The Southwest Georgia Regional Library (SWGRL) 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 serving the counties of
Decatur,
Miller, and
Seminole,
Georgia. The central library is the Gilbert H. Gragg Library located in
Bainbridge, Georgia.
SWGRL 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 the system's collection of 10.6 million books. 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 and scholarly journals. It also boasts over 10,000 journal titles in full text.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Branches
Library systems in neighboring counties
*
De Soto Trail Regional Library System to the north.
*
Roddenbery Memorial Library 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)
Bainbridge, Georgia