The Mountain Regional Library System (MRLS) is a

public library A public library is a library that is accessible by the general public and is usually funded from public sources, such as taxes. It is operated by librarians and library paraprofessionals, who are also Civil service, civil servants. There are ...

system consisting of four branches in Fannin County, Towns County, and Union County, Georgia, United States. MRLS is a member of

PINES A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. The World Flora Online created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanical Garden accep ...

, a program of the

Georgia Public Library Service The Georgia Public Library Service (GPLS) is the state agency for libraries in the U.S. State of Georgia and a unit of the University System of Georgia. The service was initially founded in 1996 after the inception of the Library Services and Tec ...

that covers 53 library systems in 143 counties of Georgia. Any resident in a PINES supported library system has access to over 10.6 million books in the system's circulation. The library is also serviced by

GALILEO Galileo di Vincenzo Bonaiuti de' Galilei (15 February 1564 – 8 January 1642) was an Italian astronomer, physicist and engineer, sometimes described as a polymath. Commonly referred to as Galileo, his name was pronounced (, ). He was ...

, 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 A periodical literature (also called a periodical publication or simply a periodical) is a published work that appears in a new edition on a regular schedule. The most familiar example is a newspaper, but a magazine or a Academic journal, journal ...

and

scholarly journals An academic journal or scholarly journal is a periodical publication in which scholarship relating to a particular academic discipline is published. Academic journals serve as permanent and transparent forums for the presentation, scrutiny, and d ...

. It also boasts over 10,000 journal titles in

full text In text retrieval, full-text search refers to techniques for searching a single computer-stored document or a collection in a full-text database. Full-text search is distinguished from searches based on metadata or on parts of the original texts ...

History

The Mountain Regional Library System originated as a small public library to service the counties of Towns and Union, Georgia. This library, aptly named the Towns-Union Regional Library, was founded in 1946 by both the counties, as well as

Young Harris College Young Harris College is a private Methodist-affiliated liberal arts college in Young Harris, Georgia, United States. History Origins The school was founded in 1886 by Artemas Lester, a circuit-riding Methodist minister who wanted to pr ...

, which agreed to sponsor and provide space for the library in its infancy. The library thus was originally set up in the Rich Building on Young Harris College's campus. By 1957, Fannin County was added to the regional library changing its name to the lengthy Fannin-Towns-Union Regional Library. In the following year, 1958, this name was shortened to the current Mountain Regional Library System. The Fannin branch built their new facility in the library system in 1973 in Blue Ridge. In 2010 the Union County Public Library in Blairsville renovated its building, adding a genealogy room, community room, and used book store. It is currently the most visited library in the system. By 2014 the Towns County Public Library in

Hiawassee Hiawassee is the county seat of Towns County, Georgia, United States. The community's population was 880 at the 2010 census. Its name is derived from the Cherokee—or perhaps Creek—word ''Ayuhwasi'', which means meadow, (A variant spelling, ...

also underwent renovations, costing $1 million, to completely refurbish the building and update it to modern standards.

Library systems in neighboring counties

* Northwest Georgia Regional Library System to the west *

Sequoyah Regional Library System The Sequoyah Regional Library System (SRLS) is a library system serving three counties in North Georgia: Cherokee, Pickens, and Gilmer. Funding is provided by the cities and counties in Cherokee and Pickens, and by the board of education in Gilme ...

to the south west *

Chestatee Regional Library System The Chestatee Regional Library System (CRLS) is a system of four public libraries serving the counties of Dawson County, and Lumpkin County, Georgia, United States. The name Chestatee is from the Cherokee word meaning "place of the lights." This ...

to the south *

Northeast Georgia Regional Library System The Northeast Georgia Regional Library System (NEGRLS) is a collection of seven public libraries in the counties of Habersham, White, Rabun, and Stephens, Georgia, United States. NEGRLS is a member of PINES, a program of the Georgia Public Libra ...

to the east

References

External links

PINES catalog
{{authority control County library systems in Georgia (U.S. state) Public libraries in Georgia (U.S. state)