space no longer became an issue as the James H. Porter Foundation funded the renovation of the local post office into the Porter Memorial Library.[6]

After a few decades of growth, the individual counties in the DeKalb Regional Library System were able to become self-sufficient. The consortium was dissolved in 1989 and led to the formation of the individual county systems which stand today.[6]

Present Day

In 2000 the NCLS joined PINES, a state-wide consortium of public libraries working towards the goal of making access to books easier for all the citizens of the state of Georgia.[6]

In 2008 the Newborn branch library joined the library system while it additionally received funding to create the Porter Memorial Branch Library.[6]

Branches
NameAddress
Covington Branch Library7116 Floyd Street, Covington, GA 30014
Jeanette Adams Zeigler Library (Newborn)4224 Highway 142, Newborn, GA 30056
Porter Memorial Branch Library6191 Highway 212, Covington, GA 30016

Library systems in neighboring counties

References
  1. "Current Look at Georgia Libraries, 2016" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 March 2017. Retrieved 27 March 2017.
  2. "PINES - About". Retrieved 27 March 2017.
  3. "PINES Facts" (PDF). Retrieved 27 March 2017.
  4. "GALILEO - About". Retrieved 27 March 2017.
  5. "Covington, Ga. 1916 Map". Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps. Retrieved 27 March 2017.
  6. "A Short History of the Library". Newton Library. Retrieved 27 March 2017.
  7. "History DeKalb County Public Library". Retrieved 27 March 2017.
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