The Dougherty County Library will hold a preview of the expansion of the Northwest Branch for Local and State Leaders on Thursday, November 14, 2019, beginning at 11 a.m. The Library will open to the public at noon and library patrons will be able to move about the expanded area for the first time. The Northwest Branch is located at 2507 Dawson Road, Albany, Georgia.

In 2017, the Dougherty County Library was awarded a $2 million State Capital Outlay Grant for the expansion.

These grant dollars, along with funds allocated in Special Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) VI and VII, helped to fund the expansion of an additional 11,000 square feet to the Northwest Branch. Renovations
will include a new home for the branch’s robust Genealogy Department, as well as a place for teens and adults to engage in creative makerspace activities and a children’s activity room. Additional study rooms and an expanded computer lab were also part of the expansion project.

“We are so excited to finally present this new space to library user,” said Pauline Abidde, Library Director
for the Dougherty County Library.

The addition of a 5,000-square-foot Event Center will provide Dougherty County with a venue for large
events located in the heart of Northwest Albany. The Event Center offers several amenities, including a
large banquet room with pre-function, dressing/lounge area, catering prep kitchen with serving area, audio/visual (AV) capabilities, and more. The Event Center is perfect for large meetings, seminars, conferences, weddings, and other events. A ribbon cutting is forthcoming for the Event Center in early 2020.

“The Northwest project promotes life-long learning in our state-of-the-art technology room, expanded genealogy department, and responds to the public demand for more computer access by enlarging the computer area, encouraging creativity in our young people by enhancing the children’s department, adds new study rooms, and provides much needed space for meetings, events, and receptions,” said Walter Kelley, Chairman of the Board of Directors for the Dougherty County Library.