Dalton State’s Derrell C. Roberts Library and Bandy Heritage Center for Northwest Georgia are both open to the public again following renovations.
There will be an open house and reception on Thursday, Aug. 19 to celebrate the new space. The open house, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., will feature the renovations to the library, the Student Success and Advising Center, which is housed in the library, and the Bandy Heritage Center, which is adjacent to the library. The reception will be at the Bandy Center from 6 to 8 p.m. The events are free and open to the public, and masks are strongly encouraged.
Renovations began at the library in 2018 and were being completed in phases. A burst pipe and flooding last November sped up the third phase.
“The library has four video labs, 11 study rooms, a computer lab and three classrooms and provides community access to resources and services across the spectrum of instruction, research, public service programs and outreach,” said Melissa Whitesell, executive director of Library Services and Sponsored Programs. “We have added digital signs on the first and second floor to increase communication. Part of the renovation included adding an additional classroom on the first floor, which can also be used for meeting space. One of the biggest needs was more and upgraded collaborative space because so many student and community groups use the library to work on projects. We have also renovated our front desk and offices and workrooms. The shelving on the second floor has been reconfigured, and we have more seating. We invite the public to join us Thursday for a tour of the building, games, music and food.”
Renovation for the Bandy Center began in July 2018 and was finished in December 2020 when the campus was not yet fully open due to the pandemic.
“The center’s archival and preservation facility is new and better suits the mission to collect, preserve and interpret material and cultural history of Northwest Georgia”, said Dr. Adam Ware, director of the Bandy Heritage Center. The renovation includes a climate-secure archival storage space, lab for preservation work, reading room for research and small exhibit gallery. The Bandy Center’s collection has grown to more than 10 times the size it was just three years ago and includes 27,000 new acquisitions from individuals, businesses and organizations.
Both the library and the Bandy Center are fully open to the public once again, following health guidelines from the University System of Georgia, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Georgia Department of Public Health. Masks are strongly encouraged, as is socially distancing within the building.
