The Newnan Carnegie Library Foundation

Written by NEIL MONROE

SUSAN CRUTCHFIELD

With a 122-year heritage of service to Newnan and Coweta County, the Newnan Carnegie Library has a unique place in the fabric of our community. Even with that long history, the future of the facility has never been more vibrant.

Strengthened by the ongoing support of the Newnan Carnegie Library Foundation, the library continues to meet the demands of a highly connected, internet-driven society through a diverse combination of programs, seminars, and activities for young and old alike.

For example, there are book clubs, financial planning workshops, yoga, exercise classes, even programs for meditation and crocheting. There’s a lunch and learn program, hosted by Foundation member Lawrence Reed, that offers presentations from noted authors. And the highly popular Southern Litfest returned last fall.

In the summer, programs for kids include magicians, puppeteers, literacy, cooking, and even a petting zoo. Both the foundation and the Newnan Kiwanis club help sponsor these summer programs, which typically enroll more than 1,500 participants.

According to both Foundation President Michael Scott and Library Director Susan Crutchfield, the library has become a community center with a strong civic presence. This approach has been essential in a world where access to instantaneous data and information has usurped a key historical purpose for all libraries.

“The role of the library is changing rapidly. This variety of programs is essential to success, and it’s important to continue to reach out in the community to people who can realize real value from the library, such as families who home school,” Scott says. “My vision for the foundation is to support the library as a place where ideas are paramount, where we learn together, discuss ideas together, where we bring the community together to understand the challenges of today.”

The Newnan Carnegie Library Foundation provides approximately $100,000 annually to the library in support of summer youth programs operated by the library and programs conduction by the foundation, a 501(c) (3) organization.

As library director, Crutchfield is charged with guiding the facility through the challenges of today’s connected world. She’s proud of the programs the library brings to the community but says the traditional role of a library – books and information – remains an important part of their work.

“The internet hasn’t pivoted the library as you might think,” she said. “For example, we ventured into loaning e-books, thinking there would be interest in those. We tried it for a year. We loaned two. So we discontinued those, but we continue to loan lots of physical books. And we have a presence on YouTube and our website, and if meaningful opportunities arise online, we will take advantage of them. We are an information hub. We also have online access for our users, either with our computers or through WiFi.”

One unique quality of the library’s book program: there is no return date when someone checks out a book. Crutchfield says most patrons are honest and there is little issue with books being returned.

So, how is the building itself, now 122 years old, holding up? Very well, Crutchfield says.

In 1987, the library was closed when a new facility was built on Hospital Road, and the building became an extra courtroom for the county courthouse. When a new courthouse was built, the library became vacant, generating a near-immediate civic push to restore and reopen the library. That officially happened in 2009.

“There’s not much of the original structure left,” Crutchfield says. “Two fireplaces, a stairway and some support beams are here. But it’s a wonderful building, and we’re working hard to create an increasingly valuable community resource here.” NCM