Villa Rica Public Library in the Spotlight

The grand opening of Villa Rica's new $3 million public library took place on Saturday, February 11, 2017.  Approximately 2,000 community members poured into the new facility that day, checking out all the modern features of the library.  The 16,370-square-foot facility at 869 Dallas Highway is more than triple the size of the old Villa Rica Public Library, which closed its doors on February 1.

The new facility has been designed for a growing community, with plenty of bright space for reading and viewing, digital access, public meetings, a coffee bar, and a drive-through window.  The new library has a large children's area, set apart from the rest of the library with sound-proof glass walls that includes a craft corner and an outdoor reading garden.  There is a meeting room large enough for 75 people with a full-size kitchen and a large conference room equipped for digital presentation and consultation.

Tanner Medical Center Villa Rica has its own meeting space in the library, which it uses to host health-related classes.

Other features of the new library include a large teen area with a glassed-in group conference room, multiple study rooms with total digital access, and brightly lit tiered spaces for casual reading under a window wall that spans the library.

Built into a slope, the library’s three open tiers house periodicals, audio visual materials, and teen services. Looking down on a ramp that runs the center of the building, the majority of shelving for the library’s book collection is located on an upper tier surrounded by comfortable seating and study areas, and is the only part of the old building that has been incorporated into the new facility. The old shelves were powder-coated and refurbished for the new space.  The modular iron shelving on all three tiers of the other side of the building is designed for more casual browsing.

Benning Construction Co., an Atlanta developer, built the library. Funding for the facility came partially from the state, as well as revenue from the city's share of the special local option sales tax and also from Carroll County.  

Learn more about  Villa Rica Public Library at http://www.wgrl.net/locations/villa-rica/