On May 6, 1973, former Director Chebie Bateman stood behind the desk of the Columbus-Lowndes Public Library, looking out to a crowd of county residents who were excited to dedicate and open the new location on Seventh Street.

Though it has been a few months more than 50 years since this moment, Library Director Erin Busbea said this week library staff are celebrating the anniversary.

“It’s amazing to think of the way she — the way this came together,” Busbea said. “They were operating in such a small building. And now, look at this, we’re at 28,000 square feet. For her to have the … plans and dreams she must have had going forward in this building, (it’s) amazing.”

Archivist Mona Vance-Ali has been compiling a timeline of the complete history of the library in the county, inspired by the 50-year-mark. She told The Dispatch her timeline goes back to the earliest mention of a library in the county in 1888.

“The first mention of a public library is in 1888, in the armory,” Vance-Ali said. “Basically, when the city said they would help contribute to the funding of building the library, they said if you build this, you have to put the library in it.”

Vance-Ali said library usage was restricted based on race, and also could have been restricted in access based on socioeconomic status, which changes the definition of “public library.” The library would not be fully accessible to all until after integration.

In 1934, Vance-Ali said the first semblance of the Columbus-Lowndes Public Library as it currently exists emerged as a part of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal Program, when the Civil Works Administration and Federal Emergency Relief Administration reopened a public library in a room adjacent to the jail in the courthouse.

In the 1940s, the library moved into the Brickell House in the 1940s. Then, in February 1961, the library moved to the former S.D. Lee High band room, a two-room building next to the current building. Soon, the too-small library would be packed with books.

But the library reached a turning point when Chebie Bateman was also hired in 1960 as the library’s sole librarian, and then became the library’s director, Vance-Ali said.

“(Bateman) takes pictures to show what’s going on,” Vance-Ali said. “They were essentially storing books in their bathroom. You’ve got the toilet and you’ve got your books.”

Bateman started campaigning for funding for a new building in 1967, asking for federal funds, private funds and city funds for the Seventh Street location. Ground was broken on the building in 1971, and by 1973, the new library building celebrated its dedication and opening.

“We wouldn’t have this building (without her),” Vance-Ali said. “We wouldn’t have as advanced of a library as we have. We are a jewel in this state.

The building was renamed the “Chebie G. Bateman Building” on May 21, 1995. Bateman retired in 2004 and passed away in 2010. But since then, the library has continued to grow thanks to Bateman’s legacy.

Busbea said the library is “looking good for 50,” as it currently hosts children’s services, teen services, adult services, a local history department with an archive room, reference services, along with resume help and other services.

“I don’t think the public library is going anywhere,” Busbea said. “… We’re not just books, we’re not just computers. I feel like there’s always going to be a need. The public library as a whole has always been one to kind of adapt to the changes. We adapt to the changes or we even think ahead of the changes.”

Busbea said the library plans to host a public event celebrating the 50th anniversary in the coming months. For a more complete timeline of library history, you can visit https://www.lowndeslibrary.com/50-years-of-clpls.