Gwinnett County Public Library

Gwinnett County Public Library

Peachtree Corners Library
Established	1936
Location	Gwinnett County, GA
Branches	15
Collection
Size	839,728
Access and use
Circulation	5,500,332 (2015)
Population served	860,000 (2016)
Members	461,000 (2016)
Other information
Director	Charles Pace
Website	http://www.gwinnettpl.org/

The Gwinnett County Public Library is located in unincorporated Gwinnett County, Georgia, USA, north-east of Atlanta. The library currently has 15 branches throughout the county and employs an interlibrary loan system for those with a valid library card.

In 2000 the Gwinnett County Public Library won the Library of the Year award. This library system has also achieved the highest amounts of material circulation out of all libraries in Georgia.

The first library in the Gwinnett County region was the Norcross library, established in 1907 by the Norcross Woman's Club. Following this, in 1935, the Lawrenceville PTA began the Lawrenceville Public Library in City Hall which was renamed to the Gwinnett County Library the following year.

In 1956, in an effort to consolidate resources with nearby Forsyth county, the two library systems agreed to form a joint venture named the Gwinnett-Forsyth Regional Library. During this time Gwinnett county opened the Lake Lanier Regional Library in Buford, and libraries in Snellville and Mountain Park.

As the Atlanta metropolitan region began to fill out, Gwinnett and the surrounding counties saw a huge influx of residents, and therefore a much greater need to expand their library services. In 1986 a bond referendum allowed for each of the seven existing branches to be updated, and also allocated funds for the construction of a eighth branch at Peachtree Corners. Following suit not long after, Forsyth county received monies to refurbish their libraries and add a location of their own.

With the increasing amount of branches in the Gwinnett-Forsyth Regional Library System, Gwinnett county opted to dissolve the venture in 1996. It is at this point the Gwinnett County Public Library was formed.

In 1999, the GCPL's tenth branch opened at Collin's Hill. It was also named a finalist for the Library of the Year award. In 2000 the library system was again among finalists for library of the year, and at this point won.

In 2002 the Centerville branch opened, sharing facilities with the adjacent Gwinnett County community center. A twelfth branch opened in Suwanne in 2004, and yet another in Dacula in 2006.

In 2005 the Grayson branch was opened, and in 2010 the Hamilton Mill branch opened as a LEED Gold certified building.

In 1997, Gwinnett County Public Library removed Nancy Friday's bestseller Women On Top from its collection after two patrons complained about its sexual content. Connie Cosby, one of the patrons, had requested that the book be made unavailable to children, and was "stunned" but "ecstatic" that library director Jo Ann Pinder removed it entirely.Women On Top became the fourth book Gwinnett County Public Library had removed from its shelves because of complaints about content.