MOULTRIE — The Moultrie-Colquitt County Library continues to thrive and adapt to fit a growing community’s needs.

Kevin Ellis, director of the library, said that this was one of the first library systems that he’s worked in where the community was growing. He said in the Pine Mountain Library System’s area, they were losing population and were most likely in danger of losing funding for the library.

“But here it is booming. It is growing continuously and it’s a great feeling knowing that your community is growing,” he said.

He said it makes him feel more secure about the library’s future because there’s growth and support and the support is increasing.

He said that the library constantly has people coming in from Florida and other states and where other libraries may have to worry about downsizing, he has to worry about having enough staff for the increase in usage.

He said on an average day, the Moultrie-Colquitt County Library gets from 180 to 200 people walking in the door.

“That’s not counting the people who don’t actually physically come in the door. They’re sitting in the parking lot using our Wifi during the times we’re not open or… Just during the day, we have people that’ll just park out front and use the Wifi and also use our online services,” he said.

Ellis said that he thinks about 70% of the people who go to the library’s website are going to the digital newspaper archives. He said when people call looking for specific things, most of the time, they direct them to the newspaper archives to find the information they’re looking for.

“It is the most heavily used part of our website. … That is the main thing that people use our website for. It is to be able to access those newspapers,” he said.

He said when they tell people about the newspaper archives, they’re excited to know that they exist and can’t wait to dive into them.

The primary reason patrons come into the library is still to check out a book but they also come in to use one of the library’s 20 or so computers. Ellis said if the building is open, the computers are open and they’re shut-down the last 15 minutes of the day.

A patron doesn’t have to schedule to be on a computer, he said, and there are usually computers that are open for use.

“Having access to a computer, having access to reliable, fast internet is a huge draw. Some people that come in don’t care for books, don’t want to pick-up a book but they need us for our resources,” Ellis said.

The library actually offers a wide range of office services, he said, including faxing, notary services and laminating.

He also said that sometimes patrons just need something printed out and don’t necessarily need to be on a computer. They can send what they need printed from their phone or other device to a staff member at the front desk and they will print it out for them.

“It’s another service we offer,” he said.

Ellis said the library has received money from the state to beef up the amount of bandwidth that they are currently using. They will also be getting some new computers.

“Very recently we got a massive amount of new Chromebooks that the State also purchased for us. Every library in the state actually got those,” he said and added that the Chromebooks were a fantastic resource that patrons could use.

“We’ve been informed that there’s going to be some money from the State that’s going to be able pay for some more cool stuff coming for libraries in Georgia,” he said.

One thing that Ellis has been waiting for is the new bookmobile to be finished and sent to the library. He said that he would have more information on its rebirth as a “mobile library branch” once it gets here later this year.

“We’re trying to stop referring to it as a bookmobile. We’re trying to refer to it as a mobile branch because it will have everything you can possibly imagine that a normal library branch would,” he said.

He said that when it goes out to a community stop, wherever it may be, it will have the same services to offer a patron as what can be found at the main branch of the library.

“That’s our goal. We want it to be a true mobile branch,” Ellis said.

He said the kids and adult programs at the library are going strong and they’ve recently started some monthly adult programs at the Doerun Library.

“That’s been a big hit, so far,” he said, and they were completely free. He said that a schedule of programs can be found on the library website’s calendar, Facebook and there are also flyers up at the front desk.

“Kids programs are always very heavily attended. … Our goal is always to start the love for the library early and get them in the door when they’re kids. Kind of build that love of reading, love for literacy, love for just coming here and, you know, they’ll come back as adults and bring their kids, too. It’s a cycle,” Ellis said.

Another thing that the library offers to its patrons are eBooks and eAudiobooks through Libby and eRead Kids, which are apps that can be downloaded to a smart phone. The services are free to anyone with a library card.

Although the eBooks and eAudiobooks are popular, Ellis said it seems to him that the book check-out numbers are going up.

“For the longest time, you would always hear that statement ‘Public libraries, with Amazon and things like that, public libraries they’re not going to exist for much longer.’ They’re always gonna exist. People always want the feel of a paper book,” he said. “Libraries have morphed into being information centers over the years. We offer so many other service besides just a book, anyway.”

He said that he’s confident that libraries aren’t going anywhere and libraries have always kind of helped prop up other agencies in the community.

“We are constantly helping doing things. Helping out with people finding jobs, so we’re helping out the Department of Labor in that aspect. We have groups that meet here for supervised visitation, so we’re helping DFACS. Our agency is the best investment because we’re able to help anybody and everybody that needs things. That’s what we’re here for. We change our approach based on our community’s needs,” Ellis said.

Library hours

The Moultrie-Colquitt County Library’s main branch, 204 Fifth St. S.E., is open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday, Wednesday and Thursday; 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., on Tuesday; 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Friday; and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday.

The Doerun Library, 185 N. Freeman St., is open 2 to 6 p.m., Monday and Tuesday; 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., Wednesday; 2 to 6 p.m., Thursday; and closed Friday through Sunday.