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Located in Covington, Georgia, USA, minutes east of Atlanta, we are a single county, public library serving over 100,000 residents of Newton County in a small town atmosphere. The area is most noted for the many carefully restored manor homes, churches, ante-bellum estates and landmarks used in Hollywood productions along with a strong industrial base and community leaders that continue to develop significant growth of our communities and businesses.

Short History

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According to the History of Newton County, the free public library opened its doors for the first time in November of 1944. In September of that year, at a meeting in the home of Mrs. Katherine Paty, plans were made for a public library. Space was provided in the basement of the Newton County Courthouse.

In 1953 the library became part of the DeKalb Regional Library System, a three-county regional library system including Newton, DeKalb and Rockdale counties. The growing library moved from the courthouse basement into the Covington Gymnasium on Conyers Street.

In 1978 funding from James H. Porter Foundation made possible the renovation of the old post office on Monticello Street and the Porter Memorial Library came into being.

In 1989 The DeKalb Regional Library System was disbanded and each of the three counties became individual library systems, DeKalb County Library System, Conyers-Rockdale Public Library and Newton County Library System.

A Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) passed by the voters of Newton County in 1995 along with a grant from the State of Georgia funded a new 32,000 square-foot building that opened in 1998 called the Newton County Library.

In 2000 the library joined the state-wide consortium PINES, Georgia Public Information Network for Electronic Services. PINES is a network of public libraries working toward the concept of a state-wide library card by sharing a database and library materials. Benefits for the public include access to books in libraries across the state, the ability to travel around the state using local libraries, borrowing and returning materials at PINES libraries with a PINES library card, and online access to the catalog and your own account in PINES.

Mission

The Newton County Library provides materials and services to help community residents from children to adults to meet their informational, educational, recreational and cultural needs. Materials are purchased in a variety of formats to stimulate appreciation of reading and learning.

Staff

	Greg Heid, Director
	Leslie St. John, Assistant Director
	Carolee McKay, Chief Financial Officer
	Bob Halcums, Information Services Manager
	Carol Durusau, Children's Services Manager
	Annette Simmons, Circulation Services Manager
	Barbara J. Williams, Cataloging & Processing Manager
	John Carocci, Information Technology Manager

All staff may be reached at 770-787-3231

Public Documents

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This section will grow to include public policy and other pertinent and useful documents.

Financial Audit for June, 2005

Financial Audit for June, 2006

Financial Audit for June, 2007

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