PINES Catalog / Your Hall County Library Account / Get a Library Card About the Sybil Wood McRay Genealogy Collection
The Gainesville Branch of the Chestatee Regional Library System was originally dedicated on Sunday, February 8, 1970. Fast forward fifty years to September 17, 2020, and the Hall County Library System celebrates the rededication of the newly renovated Gainesville Branch. Yes, the name has changed but the building is in the same location at 127 Main Street, Gainesville, GA.
Originally, the genealogy collection was small and only occupied a corner of the library. At first, the collection focused on Georgia and its surrounding states. But, over the years the collection has broadened to contain over 12,000 books covering the Southeast all the way up to some New England states. The staff has used the early settler’s migration paths as a guide to purchasing material for this expansion. The collection also contains microfilm of historic Gainesville newspapers and Hall County, Georgia court records. Because of the expanding collection, the Sybil Wood McRay Genealogy Room now occupies a glassed-in room with study tables, a microfilm reader/printer, a historic photograph collection, and map cases. Please visit https://gapines.org/eg/opac/home to browse Gainesville’s ever-expanding collection.