The following is a press release issued by the Georgia Public Library Service:

June 25, 2025

CONTACT: Deborah Hakes, Georgia Public Library Service, dhakes@georgialibraries.org

ATLANTA, GA – The Georgia Public Library Service is pleased to announce the addition of new content to the Digital Library of Georgia and the Georgia Historic Newspaper Project, making more of Georgia’s rich history accessible to the public from anywhere with an internet connection.

“Our library staff has thoroughly enjoyed being able to go online and open this time capsule showing businesses, places, and events from the early to mid-1900s in Hall County,” said Ronda Sanders, genealogy and local history librarian at Hall County Library System. “We look forward to the wonderful stories and recollections that our patrons will share with us as the ‘old timers’ fondly reminisce about their childhood memories.”

The newly digitized collections include historical materials from public libraries across the state:

• 1975 Peach County tornado photographs from Peach County Public Libraries
• Clay County Garden Club records from Kinchafoonee Regional Library from 1955-57 and 1982-84
• Ray Lathem Postcard Collection from the 1930s-40s from Hall County Library System
• Carroll County Historic Photographs from the early 1900s from the West Georgia Regional Library System

In addition to these unique collections, several new newspaper titles have been digitized, adding thousands of pages of historical news. These titles fill in gaps in the historical record for counties that did not have materials in the Georgia Historic Newspaper Project:

• Heard County, GA: Heard News and Banner (Franklin) for West Georgia Regional Library (18,566 pages)
• Treutlen County, GA: Treutlen Soperton News for Oconee Regional Library System (12,498 pages)
• Long County, GA: Long Ludowici News for Three Rivers Regional Library (5,760 pages)
• Brantley County, GA: Brantley Nahunta Banner/Brantley Enterprise for Three Rivers Regional Library (12,296 pages)
• Clay County, GA: Fort Gaines Tribune/Weekly Chronicle/Defender/ Fort Gaines Sentinel/Southwest Georgian for Kinchafoonee Regional Library (8,867 pages)

“These newly digitized newspapers provide rich resources for genealogical and local history research and ensure that more Georgians can access their communities’ history,” said Josh Kitchens, director of Archival Services and Digital Initiatives at GPLS.

The public can freely access these digitized materials through the Digital Library of Georgia website and the Georgia Historic Newspapers website.

​​This digitization project is part of a larger effort to provide access to a more comprehensive selection of Georgia’s historical and cultural newspapers. Since 2006, Georgia’s public libraries have funded over 1.1 million of the 2.4 million pages of digitized content in the Georgia Historic Newspapers portal.