Along with the print collections of books and magazines, Cobb County Library System regularly presents thousands of free programs each year — led by librarians and community guest presenters — and there are several other reasons to visit your local library, whether you’re a child, tween, teen or adult. Check out the unique program and resource offerings below:
GEMS: Girls in Engineering, Math and Science is an annual workshop series offering a welcoming and encouraging environment for middle and high school girls to meet influential women in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) careers, get hands-on experience with STEM technologies and explore STEM opportunities.
The Georgia Room, located at the Switzer Library in downtown Marietta, is the system’s genealogical and historic collection that serves a broad spectrum of patrons from throughout Cobb County and the state. Along with the Georgia Room’s archival collections, special programs are presented by library staff on historical research and preservation of documents and historic images and other resources.
A special library for special needs clients is part of the Windy Hill Therpeutic Center, a Cobb County P.A.R.K.S. facility.
ParkPass and Zoo Pass: Cobb libraries participate in the Georgia ParkPass library loan program of Georgia State Parks & Historic Sites and Georgia’s public libraries. The kit includes passes, which exempt library patrons from paying the daily $5 parking fee at state parks and exempts up to four visitors from admission fees to historic sites operated by Georgia State Parks, Recreation & Historic Sites. The number of ParkPass kits is limited. Also available are a free passes to Zoo Atlanta.
Digital Resources: Cobb library cardholders enjoy free access 24-7 to thousands of online courses and videos on a range of topics and databases with information on demographics, business and more. The use of the library’s digital resources covering business, personal finance, science, genealogy and other topics is also growing, reaching just over 240,000 people in 2015, up from nearly 232,300 in 2014.
Lynda.com and Gale online learning sites provide courses on business, web development and design, multimedia skills, software and more. Complete Lynda for Libraries courses and Gale courses are available at any location with internet access.
DemographicsNow offers a variety of demographic data reports that may be customized by geography and provides options for summary, ranking and comparison reports.
Morningstar Investment Research Center provides information on stocks, mutual funds and exchange traded funds, giving free access to information for investors and anyone seeking quick information on a single company.
America’s News gives free access to current and archived full-text articles from local, state and national newspapers, newswires and web content.
Value Line gives up-to-date analysis and news on investment research resources covering thousands of stocks and industries.
Zinio Magazine offers more than 100 titles, including Atlanta Magazine, The Economist, The New Yorker, Golf Digest, Motor Trend, Shape and The Atlantic.
Overdrive offers users eBooks, eAudiobooks and streaming video.
InstantFlix offers a collection of streaming videos of independent films from throughout the world, including award-winning shorts, PBS documentaries, classic cartoons and more.
Volunteer Opportunities: Cobb County libraries welcome volunteers serving in support roles in the libraries. The Cobb County Board of Trustees is a nine-member volunteer board of citizens appointed by the Cobb County Board of Commissioners. The trustees set library policy and advise on activities. The Cobb Library Foundation is a volunteer nonprofit supporting efforts to build private support, enhance visibility of the library’s impact and strengthen the public’s commitment to the library system.
