Charles D. Switzer Library will reopenTuesday, June 1, after the branch underwent an extensive renovation.
The Switzer facility in downtown Marietta has had a major renovation since mid-2019 to improve indoor and outdoor spaces of the library system’s central library complex and its administrative and support services spaces. The project was expanded in late 2020 to include a complete roof replacement for the 30-plus years old building.
“The Switzer Library will grow as a destination for the Cobb and Marietta communities as everyone experiences all the Switzer Library offers,” said Cobb Library Director Helen Poyer. “This combination of special areas, innovative programs and services, and traditional library space will be full of energy and promote community connections.”
New features of the Switzer Library include:
- Family computing space on the main floor
- The Accessibility Services Room for providing a comfortable, welcoming environment for patrons with disabilities, sensory processing disorders and library patrons in need of a calmer environment.
- The Georgia Room, the Cobb library’s special historic and genealogical collection, now has a dedicated conference room and additional space.
- An enclosed outdoor plaza with seating and a garden area accessible through the Hattie Gaines Wilson Youth Services area.
- A new children’s programming room.
- Two makerspaces, for both teens and adults.
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Hours of operation for Switzer Library will be Monday-Wednesday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Thursday and Friday, 10 am to 6 pm; and Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Why do libraries matter?: In the era of ebooks, Amazon, and digital reading, you may wonder why news coverage of libraries is still important. Libraries are about more than just books. If you think all you can do at a library is check out books, you haven’t been to one in a while. Your local library is a community center that offers classes and programs, and more to individuals and families.
The library will offer curbside hold pick-up service Monday through Wednesday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 5 to 7 p.m.; Thursday and Friday, 10 am to 2 pm; and all day Saturday.
The renovation project is funded with $6 million of Cobb County’s 2011 and 2016 Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax funds, and a $2 million grant from Georgia Public Library Service, a unit of the Board of Regents, University System of Georgia. The Cobb County Board of Commissioners also appropriated $1.6 million in late 2020 for a complete roof replacement after contractors discovered the building’s roof and exterior walls were in need of extensive repair.
The library, at 266 Roswell Street, is one-half mile from the Marietta Square. It is across from the Marietta National Cemetery with views of Kennesaw Mountain and the nearby Marietta central business and government offices district. The library first opened on Roswell Street in 1989 – the facility replaced the Central Library in the historic Marietta Post Office building off the Marietta Square which now houses the Marietta Cobb Museum of Art.
For updates on Switzer Library, visit www.cobbcounty.org/library.