The Ivy Room: Library shows off renovated area for genealogy, history

Researching family history can be a puzzle. So can piecing together an efficient room where that research takes place.

That's what Oconee County Library staff learned when they rearranged the Ivy Room for Genealogy and Local History.

"We just realized we could take our existing room, draw up a new floor plan, move things around and highlight things," said Alice Rossiter, who coordinates the library's adult programs. "It really didn't cost anything."

Yet the results are significant. Patrons at the Experiment Station Road facility find materials more easily now, thanks to the low-cost improvements that were explained to the public during an open house earlier this month.

Magazines and books largely unused or unrelated to genealogy were moved out. Remaining materials were dusted, catalogued and organized according to Dewey Decimal classification. Shelves and tables were rearranged to allow for a more spacious layout.

Parts of the collection - including census materials and local history - were separated for easier access. Additional computers were relocated to the room as well. The terminals provide patrons more places to conduct genealogy searches online.

"It's really a big change in utilizing the space," Rossiter said. "We were able to spread the collection out so that it was not very crowded. ... Things are more logically placed."

Staff members especially have benefited from the reorganization. They are able to assess quickly what is available in the Ivy Room. Because the genealogy room keeps the same hours as the general library, this is important for consistent customer service.

"One reason why we rearranged it is so the staff could easily get to things," Rossiter said. "In the past, it has been the reference person. That doesn't help when we go home."

Dana Anderson, regent for the Daughters of the American Revolution's Rev. John Andrew chapter in Watkinsville, uses the facility in various ways. The Ivy Room houses a first-rate microfilm reader and printer, serves as a meeting place for her and fellow researchers and is a growing resource for Oconee-specific books and documents.

Weeding out the irrelevant materials has made room for more valuable archives, such as family Bible transcriptions, scrapbooks and other aged documents. The more the Ivy Room is u

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