The Northwest Georgia Regional Library System (NGRL) serves the citizens of Gordon, Murray, and Whitfield counties located in the north Georgia mountains. This area of Georgia has a rich history that includes the Cherokees, Trail of Tears, Civil War battles, and the origin of a cottage textile industry which developed into carpet manufacturing. Today the carpet industry remains the region’s major industry. We are proud participants in the Georgia PINES library system, granting our community access to the book collections of nearly 300 libraries.
Location
310 Cappes Street
Dalton, GA 30270
706-876-1360
Regional History
The Northwest Georgia Regional Library System began in 1945 when Catoosa county’s Ringgold Library and Whitfield county’s Dalton library joined services in order to apply for additional state aid. Gordon County’s Calhoun library joined in 1957 and Murray County’s Chatsworth Library joined in 1958. By sharing regional services, the libraries were able to expand their bookmobile service and their collections. In 2008, Ringgold left the region to join PINES, and in 2010, the three-library region also joined PINES.
Dalton-Whitfield County Public Library
The Dalton Library was opened to the public in 1924 with a collection of 400 books, supplied by the Senior Dalton Woman’s club. The library was moved to Robert Loveman’s home, ‘The Robin’s Nest’, and remained there for several years. In 1948, the library moved into the W.C. Martin House and stayed there until the current library building was built in 1982. More recently, there have been several renovations and some re-purposing of space to keep the building up-to-date in a way that fits the library’s needs.
Calhoun-Gordon County Public Library
The Calhoun Library was established in 1911 by the Calhoun Woman’s Club and was housed in a log cabin. In 1967, the library moved to a part of the Calhoun First National bank while a new building was constructed at its current location. When they began to outgrow that space in 1988, they moved temporarily to Stephens High School as a meeting room and children’s area were added. They still use the building from the 1960s, but additional renovations have added a computer space, a teen area, and will soon include a refreshed history space.
Chatsworth-Murray County Public Library
The Chatsworth library was created by the Chatsworth Woman’s Club in 1921. They received a new building at the Old Dalton Ellijay location in 1979. In 2009, they added a children’s wing and the Anderson & Anderson History Room.
Regional Staff
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- Director:
- Assistant Director & Technology Services Librarian: Betsy Powell
- Business Manager: Jeff Carrier
- Branch Services: Barry Courter & Arthur Gray
- IT Assistant: Jesus Rivera
- Courier: Desmond Dornan
Regional Responsibilities
The region handles finances, human resources, policy, collaboration, technology, and many other services on behalf of each of the branches. This saves money by preventing duplication of services, and provides a more consistent experience for all of our visitors throughout the community.