As children busily made gingerbread replicas of Gritters Library, branch manager Maria Benac was paging through scrapbooks on Saturday containing the history of the Northeast Cobb community hub that for nearly 50 years has housed much more than books.
Saturday was the final day that the Gritters building that was completed in 1973 was in service. A new 15,000-square-foot facility on the same site—and double the size of Gritters—will open in about another year.
“I cried a little bit this morning,” Benac said, explaining that they were mostly tears of joy. Reconstruction plans hit a snag last fall before Cobb commissioners approved an improvised construction contract of $9.8 million for the new facility.
Nestled under a canopy of trees at Shaw Park, Gritters Library serves a rapidly growing population of more than 62,000.
The new Gritters building also will house workforce development programs in conjunction with CobbWorks, a county government agency, and the Northeast Cobb Community Center, which is relocating from another part of Shaw Park.
Gritters patrons are being directed to the Mountain View Regional Library and library staff will be reassigned to other branches until the new library opens next year.
“It’s just been a blessing,” Benac said. “This is a dream come true.”
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