Georgia Public Library Service news, Vol. 5, no. 2 (Oct. 2007)

A newsletter for friends and employees of Georgia's public libraries

volume 5, issue 2 I October 2007

Staff

Libraries in need receive $570,000 in state MRR grants

Georgia Public Library Service
(GPLS) has announced the first group of recipients in its Major Repair and Renovation (MRR) Grant Program for fiscal year 2008. In this phase of the program, up to $573,125.98 in a total of 32 grants will be allocated for repairs and renovations at 28 public libraries across the state.

Dr. Christopher Stokes, Joan Anderson, Willard Rocker and Muriel Jackson lead the staff at the Macon-Bibb County Library's Genealogical and Historical Room and the Middle Georgia Archives.

Georgia's genealogical libraries draw local, regional, worldwide visitors

Virtually every public library system
in Georgia is justifiably proud of its genealogical resources. Genealogy rooms at libraries serve as the repositories of local history, collecting and preserving the records that help communities tell their stories and articulate their values.
Many public libraries -- in Athens, Augusta, Carrollton, Columbus, Commerce, Dalton, Dawsonville, Gainesville, Hawkinsville, LaGrange, Marietta, Rome, Savannah and Washington, to name a few -- have built loyal followings within the state and across the Southeast, and they

continue to grow in size, resources and acclaim.
But three libraries reign as the Georgia public library system's genealogical crown jewels. The Ellen Payne Odom Genealogical Library in Moultrie, the Ladson Genealogical Library in Vidalia and the MaconBibb County Library regularly draw national and international attention, earn rave reviews from amateur and professional genealogists, add to their respective local tourism bases and bring additional money from grants and fundraising into their communities.
See Genealogy, page 3

The Statesboro Regional Library will receive the largest single grant, for $105,984.50 to replace the roof at its Bulloch County facility. "We are delighted to receive this grant," said Lois Roberts, director of the Statesboro Regional Library System. "The money will allow us to replace our 27-year-old roof here at the system's central library.

"We have

been battling an

increasing

number of leaks

-- some even

threatening our

genealogy and

local history

collection -- for

several years,"

Roberts

Roberts

explained. "With the 50-50 cost

share with Bulloch County's SPLOST

funds and the money provided by

the Board of Regents through the

2008 Georgia legislative grant, we

are thrilled to be able to have our

See Grants, page 7

Hart County Library holds grand reopening

The Hart County Library's staff, board and Friends group
celebrated its reopening on Aug. 19 with a reception featuring five local authors, followed by book signings and refreshments for the 200 citizens who attended.
The library was built in the mid-1970s. It was closed two years ago, however, when staff discovered that a malfunctioning heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) system had introduced mold into the building and

moisture from a leaky roof was worsening the problem.
Library Director Richard Sanders said staff members discovered the problems during the summer of 2005. "Tests were conducted by increasingly specialized agencies to determine what mold was growing and where," he explained. "Fortunately, it found to be nontoxic."
To prevent allergic reactions, however, the building was closed and its staff moved into a temporary modular building in the parking lot, along with as much of the library's collection as the cramped facility could hold.

As part of the GPLS Major Repair and Renovation (MRR) Grant Program for fiscal year 2006, the library received $450,000. The Hart County Board of Commissioners provided $45,000 in local funds. With that money, the library has put in a new HVAC system, repaired the roof and added a drop ceiling. Donations and additional funds from the county commissioners enabled the library to install new carpet and re-cover all its furniture. In memory of her husband, Bill, library supporter Mary Carter donated the funds needed to buy a new circulation desk.

Nancy Clark (left), chair of the Hart County Library board, and Carol Fenn (right), president of the local Friends group, helped Sanders welcome guests to the reopening festivities.

By all accounts, Sanders said, the library is now better than ever. "We're very glad to be able to again offer access to our full collections, ample access to the Internet, and the complete range of other services that people expect from us." I

Georgia's table draws big crowds at National Book Festival

More than 120,000 book lovers
gathered on the National Mall for the National Book Festival on Sept. 29 in Washington, D.C. GPLS hosted a table in the Pavilion of States at the seventh annual festival, which was sponsored by the Library of Congress and hosted by first lady Laura Bush.
Elaine Black, director of Children's Services for GPLS, along with staff members Maggie Ivory and Marlene Stephens, provided information and answered visitors' questions about Georgia's writers, libraries, book festivals, book awards and reading promotion activities.

The three also gave away bookmarks, posters and copies of The Way My Granny Told It, written and illustrated by Katie Siegel. Siegel, who hails from Gwinnett County, was this year's winner of the Atlanta Hawks Young Authors Program.
Author Carmen Agra Deedy of Decatur visited the Georgia table, talked with visitors and signed autographs, helping the state's table draw steady crowds throughout the day. Deedy's latest book, Martina the Beautiful Cockroach: A Cuban Folktale, served as Georgia's 2007 spotlight book. It was illustrated by fellow Georgian Michael Austin. I

Maggie Ivory

Stephens, Black and Deedy greet visitors at Georgia's table inside the Pavilion of States.

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Georgia Public Library Service News October 2007

Aileen McNair

Genealogy

Continued from page 1 Founded a scant 17 years ago,
Moultrie's Odom Library is a relative newcomer to the spotlight. The library, which takes up an entire wing of the Moultrie-Colquitt County Library, was made possible by a $1 million bequest from Ellen Payne Odom, a library trustee who maintained an avid interest in genealogy until her death in 1987.

"Prior to 1990, we had a small Georgia history collection -- maybe 2,000 volumes," explained library system director Melody S. Jenkins. "It was so small, my office used to be the history room!

Jenkins

"Once we

Glass

received the

money from Mrs.

Odom, we knew

we needed to

expand. At the

time, Emmett

Lucas of

Southern

Historical Press

was planning to retire, and he

Godwin

was interested in selling his collection

of materials about the southeastern

United States, the Civil War and

migration routes west. We purchased

it as a whole, quadrupling the size of

our collection in the process."

The collection took another giant leap forward in 1994, when the local high school's Class of 1944 held a reunion in honor of the 50th

anniversary of D-Day and invited everyone who was graduated within four years of 1944 to attend the festivities and bring pictures related to their or their loved ones' armed service. Organizers used the library to make copies of all the photos and, once the reunion was over, donated the copies -- with all the identifying information -- back to the library.
Under the guidance of administrative assistant Catherine Bryant, who coincidentally began her career at the Moultrie-Colquitt County Library in 1944, these documents formed the beginning of the Odom veterans' history collection. "After that reunion," Jenkins explained, "things snowballed. People from all over the world began sending us photos, family histories and memorabilia.
"We have a piece of shrapnel on display that came from the beach at Normandy. We have uniforms, helmets and an original 3-by-4-foot charcoal drawing by Howard Chandler Christie, who is famous for his World War II-era `Uncle Sam Wants You' posters."
Earlier this year, Odom's board of trustees honored its longeststanding employee by naming the veterans' collection for Bryant.
Although it makes up only about 20 percent of the library's collection, the library is perhaps most famous for its collection of materials concerning Scottish genealogy. In fact, flags of America, Georgia -- and Scotland -- adorn the library's entrance.
According to genealogy clerk Ann Glass, the Odom Library is the archival home for more than 130 Scottish clan organizations. It also

Bryant said she is thrilled that the Odom board of trustees has named the library's veterans' collection in her honor.
contains many astoundingly rare books, including an original edition of Scottish Peerage, The Highland Papers and several Gaelic Bibles. The only set of abstracts of the Lord McDonald Papers in an American Library resides at Odom, along with numerous indexes to Scotland's Old Parish Records (records of baptisms and marriages performed by the Church of Scotland) and 37 indexed volumes of the Doomsday Books, which summarize William the Conqueror's survey of England.
Genealogist Irene Godwin notes that Odom's outstanding resources are not limited to those with a Scottish slant. American highlights include original bound volumes, published in 1885, of The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies; Vital Records of the Towns of Massachusetts, complied by the New England Historic Genealogical Society; colonial and state records for both Georgia and North Carolina; and numerous historical records from many counties in Texas.
"We have some real gems See Genealogy, page 4

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October 2007 Georgia Public Library Service News

Staff

Genealogy
Continued from page 3 here," Jenkins said, noting that Odom has earned an "approved attraction" rating from the American Automobile Association, which features the library in its AAA Tour Guides for Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina.
Located in Vidalia's downtown historic district, the Ladson Genealogical Library is the only public library facility in Georgia that is exclusively dedicated to history and genealogy. With more than 50,000 books, pamphlets and other materials, it is one of the largest such facilities in the United States.
It wasn't always so large, according to Dusty Gres, director of the Ohoopee Regional Library System. For more than 20 years, Ladson occupied a nonhandicapped-accessible, 1,000square-foot space in Vidalia's old City Hall. The portion of the building containing the library included two cells from the old city jail. In November 2004, as part of a downtown renovation effort, the facility was relocated next door into an 8,500-square-foot stand-alone space that was once part of an old Belk's department store.
As an integral part of such a high-profile building project, Ladson became an instant cornerstone for Vidalia's downtown revitalization and provided the library's staff -- Rhonda Pullan and branch manager Clint Moxley -- with great fodder to keep visitors entertained during their breaks from research.
"In the old facility, we still had toilets in the cells that were part of the library," Gres said with a laugh. "It took the telephone man two days to drill through the cell walls

Gres examines some of the Ladson's older and more delicate books.
and install our lines there. Now we're in the old Belk's shoe department, but it has turned out to be a beautiful space for us, and it is handicapped-accessible. No one would suspect our humble beginnings."
The construction, renovation and relocation efforts turned out to be easy in comparison to performing needed maintenance on the collection. "To save money, we used prison labor to transfer the books, often using grocery store handcarts," Gres said. "The physical move was surprisingly smooth, but we have been continually performing triage on our materials.
"Many of our books are hundreds of years old -- some more than 400 years old. With each book, we'd have to ask ourselves, `Can it go on the shelf in this condition?' If the answer was no, we re-bound when we could and used special acid-free, museum-quality boxes for the older books that might not have withstood that process."
Ladson specializes in historical papers and genealogy materials from Georgia, Kentucky, the Carolinas, Tennessee and Virginia, along with several other mid-Atlantic and New England states. "But we have at

Staff

least one book that contains significant genealogical information from every state, including Alaska and Hawaii," Gres said.
The collection originated in the 1940s, when John E. "Jack" Ladson, a Colquitt County tobacco warehouseman, began building a personal genealogical library. After retiring to Vidalia in the 1960s, he continued to build his private collection until it outgrew his home. In 1980, he made the materials available to the public through the establishment of The John E. Ladson Jr. Historical and Genealogical Foundation. Staff of the VidaliaToombs County Library cataloged the collection and operated the library. When Ladson passed away in 1999, the collection became the property of the Ohoopee system.
About half of Ladson's 6,000plus yearly visitors come from within Georgia, Gres said, with smaller percentages "spreading out in concentric circles, like ripples on a pond."
Gres said that one of her favorite sights is a parking lot full of recreational vehicles with out-ofstate license plates. "It's wonderful
The Ladson's new home was once part of a department store.

4
Georgia Public Library Service News October 2007

to hear someone say they wanted to

Popularity, however, can

with all the records and advertising

visit us so much that they drove here sometimes have its drawbacks. "We ephemera related to the historic and

from Texas," she said, noting that

occasionally have folks who want to recently renovated black vaudeville

some come from as far away as

buy things from us," said a smiling

palace, the Douglass Theatre, where

Europe and the United Kingdom, as Willard Rocker, head of the

legendary blues singers Ma Rainey,

well as from many countries in Latin Genealogical and Historical Room.

Bessie Smith and Ida Cox

America. "We want to add more

"You can't blame them; we do have performed. "We have put the

Latin American materials, because so some wonderful things here. An

theater material online through

many of our newer residents have

original 1747 copy of William Stith's Georgia Library HomePLACE,"

roots there."

History of the First Discovery and

Jackson said, "so Internet users can

Settlement of Virginia and a two-

read about it through GALILEO's

The library recently gained a

volume set of hand-colored

Digital Library of Georgia."

dash of star quality when it was

botanical prints from London from

showcased in an episode of the

the 1760s are among our oldest and

Requests for music-related items

Georgia Public Broadcasting

most valuable items."

are increasing in Macon. The Georgia

television show Georgia Traveler.

Music Hall of Fame is using a number

Founded in 1923 by the Mary

of photos from the Middle Georgia

The Genealogical and Historical Hammond Washington Chapter of

Archives in its current attraction,

Room at the Macon-Bibb County

the Daughters of the American

"Otis Redding: I've Got Dreams To

Library can't claim a television show, Revolution, Macon's genealogy and Remember -- The 40th Anniversary

but the library is a stop on the trolley history collection began with 200

Exhibition," set to run through Sept.

tour that transports visitors around

books donated by D.A.R. member

10, 2008. And people from Australia,

and through Macon's burgeoning

Olive Swann Porter. In 1979, it

England and Germany have visited

museum district, putting it on equal moved from an older facility to the

the library to see its collection of

footing with the Georgia Sports Hall Macon-Bibb County Library, where it materials about the Allman Brothers

of Fame, the Tubman African

shares its space and staff with the

Band, one of America's most

American Museum and the Georgia library-operated Middle Georgia

influential music groups.

Music Hall of Fame. Furthering its

Archives, which was established in

museum connection, the facility

1978. The combined collection has

Students of architecture will also

boasts a number of small exhibit

grown to include approximately

find plenty to appreciate, because

spaces that feature rotating displays 33,000 books and 25,000 additional the archives serves as a depository

of photographs and memorabilia

resources on microfilm.

for 9,200 drawings covering more

about local people and events in

than 700 projects designed by

Middle Georgia's history. Numerous

The two collections are so

Ellamae Ellis League, a pioneering

portraits are on permanent display,

intertwined that visitors would be

architect who began her career in

as is an original oil painting from

hard-pressed to tell where one

1924, when fewer than 2 percent of

1851 by M.A. Andrieu that features begins and the other ends. "A

American architects were women.

the oldest known depiction of

skillful researcher can make use of

Macon.

both, and we're here to help those

"We sometimes surprise

who need help navigating all the

ourselves with what we have,"

"It's always a delight when

resources we have to share," said

Jackson said of the Macon facilities.

people make the effort to find us

historian Dr. Christopher Stokes.

and make us part of their vacation

He pointed out that approximately

Although surprises abound at all

plans," said Joan Anderson,

20 authors who used the facility for the Georgia public libraries that offer

director of the Middle Georgia

their research have had books

historical and genealogical resources,

Regional Library System. "We

published in recent years.

it's no surprise that communities are

certainly get our share of RVs in the

waking up to the fact that genealog-

parking lot. It's also nice to be part

According to archivist Muriel

ical tourism is fast becoming an

of the city tour. We're flattered to

Jackson, the Middle Georgia

integral part of many local econo-

have tour guides talk about us and

Archives house virtually every issue

mies -- and an increasingly signifi-

pleased that the Macon-Bibb County of The Bibb Recorder, a newspaper

cant contributor to the $28 billion

Convention and Visitors Bureau

that was published between 1920

that the Travel Industry Association

promotes us to visitors who might

and 1970 by Bibb Manufacturing for of America estimates that visitors

not otherwise know about us."

the workers in its cotton mills, along bring to the state each year. I

5

October 2007 Georgia Public Library Service News

NEWS IN BRIEF



The Lake Blackshear Regional Library, serving Crisp, Dooly, Schley and Sumter counties, will join PINES by the end of 2007, enlarging the statewide consortium to 276 public libraries in 137 counties. Georgia's Public Information Network for Electronic Services -- PINES, for short -- offers Georgia citizens a shared catalog of more than 8 million items, with a single library card that is welcomed in all member libraries.

more than 12

years of

experience in

project and grant

management in

her home state

of Missouri at the

State Library, the

Department of

Very

Public Safety and

the Department

of Economic Development.

will provide

software

development,

testing and

documentation

for the PINES

network and

Evergreen. She

was a software

development

Murphy

student intern

for the PINES program in 2006.

Ashley Moore has been named

assistant director for the Dougherty

County Public

Library, based in

Albany. A

member of the

inaugural class of

PINNACLE, the

Public Library

Institute for New

and Creative

Moore

Leadership Education,

Moore was previously an assistant

branch manager for the Gwinnett

County Public Library.

Diana Very has joined GPLS as director of LSTA, Statistics & Research. She will provide training and consulting services to public libraries across the state and will coordinate grants and funding related to the federal Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA). Very has

Tim Daniels is the new PINES

program manager for GPLS. He will

provide training and consulting

services to public libraries across the

state and will manage the day-to-

day activities of the PINES network.

Daniels has more than 11 years of

library

experience, with

five years of that

in information

technology with

the University

System of

Georgia. He was

most recently

Information Commons

Daniels

Coordinator at Georgia State

University.

Sally Murphy has joined GPLS as quality assurance engineer. She will provide consulting services to public libraries across the state and

Staff

With liberty and sunshine for all
Nearly 3,000 people enjoyed the sun-splashed ninth annual Georgia Literary Festival in Blue Ridge, held Sept. 28-30. More than two dozen authors, storytellers and performers presented programs at the festival, the first held in north Georgia's mountains. The festival celebrated the life and work of the late Georgia poet and novelist Byron Herbert Reece (1917-1958) and featured lectures, book signings, children's activities, films, dramatic presentations and vendors from around the Southeast. The 2008 edition of the festival will be held in Bainbridge the last weekend in October.
6
Georgia Public Library Service News October 2007

Janice Porter is a new library assistant at the Georgia Library for Accessible Services in Atlanta.
GPLS is providing eight scholarships that will allow public library staff members from across the state to attend the National Association of Black Storytellers 25th Annual Conference, to be held in Atlanta Nov. 14 -18. Each scholarship includes registration fee, hotel, meals and travel. Winners include Kaleema Abdurrahman of the Atlanta-Fulton Public Library, Kimberly Cooper of the East Central Georgia Regional Library, Vanessa Cowie of the Forsyth County Public Library, Jana Gentry of the West Georgia Regional Library, Kimberly James Kibbey of the Athens Regional Library, Judy Ridenhour of the Clayton County Library, Kimberly Sheri Smothers of the Houston County Public Library and Karen Turner of the Chattooga County Library.
Kimberly Cooper, library assistant at the East Central Georgia Regional Library in Augusta; Linda Bridges, children's services librarian at Live Oak Public Libraries' Effingham branch; and Christie Paulk, youth services librarian for South Georgia Regional Library in Valdosta, have been elected to serve on the Children's Services Quadrant Council from 2007-2009. I

Grants

Continued from page 1 roof replaced. The funds are so needed and so appreciated!"
Other systems receiving funds for roof repairs include: Athens Regional Library System ($8,250 for the Oglethorpe County Library and $17,600 for roof repair and water damage at the Royston branch); Coastal Plain Regional Library System ($7,562.50 for the Irwin County Library); East Central Georgia Regional Library System ($13,475 for the Appleby branch, $9,900 for the Friedman branch and $15,125 for the Maxwell branch); Ocmulgee Regional Library System ($9,872.50 for the Tessie W. Norris/Cochran-Bleckley County Library); and Sara Hightower Regional Library System ($13,985.40 for the Cedartown Library).
Public library systems receiving funds for heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) repairs include: Athens Regional Library System ($5,871 for the Oglethorpe County Library); Bartow County Library System ($11,508.75 for the Cartersville/Bartow County Library); Coastal Plain Regional Library System ($4,438.50 for the Irwin County Library); Forsyth County Public Library System ($8,550 and $5,087.50 for two projects at its Cumming headquarters library); Hall County Library System ($27,775 each for the East Hall and Murrayville branches); Newton County Library System ($46,309.50 and $5,252.50 for two projects at its Covington headquarters facility); Ocmulgee Regional Library System ($12,574.10 for the Wilcox County Library); Ohoopee Regional Library System ($2,818.75 for the Montgomery County Library); Okefenokee Regional Library System ($22,400 for the Alma-Bacon County Public Library); Uncle Remus Regional Library System ($11,435.93

for the Greene County Library and another $11,476.85 for the Jasper County Library); and West Georgia Regional Library System ($4,611.01 for the Heard County Public Library, $20,697.60 for the Neva Lomason Memorial Library and $6,490 for the Tallapoosa Public Library).

"Our grant was the only solution

that allowed us to purchase a

replacement for a dead chiller in our

HVAC system," said Greg Heid,

director of the Newton County

Library System. "Until we received

notification of the grant award, the

library board, staff members and the

library patrons had resigned

themselves to several more summer

seasons of warm and uncomfortable

temperatures in

the library until

enough funds

could be found

to cover the

replacement

cost. We

currently are only

able to bring

temperatures

Heid

down to 80 or

81 degrees during the hottest days

of summer. Thanks to this grant,

however, our staff and users will

once again enjoy interior tempera-

tures in the low 70s next summer."

Among the remaining grants, Hall County Library System will receive $50,852.45 for elevator repairs at the Gainesville Public Library; Mountain Regional Library System will receive $18,700 to repair and replace doors and windows to prevent moisture intrusion at its headquarters library in Young Harris; Roddenbery Memorial Library in Cairo will receive $16,767.50 to repair and replace doors and windows to prevent moisture intrusion; Southwest Georgia Regional Library System will receive

$35,031 for HVAC, roof and security system repairs at the Decatur County-Gilbert H. Gragg Library; and Thomas County Public Library System will receive $8,825 for structural upgrades to the Pavo Public Library's subfloor and $6,123.14 for HVAC and roof repairs at the Coolidge Public Library.

"This is

needed money

for us," said Hall

County Library

Director Adrian

Mixson. "We've

had times this

past year where

both elevators

were out, and

Mixson

the problem is so

bad that most of my staff will not

ride the front elevator." The back

elevator, which needs new controls,

has also required service

intermittently for the past five years.

"These grants provide matching funds for essential repair and renovation of public libraries throughout the state," explained Deputy State Librarian David Singleton. "The grants leverage both local and state funds to improve facilities in numerous communities. All funds will be provided on a reimbursement basis and will be based on actual remediation and repair costs."

The MRR program is a legislative initiative that provides $900,000 in state appropriations to match local funds earmarked for major renovations and repairs for public libraries. MRR grants will pay up to 50 percent of approved costs associated with roof and structural repairs of existing public libraries. The remaining $326,874.02 will be allocated in a second round of grants at a later date. I

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October 2007 Georgia Public Library Service News

PRSRT STD US POSTAGE
PAID ATLANTA, GA PERMIT NO. 213

CONTACT US
Georgia Public Library Service 1800 Century Place, Suite 150 Atlanta, GA 30345-4304 404.235.7200 404.235.7201 fax www.georgialibraries.org
Lamar Veatch, state librarian
David Baker, editor
Georgia Public Library Service News (ISSN 1546-511X) is published bimonthly by the Georgia Public Library Service, the state agency that supports public libraries and works with them to improve the quality and variety of library services available to Georgia citizens of all ages. This publication is made possible by a grant from the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services to the Georgia Public Library Service under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act. Information presented in this newsletter will be provided in alternative formats on request. For more information about Georgia's libraries and literary events, or to post an event, visit our online calendar at www.georgialibraries.org

FOGL fall workshop set for Nov. 16
Friends of Georgia Libraries (FOGL) has announced its
annual fall workshop will take place Friday, Nov. 16 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Decatur Library Auditorium. "Grassroots Advocacy: Shaking the Money Tree" will feature Stephanie D. Vance, the nationally known "advocacy guru"
and author of Government by the People: How to Communicate with Congress.

Attendees will learn how to influence local government agencies to adequately fund Georgia's public libraries. According to Vance, the workshop will be highly interactive with plenty of opportunity to discuss
issues and ask questions.

Stephanie Vance

The workshop includes a speaker's reception on Nov. 15
at 6 p.m. For registration info, visit www.georgiafriends.org. I

1800 Century Place, Suite 150 Atlanta, GA 30345-4304
A Unit of the University System of Georgia