After years of renovation and construction, CarrolltonÂ’s Neva Lomason Memorial Library is reopening its doors to the public today.
A ribbon cutting ceremony last week, attended by sponsors, boosters, West Georgia Regional Library System employees, Carrollton City Council and the Carroll County Board of Commissioners, celebrated the completion of a major overhaul of the library at the intersection of Rome and Spring Streets.
“We are very excited to be able to welcome the community back to the gorgeous new Neva,” said Jeremy Snell, director of the West Georgia Regional Library System. “The author Jorge Luis Borges said, ‘I have always imagined that Paradise will be a kind of a library,’ and I feel that Neva Lomason definitely exemplifies that ideal for the Carrollton and Carroll County communities.”
The systemÂ’s flagship library, the Neva Lomason, was built in 1967 and renovated in 1976 and 1993. The current project consisted of two major phases: the construction of a 6,800-square-foot regional administration building and the renovation of the existing library facility. WGRLS administrative offices previously occupied 10,000 square feet of the library structure. Adding the administration building allowed the library to fully occupy the 28,000-square-foot foundation. Highlights of the renovated space include study rooms, three meeting spaces, an expanded computer lab, a redesigned childrenÂ’s area and dedicated teen space, improved space for special collections and shorter, ADA-compliant shelving.
The Neva Lomason Construction Committee, comprised of Chairman Clint Chance, Michelle Morgan, Tim Grizzard, Walt Hollingsworth, Betty Cason, Shirley Vassy, Cyle Bohannon, Rory Wojcik, Jeremy Snell, Jessica Everingham and Roni Tewksbury, managed the project. The contractor was RA-LIN & Associates and the architect was Rickman Architecture & Design.
The project was funded by a combination of state, local and privately-donated funds. The state contributed $2,615,496, the City of Carrollton contributed $1,155,000 and Carroll County Board of Commissioners gave $500,000. $1,087,052.81 came from private donations.
The WGRLS is governed by a board of trustees appointed by funding agencies across Carroll, Douglas, Haralson, Heard and Paulding counties. The Neva Lomason is the second busiest of the 19 libraries in WGRLS, welcoming around 87,700 visits in a year. The Neva Lomason Memorial Library will reopen Monday, September 21.
