Thomas County Public Library System

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Thomas County Public Library System
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The Thomas County Public Library
Location Thomas County, Georgia
Established1988
Branches6
Collection
Size138,179 (2016) [1]
Access and use
Circulation178,327 (2016) [1]
Population served45,842 (2016) [1]
Members20,474 (2016) [1]
Other information
DirectorDerek Kolb
Website tcpls.org

The Thomas County Public Library System (TCPLS) is a public library system serving Thomas County, Georgia. The headquarters of the system is the Thomas County Public Library located in Thomasville, Georgia. There is one Carnegie library in the system located in Boston, Georgia

Contents

TCPLS 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 the system's collection of 10.6 million books. [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

The Thomas County Public Library System was founded in 1988 after a decision to separate from the Moultrie-Colquitt Regional Library System. On its own Thomas County had three libraries and one bookmobile, but all were of small size and lacked the space needed for a county library system to grow. In order to increase the size of the library system to better serve the population a referendum was passed in 1992 to construct new libraries in Coolidge, Meigs, and Thomasville. The Boston Carnegie Library would additionally receive funding for a remodel and expansion, the Ochlocknee library would be remodeled, and the Pavo library would be replaced. [5]

The new building in Thomasville was set to become the headquarters for the system. Construction of the 23,000 square foot building began in 1992 and was dedicated to the town of Thomasville in April 1993. The smaller 2,000 square foot branch libraries in Meigs and Coolidge opened at the end of that year. Due to the success of six newly constructed or renovated libraries, the library placed second in the nation for new library cards per capita in an American Library Association contest in 1994. [5]

Boston Carnegie Library

The Boston Carnegie Library building as of 2014. Boston Carnegie Public Library.JPG
The Boston Carnegie Library building as of 2014.

On September 9, 1912, the mayor of Boston, Georgia, sent a request to Andrew Carnegie for library funding for his "growing and enterprising little city." [6] The Carnegie Foundation accepted the petition and granted the town a loan of $6,000 on the condition the town of Boston pay an annual upkeep and maintenance fee of $600 on the building. [7]

The building was designed largely by Charles Edward Choate and E.D. Ivey. Choate had previously designed Carnegie libraries in Eatonton and Fitzgerald, and Ivey was a native architect of Boston. The building has been in use as a library since its completion on December 3, 1912. During the 1992 referendum this building received an interior remodel and addition to the rear of the building. [6]

Branches

NameAddress
Boston Carnegie Library250 South Main Street, Boston, GA 31626
Coolidge Public Library1029 East Verbena Avenue, Coolidge, GA 31738
Gladys M. Clark Public Library1060 North East Railroad Street, Ochlocknee, GA 31738
Meigs Public Library3058 North East Railroad Street, Meigs, GA 31765
Pavo Public Library3031 East Harris Street, Pavo, GA 31778
Thomas County Public Library201 North Madison Street, Thomasville, GA 31792

Library systems in neighboring counties

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thomas County, Georgia</span> County in Georgia, United States

Thomas County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 census the population was 45,798. The county seat is Thomasville. Thomas County comprises the Thomasville, GA micropolitan statistical area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pavo, Georgia</span> City in Georgia, United States

Pavo is a city that is divided by the county line between Brooks and Thomas counties in the U.S. state of Georgia. It is part of the Valdosta, Georgia Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 622 in 2020.

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State Route 33 (SR 33) is an 81-mile-long (130 km) state highway that travels south-to-north through portions of Thomas, Brooks, Colquitt, Worth, and Crisp counties in the south-central part of the U.S. state of Georgia. The highway travels from its southern terminus, an intersection with US 84/SR 38 in Boston, to its northern terminus, an intersection with US 41/SR 7 north of Wenona. It also travels through Moultrie and Sylvester.

The Thomas County School District is a public school district in Thomas County, Georgia, United States, based in Thomasville. It serves the communities of Barwick, Boston, Coolidge, Meigs, Ochlocknee, Pavo, and Thomasville.

Southern Regional Technical College is a public community college with its main campus in Thomasville, Georgia. It is part of the Technical College System of Georgia and provides education services for a seven-county service area in southwest Georgia. The school was formed by consolidation of Southwest Georgia Technical College in Thomasville and Moultrie Technical College in Moultrie.

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Current Look at Georgia Libraries 2016" (PDF). Retrieved 12 June 2017.
  2. "PINES - About" . Retrieved 12 June 2017.
  3. "PINES Facts" (PDF). Retrieved 12 June 2017.
  4. "GALILEO - About" . Retrieved 12 June 2017.
  5. 1 2 Library Histories (PDF). 1997. p. 17. Retrieved 12 June 2017.
  6. 1 2 Walker, Jr, Robert Burke (1994). Georgia's Carnegie Libraries: A study of their History, Their Existing Conditions, and Conservation (PDF). Athens, Georgia. pp. 39–41. Retrieved 12 June 2017.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  7. Jones, Theodore (1997). Carnegie Libraries Across America. New York: John Wiley & Sons. ISBN   0-471-14422-3.