Holly Mill

9-4-19

THE NORTH COBB REGIONAL LIBRARY
opened for business, Tuesday Sept 3rd 2019.
This brand new state of the art library replaces both the cramped and outdated Kennesaw and Acworth libraries which were built in the mid 1960's. Both locations closed for business on Saturday, July 13th in anticipation of the new Regional Library opening.

The new library is located at 3535 Old Highway 41 in south Acworth at Blue Springs Road and is just across from the North Cobb High School.

The $8.6 million library was funded by voter-approved 2016 Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax funds. Amenities will include creative space, a community room, study rooms, dedicated children/teen areas, an outdoor plaza for children, state-of-art technology and a drive-up book return.

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  Holly Mill   North Cobb library design, build contract OK’d
  Jon Gargis Nov 17, 2017 AJC
  
  MARIETTA — Acworth and Kennesaw residents could potentially see a new county library erected by 2019 as commissioners Tuesday took a step toward construction of the North Cobb Regional Library.
  
  The five-member Cobb Board of Commissioners unanimously approved a $1.33 million design/build contract with Cumberland-based Batson-Cook Company for design, project fees and general conditions costs of a 25,000-square-foot library to be built at the corner Old 41 Highway NW & Blue Springs Road, directly across from North Cobb High School.
  
  Cobb voters in 2014 approved the 2016 Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax, which earmarked $8.64 million for the new library. Upon opening, the new library is slated to lead to the consolidation of the Acworth and Kennesaw libraries, both of which were built in 1967 as 2,916-square-foot brick and cinder block buildings.
  
  The Kennesaw Library, 2250 Lewis St. near North Main Street, now encompasses more than 5,000 square feet after a 1989 expansion, according to county spokesperson Ross Cavitt.
  
  Among the new facility’s planned features include dedicated adult, teen and children’s areas as well as quiet study rooms, a computer commons, collaborative space and a community room.
  
  Batson-Cook’s work on the North Cobb Regional Library will entail finding the subcontractors that will construct the different components of the building and presenting to commissioners the guaranteed maximum price of the facility, which will need approval by commissioners.
  
  “One of the reasons we want to move forward on this is because it takes several months to get all those prices together, get the subcontractors together, and get the (final) price, so once we get those numbers, we can approve it and construction can begin,” Commissioner Bob Weatherford said after Tuesday’s vote. The future library is within his district.
  
  Weatherford added that he hopes the county can approve the maximum price in time to begin building the facility around the first of 2018, with construction expected to take about a year.
  
  Though the land on which the library will be built has a Kennesaw address, it sits within the city of Acworth. But Acworth Mayor Tommy Allegood said he believes both cities will benefit from the facility.
  
  “What that means for the city of Acworth is we get this big, new regional library with state-of-the-art facilities, state-of-the-art communications and delivery system for library services, so we’re excited,” Allegood said, adding that for his city, it would replace an aged building that sits downtown on Dallas Street.
  
  Though the new facility would lead to the closure of his city’s and Kennesaw’s library branches, the new regional library is nearly equidistant from both cities.
  
  “For the additional time it would take to get to the library, the pickup is going to be extraordinary services — internet, digital technologies, other services,” he said.
  
  Weatherford said he believes the future facility will be popular with residents of both communities.
  
  “I think once it’s built, we’ll see excellent attendance,” he said. “One of the reasons is it’s right across from North Cobb High School, it’s right next to the new North Cobb Senior Center, it’s just down from the public health center we’ve got, and so it’s very centrally located.”
  
  Follow Jon Gargis on Twitter at twitter.com/JonGargis.