The Charles D. Switzer Library, the flagship in Cobb County’s public library system, is fresh off a $9.6-million makeover that began in mid-2019. It’s been just over three weeks since the library reopened after being closed for two years. More than 7,700 people have visited the revamped center, according to library officials.
Switzer is by far the largest of the county’s 16 library facilities. The 64,000 square-foot building in downtown Marietta also boasts the biggest overall collection in the county’s system.
Alexandra Beswick, the central region manager for Cobb’s public libraries, said the number of visitors continues to increase each day.
“People often think of a library just as books,” she told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Thursday. “(That) we just sit here and read, but we don’t. We serve the public. ... We’re really happy to be back here serving our public.”
Switzer was scheduled to reopen late last year, but the pandemic caused delays. Social distancing forced construction crews to downsize and supplies were slower to be delivered.
Joy Modisett has been taking her 15-year-old son to Switzer since he was 4. She now brings her two young daughters to story time each week.
“It looks much bigger, cleaner and brighter,” she said of the revamped library. “This is like his library. He has grown up here and now I have two more children, but we’re still coming here. So we’re really happy that it’s reopened. It was closed for a long time. We were sad about that.”
The library reopened June 1 with an overhaul that includes upgrades to the children’s area. A makerspace was added for teens to do crafts and the adult makerspace room was renovated. A family computer room was added on the main floor as was an accessibility room tailored for visitors with disabilities and cognitive disorders. An outdoor garden plaza was also added and the renovations incorporate large windows to provide more natural light.
The project was funded by $6 million in special purpose local option sales taxes and a $2 million state grant.
Construction crews discovered extensive damage to the library’s roof during the renovations and Cobb County commissioners allocated $1.6 million late last year to replace the roof.
The library’s floor plan was also reconfigured. The Georgia Room, a special collection of genealogical and historical documents, was relocated to a larger area where a conference room and front lobby were added.
Tom Chrisman, a genealogical researcher, was a regular visitor to the Georgia Room before the library closed. He said it was one of his favorite resources for research in the region. While Chrisman gave the improvements a thumbs up, he admitted he was still adjusting. He wondered about the price tag.
“I think it’s laid out nice,” Chrisman said. “I didn’t have any problem navigating through the old facility. I’m one of these people that always wonders why spend a lot of money to fix something if it really doesn’t need to be fixed. ... I don’t know what they spent to do this, but it came out nice. I like it.”
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