Bradshaw Library celebrates 50th anniversary
BY JOHN BRICE
THE LAFAYETTE SUN
VALLEY — H. Grady Bradshaw Library on twentieth avenue in Valley celebrated its 50th anniversary on Saturday, June 13. Residents were invited to gather with library staff to mark this momentous occasion by enjoying complimentary cupcakes, ice cream, balloon art and crafts. Party guests even had the opportunity to wish the library a happy birthday by creating a birthday card or telegram to be displayed there with stationery supplied for them.
Library Director Mary Hamilton shared her excitement for the event, and the importance of community for local libraries.
"We are celebrating our 50th birthday," she said. "We opened on June 13, 1976. Today we are giving away commemorative T-shirts, we have a balloon artist and of course we had cake and ice cream. Folks can make us a birthday card. It is a big deal, it is an important date. The library was important to the community when it opened in 1976 and it still is. We want to be in that position 50 years from now."
Hamilton said the history of the library is built on local investment, and she is thankful for continued support today from community members.
"Joe Lanier was in charge of the West Point Home company," she said. "He wanted the community to have a library. He started working on that in the sixties. He put a lot of his own time and money into it back then. He also created something called the neighbors fund that for many years raised money to build this building. Our programming room is named for Mr. Lanier."
Since its creation 50 years ago, Hamilton said the library has grown as a community hub.
"People still do read," she said. "We have a tremendous reading program. We have over 900 readers signed up already. It is more of a community center with all of the programs for babies up through senior adults. I hope that there will always be physical books here. We now check out more digital books in some areas than we do physical books. We offer streaming services. I always want it to be a place that the community feels connected to in whatever way that is 50 years from now."
Hamilton said the library also offers educational options that available only at the library, such as the Cobb Memorial Archives.
"We have family collections," she said. "We have lots of scrap books from organizations that have been here over the years. We have a tremendous collection of World War II correspondence that was part of our service centers. We have an exhibit right now featuring a lot of that correspondence and world war two history."
Hamilton said she hopes the library continues to grow and be enjoyed by locals over the next decades.
"I feel like physical books, space is not going to be needed for as many books," she said. "Hopefully it will be a community center and whatever kinds of services people need. It is hard to imagine. If you look back 50 years ago, we had a copy machine and a card catalog. Right now, we don't have the card catalog. Thanks for the support over the years. I think for the size of community we have we get a tremendous amount of support."
