Less Room, More Exposure For Library's North Carolina Room

Forsyth County's Central Library is expected to be closed for the next two years. But some services have found a temporary home in the County Government Building on Chestnut Street.

That includes the North Carolina Room, which is popular with local historians and genealogists.

Fam Brownlee is a historian with the North Carolina Room. He says the new space is much smaller and some resources had to be put in storage until the room is re-opened in its permanent place.

But he says the move has given the room some new exposure to people who may not have used the Central Library. He adds that the timing of the move helped.

“We were moving during early voting period, and of course the voting took place right next to us. So there were these lines constantly outside our door, and every time we'd go in or out someone would say ‘What is this? What's going on here?' and of course we stopped and took the time to tell them.”

The Central Library is closed while plans proceed for a new library on the same site at Fifth and Spring streets.