Dog River Library Plans Grand Opening

The , the Douglas County Board of Public Libraries, and the West Georgia Regional Library Board have scheduled the long-awaited opening of the new Douglas County Library for Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 5 and 6. The Dog River Library is the first new library in the County in 25 years.

The library grand opening weekend will begin with the 10 a.m. Saturday opening program and ribbon-cutting after which the public may tour the new facility. The grand opening weekend features multiple events for the whole family. All events are free admission and open to the public.

Saturday, Nov. 5

• 10 a.m. Opening Program and Ribbon-Cutting
• 11 a.m. Live Auction with proceeds benefiting the Friends of the Dog River Library
• 11 a.m. Silent Auction opens in the Library Community Room benefiting the Friends of the Dog River Library - silent auction continues through 3 p.m. Sunday
• 12 noon Story Time in the Children's Library Reading Hearth with Dog River Children's Librarian Duffy Yarbrough
• 1 p.m. Book signing by author Shirley Garrett
• 2 p.m. Chorus performance
• 2:30 p.m. Story Time in the Children's Library Reading Hearth with author Beverly Bruemmer
• 3 p.m. Book signing by author Beverly Bruemmer
• 4 p.m. Chorus performance
• 5 p.m. Story Time in the Children's Library Reading Hearth with Stephanie Taylor of Barefoot Books
• 5:30 p.m. Stephanie Taylor of Barefoot Books at the Reference Desk

 Sunday, Nov. 6

• 1 p.m. Book signing by author T. L. Gray
• 2 p.m. Story Time in the Children's Library Reading Hearth with Dog River Children's Librarian Duffy Yarbrough
• 3 p.m. Book signing by author Frank Allan Roger
• 3 p.m. Silent Auction ends

The 15,800-square foot library, "the library in the woods," is located at 6100  Highway 5 about one mile south of the Dog River, on 900 acres of forest land owned by the County. The construction was carved out of the wooded area and the construction protected surrounding trees. The library design blends the structure to the color of the surrounding woods, and the natural setting is reflected inside the building as well as in the constructed landscaping.

The library features a children's library with a reading hearth from which kids will enjoy story times from the Children's Librarian and special guests. There is a teen and young adult area with seating and high-top tables with laptop connections. The screened-in reading porch is just off the adult fiction and non-fiction areas, and features four teak rocking chairs. There are computers throughout the library connected to the Internet. In a separate computer classroom, classes will be taught, including beginner classes. There is a full-time Reference Desk. The community room will be available for meetings and seminars.

Eventually, there will be more than 50,000 books, DVDs, books on CDs and other materials. Hundreds of Douglas County residents donated more than 15,000 new and used books to the Dog River Library, and approximately 5,000 of these will make it into the library collection. The opening day collection will not be large since it takes time to process the donated and purchased books; the library will be continuously adding to the collection as books and audio-visual items are processed and will quickly fill up.

The library, furnishings, circulation materials, and entrance roadway cost $4.12 million, of which $2 million was appropriated by the Georgia General Assembly, and $2.12 million from the Douglas County Board of Commissioners. The project was bid and managed by the West Georgia Regional Library System, of which Douglas County has been a member since 1950. The library was designed by Ponder and Ponder Architects of Norcross, who were chosen by the Douglas County Board of Public Libraries after a professional qualification process. The contractor was Benning Construction Company of Smyrna who was the low bidder on the construction. The project came in at budget and ahead of schedule.

Jim Cooper, Director of the West Georgia Regional Library System will "turn over the front door key" to Douglas County Commission Chairman Tom Worthan during Saturday's Opening Program, and Douglas County will operate and maintain the library through its general fund. Lindy Moore will serve the dual role of Douglas County Librarian, overseeing all three Douglas County library branches and Dog River Branch Librarian.

The Saturday 11 a.m. live auction will be officiated by Sean Bergstrom of Studio 22 Antiques, who has also donated a rare first edition Helen Keller autobiography. Live auction items include an original tapestry (artist Carol Collins); two tickets to the Atlanta Falcons vs. Tennessee Titans game (Nov. 20); one-hour family photo session with DVD of images and 20 photos (Christine Habib Photography); two tickets for golf at ; Hewlett-Packard Notebook PC (includes bag, optical mouse, carrying case and 320GB hard drive, ); two giclée prints on canvas (artist Mary Rogers); Lady Gaga-autographed CD, Bluetooth and tote; four tickets to the Georgia Aquarium; original wood turning maple bowl (artist Steve Pritchard); personal will (attorney Shawn Horan); and an ad in Chapel Hill News and Views ($370 value, publisher Tim Collins). Bidders may pay by cash or check.

The silent auction on Saturday and Sunday afternoons will include items donated by local community-minded businesses and individuals, including gift baskets, dinner gift certificates, more Lady Gaga-autographed CDs and materials, gym memberships, original arts and crafts, books, “Bert the Hippo” from NCIS, and more.

Author Dr. Shirley Garrett is from Villa Rica, and is an inspirational/motivational speaker and author of "A Tap Water Girl in a Bottled Water World." She is the former Director of Tanner Medical System's Women's Center, and is the co-founder of Forever Families, Inc., a company dedicated to helping families create a healthy and supportive environment for children and adults.

Author Beverly Breumann grew up on a farm in Buchanan and taught school for 33 years, after which she began writing children's books. "To Market, To Market, in a Big Red Truck" and "The Moose Who Lost Christmas" are two of her popular titles.

Barefoot Books began with two mothers who wanted their children to have books that would feed the imagination while instilling a respect for diversity and a love of the planet.  Today, it is a world-wide community of writers, artists, storytellers, musicians and others who are committed to providing timeless stories and captivating art that can help children become happy, engaged members of a global society.

Author T. L. Gray says that her favorite kind of book is one where romance and mystery are entwined.  She writes single-title contemporary romance and romantic suspense for Cerridwen Press.

Author Frank Allan Rogers of Villa Rica is the author of western stories, including "Upon a Crazy Horse".  Mr. Rogers wants to create stories that matter, stories that sparkle with true-to-life characters whose dramatic lives leave a lasting impression on readers.  His wife, Mary, is an award-winning artist, and she has donated art for the live auction.

Each author will have copies of their books for sale during their appearance time.

The Dog River Library will begin regular operating hours on Monday, Nov. 7.  Regular hours will be Monday through Thursday, 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Friday, 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; and closed Sundays.