Rosa M. Tarbutton Memorial Library
🏢 Oconee Regional Library System · Sandersville, Georgia
Rosa M. Tarbutton Memorial Library
Born from a 1908 women's club crusade and named for its greatest champion, the Rosa M. Tarbutton Memorial Library has served Washington County for over a century — surviving a 1921 fire that destroyed the original collection and emerging stronger as the anchor of the Oconee Regional Library System.
🕑 Library Hours
| Monday | Closed |
| Tuesday | 10am–6pm |
| Wednesday | 10am–5pm |
| Thursday | 10am–6pm |
| Friday | 10am–4pm |
| Saturday | 10am–1pm |
| Sunday | Closed |
Hours may vary on holidays; check the library site before visiting.
📍 Location, Contact & Directions
Address: 314 S. Harris Street, Sandersville, GA 31082
Phone: (478) 552-7466
Website: ocrl.org
Plus Code: 864VX5HQ+4R (Sandersville, GA)
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📖 About Rosa M. Tarbutton Memorial Library
The Rosa M. Tarbutton Memorial Library traces its roots to October 23, 1908, when Sandersville's Transylvania Club — motto: "Service, not for ourselves, but for others" — organized the town's first public library. Opening May 12, 1909, in a Greek-revival Masonic Building on the town square, the collection grew to more than 7,000 volumes before a devastating fire on February 1, 1921, destroyed the building and its contents. The community rebuilt almost immediately; the library moved to a purchased city-square building in 1925 and operated independently until January 1998, when it merged with the Washington County Library to form today's institution, renamed for Rosa M. Tarbutton, the woman who championed library service in Washington County for decades. Now part of the Oconee Regional Library System serving four counties and 83,000 people, the library provides books, large-print titles, DVDs, audiobooks, heritage and genealogy microfilm, study rooms, and a meeting room alongside free access to GALILEO, Libby, and the Palace Project. A unique legacy: the Transylvania Club's Georgia Historical Plates — officially designated by Governor Jimmy Carter in 1974 and sold as Wedgwood collectibles — have generated more than $300,000 in donations to library programs since 1998.
⭐ What makes this library special
- Founded in 1909 by the Transylvania Club — one of Georgia's oldest civic-initiated public libraries
- Survived a total-loss fire in February 1921 and was rebuilt by the community within the same year
- Named for Rosa M. Tarbutton, the champion of Washington County library service, after the 1998 merger
- Heritage and genealogy resources including microfilm for local and regional history research
- Museum, state-park, nature-center, and theater passes available for checkout
- Children's computers with Magic Desktop plus preschool and school-age storytimes on Tuesdays
📱 Digital Resources — Free with Your Library Card
Washington County cardholders access GALILEO's 200+ databases and a rich slate of free digital resources:
📚 Services
- Books, large-print titles, DVDs, audiobooks, and magazines
- Heritage and genealogy resources including microfilm
- Museum, state-park, nature-center, and theater passes for checkout
- Meeting room and study rooms (by reservation)
- Children's computers powered by Magic Desktop
- Public computers, printing, copying, and free Wi-Fi
- Interlibrary loan through the PINES statewide network
🎸 Programs
- Preschool Storytime (ages infant–4): 1st & 3rd Tuesdays, 12:00–12:30 pm
- Children's Storytime (ages 5–12): 1st & 3rd Tuesdays, 4:00–5:00 pm
- Teen Tuesday: 4th Tuesday monthly, 4:00–5:00 pm (ages 10–15)
- Homeschool Hour: 2nd & 4th Thursdays, 3:30–4:30 pm
- Senior Movie Morning: 3rd Friday monthly, 10:30 am
- Annual summer reading program
📍 Nearby Libraries in Central Georgia
Distances are approximate straight-line miles from this library.
All libraries in Sandersville · Browse all Georgia libraries →
❓ Frequently Asked Questions
How did the Transylvania Club's Wedgwood plates fund the library?
The Transylvania Club — the women's organization that founded the library in 1909 — championed a set of Georgia Historical Plates produced by Wedgwood. Governor Jimmy Carter officially designated the plates in 1974. Sales of the collector plates became a major ongoing fundraiser: the effort has generated more than $300,000 in library donations since 1998, an unusual and historically rich legacy for a small-county public library.
What happened to the library in the 1921 fire?
On February 1, 1921, a fire destroyed the Greek-revival Masonic Building on Sandersville's town square that housed the library, along with its entire collection of more than 7,000 volumes. The community rebuilt almost immediately — the library reopened and later moved to a purchased city-square building in 1925, demonstrating the town's commitment to preserving public library service.
What genealogy resources does the library offer?
The Rosa M. Tarbutton Memorial Library holds heritage and genealogy materials including microfilm for local and regional history research. Digitally, patrons can access Ancestry Library Edition (in-library) and MyHeritage Library Edition, both providing access to thousands of genealogical databases including US Federal Census records.
Is the library open on Mondays?
No — the library is closed on Monday and Sunday. Current hours are Tuesday and Thursday 10 am–6 pm, Wednesday 10 am–5 pm, Friday 10 am–4 pm, and Saturday 10 am–1 pm. Call (478) 552-7466 to confirm any holiday closures.
📜 This library has genealogy & local-history resources. See how library family-history research works and find other libraries with genealogy collections genealogy libraries by state.
📚 This library has study rooms. See how library study rooms work — booking, time limits and quiet vs group rooms — and find other libraries with study rooms libraries with study rooms by state.
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