South Cobb Regional Library (photo by Semmendinger — licensed under Creative Commons 4.0 Attribution Share Alike)
By Kelly Johnson
The hours, the seconds have slipped the world past the first quarter of the twenty-first century, compacting the days and years that began a small Georgian settlement. Yet, since its germination in 1881, the settlement has continued to sprout and spread. Its growth is due in part to the roots of Scottish immigrant, plantation owner, and the family of Robert Mable. The settlement would become known as Mableton.
As an advocate for literacy and having had two marriages with educated women (for the day), Robert Mable created the Mable School, a two-room log cabin on his plantation. Establishing a culture of learning on his estate, he not only taught and educated his children, but also local children, charging ten cents a week for tuition. In turn, this sowed the demand for a formal library, which would become one of two pillars of Mableton’s historic\cultural district. (The other being Mableton Elementary School.)
With the spirit of education flowing from the late nineteenth century into the twentieth century, the formal library created for Mableton was originally a private, community-based reading room that was volunteer-led or club-funded and open to the community five days a week, from 2:00 PM to 6:00 PM. It was situated on Bankhead Highway (now Veterans Memorial Hwy) until 1962. This is the year the library formally joined what was then the Cobb County-Marietta Public Library System. The then CMPLS opened the South Cobb Library “brand new” in 1967, on Mableton Parkway, where it served the public for four decades before the community outgrew it.
Because library branches emerged beyond the city of Marietta—with seven openings alongside South Cobb Library on the same day in 1967—CMPLS consolidated into a county wide system that is the Cobb County Public Library System (CCPLS) today. Around this time, the private Mable family plantation was being sold off in parts for public use. The county’s and CCPLS’s growth were to keep pace with its population centers, to which Mableton contributed. A couple of decades before its incorporation, Mableton had an estimated 42,000 residents served by a then overwhelmed South Cobb Library.
In 2005, with the county purchasing and breaking ground at the corner of Clay and Old Floyd, across the way from the Mable plantation—which had been redeveloped into the Mable House Arts and Culture Complex—a new building was constructed for the South Cobb Library. A 20,000 square-foot layout tripled its size, allowing it to accommodate a rapidly growing community. CCPLS also designating the library as a regional hub, 2006 saw the opening of South Cobb Regional Library (SCRL), with increased capacity for portions of the broader system’s collections, community-support programs, and public access.
In 2018, SCRL received a “mid-life” refresh of its interior with a vibrant, art deco-like color scheme meshed with Quaker-esque furnishings. The refresh is highlighted with works of South Cobb Art Alliance member and local artist, Miles Davis. In addition, SCRL received a dedicated teen space and expanded hours (M-W). Major renovations occurred in 2021, with plumbing and sewer upgrades, new flooring, and remodeled restrooms.
Since Mableton’s incorporation in 2023, South Cobb Regional Library serves a community of nearly 80,000 residents (some of whom had used the library to hash out the struggle over Mableton’s cityhood status). The city’s formation marks an explosive growth for the library, which is reflected by it having the busiest computer usage among all CCPLS libraries and serving as Mableton 01 voting precinct.
Recently, SCRL has become a frontline in what is termed as the “Library Wars”—probably in reference to the manga, Library War. With Georgia Senate Bill 390 targeting the American Library Association and aiming to censor and remove books from libraries, SCRL hosted programs like “Women’s Voices for Civil Rights” and exhibits on Anne Frank for the quiet advocacy of equity, access, and inclusion. Concepts that even Robert Mable sought for everyone, with also educating slaves.
South Cobb Regional Library anchors four other CCPLS library branches in South Cobb:
- Lewis A. Ray Library (Smyrna)
- Powder Springs Library (Powder Springs)
- Vinings Library (Atlanta)
- Sweetwater Valley Library (Austell)
NOTE:
South Cobb Regional Library will be closed:
- Thursday, January 1st for New Year’s Day
- Monday, January 19th for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
The Cobb County website is currently under development, and so SCRL library events may be incomplete or unavailable online. Contact South Cobb Regional Library with event inquiries:
South Cobb Regional Library is located at:
805 Clay Road
Mableton, Georgia 30126
+1 678 398 5828
As always, check out that book, and get your creativity on. Your brain will thank you.
Be sure to subscribe to the Cobb County Public Library System’s (Library System) Newsletter here.
JANUARY 2026
WEEK 3
| DATE | DAY | EST (24hr) | EVENT |
| January 11, 2026 | Sunday | 13:00 – 17:00 | |
| January 12, 2026 | Monday | 10:00 – 20:00 | |
| 14:00 | American Red Cross Blood Drive | ||
| January 13, 2026 | Tuesday | 10:00 – 20:00 | |
| January 14, 2026 | Wednesday | 10:00 – 20:00 | |
| January 15, 2026 | Thursday | 10:00 – 18:00 | |
| 12:30 | Fiber Arts Circle | ||
| January 16, 2026 | Friday | 10:00 – 18:00 | |
| January 17, 2026 | Saturday | 10:00 – 17:00 | |
| 10:30 | Computer Basics | ||
JANUARY 2026
WEEK 4
| DATE | DAY | EST (24hr) | EVENT |
| January 18, 2026 | Sunday | 13:00 – 17:00 | |
| January 19, 2026 | Monday | 10:00 – 20:00 | MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. DAY |
| January 20, 2026 | Tuesday | 10:00 – 20:00 | |
| January 21, 2026 | Wednesday | 10:00 – 20:00 | |
| January 22, 2026 | Thursday | 10:00 – 18:00 | |
| January 23, 2026 | Friday | 10:00 – 18:00 | |
| January 24, 2026 | Saturday | 10:00 – 17:00 | |
| 10:00 – 12:00 | 1000 Books B4 Kindergarten Celebration | ||
JANUARY 2026
WEEK 5
| DATE | DAY | EST (24hr) | EVENT |
| January 25, 2026 | Sunday | 13:00 – 17:00 | |
| January 26, 2026 | Monday | 10:00 – 20:00 | |
| January 27, 2026 | Tuesday | 10:00 – 20:00 | |
| 18:30 | Gardener’s Night Out | ||
| January 28, 2026 | Wednesday | 10:00 – 20:00 | |
| January 29, 2026 | Thursday | 10:00 – 18:00 | |
| January 30, 2026 | Friday | 10:00 – 18:00 | |
| January 31, 2026 | Saturday | 10:00 – 17:00 | ‘Get Your Story Written’ Writing Workshop (with Margaret Johnson-Hodge) |
HOLIDAY CLOSURE
Passive Program: Hygiene Donation Drive
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