By Kelly Johnson
Where some libraries within the Cobb County Public Library System have come into existence through Special Purpose Location Option Sales Tax (SPLOST), state grants, or federal funds, West Cobb Regional Library is the love child, so to speak, of a 1987 bond and its champion, former Cobb County library board chairman, J. Dennis Kemp.
No happy accident, West Cobb Regional Library reflects a strategic vision for its community, and Kemp’s advocacy was instrumental in bringing library services to the area. Like most people who may care about where they live, Kemp was concerned about the lack of library resources for unincorporated West Cobb. He petitioned county commissioners to have this need met, and it led to the formation of a study committee in 1956. This study committee helped establish today’s Cobb County Public Library System; but through his position as library chairman, fighting the political establishment for library services in the mid-to-late 50s and early 60s, Kemp shaped the system into what it is today. In fact, Kemp paved the way for the Regional Library model.
Thus, West Cobb Regional Library was born in 2002. A twenty-first century addition to the library system, its linear 20,000 square feet was designed as a training resource for other libraries and to handle the explosive growth of West Cobb and Kennesaw, offering ample space for meetings, gatherings, and learning activities.
One of the busiest branches in the CCPL system, it is known for its passport services, book match initiative, extensive children’s programming, and a trendy newsletter.
In its adolescent years, West Cobb Regional Library found itself caught up in county politics, first as a “political football” in 2011 and then a few years later, around 2018, with falling into the shadow of Truist Park and the Braves stadium.
With the 2008 recession spawning a budget crisis in 2011, then County Chairman Tim Lee proposed closing West Cobb Library (among twelve others) to balance the budget; however, this sparked a movement by West Cobb residents that pressured the Board of Commissioners to keep the West Cobb Regional Library open. Then 2018 renovations of the library, which made it more welcoming and modern for patron and even extended its operational hours, marked a “win” for CCPLS because the renovations demonstrated that despite the pressures with funding Truist Park and the Braves stadium, the Board of Commissioners was committed to maintaining suburban library services.
A unique aspect of West Cobb Regional Library is that it has no satellite branches; however, libraries within its general geographic area:
- North Cobb Regional Library (Kennesaw)
- Kemp Memorial Library (Marietta)
NOTE:
West 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 WCRL library events may be incomplete or unavailable online. Contact West Cobb Regional Library with event inquiries:
West Cobb Regional Library is located at:
1750 Dennis Kemp Lane
Kennesaw, Georgia 30152
+1 770 499 4485
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 1
| DATE | DAY | EST (24hr) | EVENT |
| January 01, 2026 | Thursday | 10:00 – 18:00 | NEW YEAR’S DAY |
| January 02, 2026 | Friday | 10:00 – 18:00 | |
| January 03, 2026 | Saturday | 10:00 – 17:00 | |
JANUARY 2026
WEEK 2
| DATE | DAY | EST (24hr) | EVENT |
| January 04, 2026 | Sunday | 13:00 – 17:00 | |
| January 05, 2026 | Monday | 10:00 – 20:00 | |
| 10:30 | Baby Storytime | ||
| 15:30 | Pokémon Club | ||
| January 06, 2026 | Tuesday | 10:00 – 20:00 | |
| 10:30 | Toddler Storytime | ||
| 11:30 | Preschool Storytime | ||
| 18:30 | Backyard Chicken Keeper’s Club | ||
| January 07, 2026 | Wednesday | 10:00 – 20:00 | |
| 10:30 | Family Storytime! | ||
| 13:00 | Mahjong Meet Up | ||
| 17:30 | Open Play Chess! | ||
| January 08, 2026 | Thursday | 10:00 – 18:00 | |
| 10:00 | Craft Club Thursdays | ||
| 16:00 | Afterschool Storycraft (Pre-K to 2nd grade): Hop in the New Year | ||
| January 09, 2026 | Friday | 10:00 – 18:00 | |
| January 10, 2026 | Saturday | 10:00 – 17:00 | |
| 11:00 | Saturday Storycraft (All ages): Hop in the New Year | ||
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 | |
| 10:00 | Teen Take and Make: Pom-Pom Cactus | ||
| 10:30 | Baby Storytime | ||
| 15:30 | Pokémon Club | ||
| 18:00 | Cobb Fire Investigation Unit | ||
| January 13, 2026 | Tuesday | 10:00 – 20:00 | |
| Celebrate National Rubber Duck Day | |||
| 10:00 | Teen Take and Make: Pom-Pom Cactus | ||
| 10:30 | Toddler Storytime | ||
| 11:30 | Preschool Storytime | ||
| January 14, 2026 | Wednesday | 10:00 – 20:00 | |
| 10:00 | Teen Take and Make: Pom-Pom Cactus | ||
| 10:30 | Family Storytime! | ||
| 13:00 | Mahjong Meet Up | ||
| 17:30 | Open Play Chess! | ||
| 17:30 | Dungeons and Dragons: One-Shot Wednesday | ||
| January 15, 2026 | Thursday | 10:00 – 18:00 | |
| 10:00 | Teen Take and Make: Pom-Pom Cactus | ||
| 10:00 | Craft Club Thursdays | ||
| January 16, 2026 | Friday | 10:00 – 18:00 | |
| 10:00 | Teen Take and Make: Pom-Pom Cactus | ||
| January 17, 2026 | Saturday | 10:00 – 17:00 | |
| 14:30 | My First Book Club (ages 4-7) To See an Owl by Matthew Cordell | ||
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 | |
| 10:30 | Toddler Storytime | ||
| 11:30 | Preschool Storytime | ||
| January 21, 2026 | Wednesday | 10:00 – 20:00 | |
| 10:30 | Family Storytime! | ||
| 13:00 | Mahjong Meet Up | ||
| 17:30 | Open Play Chess! | ||
| January 22, 2026 | Thursday | 10:00 – 18:00 | |
| 10:00 | Craft Club Thursdays | ||
| 11:00 | Homeschool Curiosity & Creativity | ||
| 14:00 | Tea & Talk All the Colors of the Dark by Chris Whitaker | ||
| January 23, 2026 | Friday | 10:00 – 18:00 | |
| January 24, 2026 | Saturday | 10:00 – 17:00 | |
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 | |
| 10:30 | Baby Storytime | ||
| 15:30 | Pokémon Club | ||
| 18:30 | Fourth Monday Book Discussion The Cliffs by J. Courtney Sullivan | ||
| January 27, 2026 | Tuesday | 10:00 – 20:00 | |
| 10:30 | Toddler Storytime | ||
| 11:30 | Preschool Storytime | ||
| January 28, 2026 | Wednesday | 10:00 – 20:00 | |
| 10:30 | Family Storytime! | ||
| 13:00 | Mahjong Meet Up | ||
| 17:30 | Open Play Chess! | ||
| January 29, 2026 | Thursday | 10:00 – 18:00 | |
| 10:00 | Craft Club Thursdays | ||
| January 30, 2026 | Friday | 10:00 – 18:00 | |
| January 31, 2026 | Saturday | 10:00 – 17:00 | |
| 17:30 | Dungeons and Dragons: One-Shot Wednesday | ||
HOLIDAY CLOSURE
This schedule was compiled as of: 12/15/2025; 12/21; 01/01/2026; 01/02
Kelly Johnson, a resident of Cobb since 1999, wears multiple hats for Chaos Studio Seven, among which is creative writer. Outside of speculative and science fiction—and on occasion poetry—Kelly uses his skill set as a writer to report on and inform the community.
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