NORTH COBB LIBRARY DOES MORE THAN CHECK OUT BOOKS!

Our NORTH COBB library isn’t just for checking out books, it is a gathering place for members of our community. Learn more about what is offered by visiting the library and meeting our local librarians.

North Cobb Library “Meet Up for Adults with Special Needs”
BY ROBIN BOYER

Join your friends and their caregivers on Thursdays at 10:30 to 11:30 AM, July – September (not meeting in June) at the North Cobb Library. Our group of young adults with special needs have been meeting at the library since 2019.  The hour is themed with activities like story time and craft, karaoke, or a scavenger hunt. We never know what the creative minds at the library have planned for us but it is always fun! We even have started a garden club as we have been included in the community garden at the library. Along with activities the library offers, it’s an opportunity to see old friends and meet new ones. Share with your friends what you have been doing lately and what you like to do. It’s a great time for working on those social skills. It’s also an opportunity to network with other parents and caregivers. So meet up and join your friends at the North Cobb Library!  Pictured above the Meet Up for Adults take a second for a photo, before visiting Community Garden.

NORTH COBB LIBRARY GARDEN
by Vidhya Jagannathan, Makerspace Coordinator

A community garden is a great way of expanding the library’s service beyond its four walls and promoting patron collaboration. The North Cobb Library Garden was imagined with the purpose of teaching, demonstrating, donating and involving families in growing food and experiencing the immense satisfaction derived from harvesting home-grown produce! Library gardens are a natural setting for promoting nutritional literacy and hands-on environmental learning. The North Cobb Garden reflects Cobb County Public Library’s mission of being a vital resource center providing services to enrich people’s lives.

In addition, a sensory garden that encourages patrons to see, smell, touch, hear, and taste, promotes cognitive learning, improves gross motor skills, and calms and nurtures the mind. The North Cobb Library hosts a weekly meetup for neurodivergent adults every Thursday morning and it was with this group in mind, that Makerspace Coordinator, Vidhya Jagannathan, created two ADA compliant wheelchair accessible beds with the help of an Eagle Scout from Troop 75. Along with the two ADA compliant beds, the garden also has six regular raised beds that Cobb County PARKS generously constructed for the garden. Funding for garden supplies and infrastructure has been made possible by a grant from Food Well Alliance that Vidhya applied for with support from The Cobb Library Foundation and the branch manager, Nichole Knox.

Immense help, support, and advice for the North Cobb Garden has been received from Cobb County Master Gardener, Jeanne Young. Jeanne generously donates her time, expertise, and plants to the North Cobb Garden! In addition to the Boy Scouts, Master Gardener, and Parks, the Cobb Library Foundation has been extremely supportive in acquiring needed supplies. Besides Vidhya, North Cobb Staff Rita Spisack, Dennis Baswell, Alice Cavallaro, Marie Lee, and Sachin Kamra are also involved in the care and maintenance of the garden.

Vidhya plans to start a North Cobb Garden Club to involve the library’s families in the garden and get the rest of the beds planted. This club will meet whenever there is planting, weeding, and harvesting involved. Produce harvested from the garden will be donated to the “Plant a Row for the Hungry” program. North Cobb will also use the produce in the library’s STEM learning, food literacy, and cooking programs. We hope our patrons participate enthusiastically in the garden and garden-related innovative programs. For further information please contact jagannathanv@cobbcat.org or knoxn@cobbcat.org.

ABOUT THE North Cobb Regional Library

North Cobb Regional Library opened in September 2019. It is a consolidation of Acworth and Kennesaw Libraries both built in the 1960s. Located across the street from North Cobb High School, North Cobb Regional Library features a teen space including a makerspace. Other features include a children’s room stocked with early learning toys, a Computer Training Lab, and an outdoor plaza for programming or relaxation.

The library is located at 3535 Old 41 Highway, Kennesaw. It is open for full, in-service Monday-Wednesday 10:00 am -8 pm; Thursday and Friday 10:00 am – 6:00 pm and Saturdays 10 am – 5 pm.

The staff provides a variety of events for folks of all ages, ranging from art, to book clubs, an outdoor cafe for youngsters. Our library isn’t just for checking out books, it is a gathering place for members of our community. Learn more about what is offered by visiting https://www.cobbcounty.org/library/locations/north-cobb-regional-library. Better yet go visit and meet our local librarians,

CLICK ON GRAPHIC ABOVE