The Cobb Public Library announced in a news release on its web page that a special event will be held in honor of the birthday of Sherlock Holmes creator Arthur Conan Doyle. It will take place Tuesday, May 31 at 6 p.m. at the North Cobb Regional Library, located at 3535 Old 41 Hwy NW, Kennesaw, GA 30144.

The event is called the “Sherlock Shindig.”

In addition to celebrating Doyles’ birthday, the event is also intended to revive the North Cobb Irregulars, a group dedicated to discussing Sherlock Holmes, Holmes-related text and his creator, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

The group discussion will be led by Dr. Helen Cauley. The library web page described the origin of the North Cobb Irregulars and Cauley’s role as follows:

Led by Dr. Helen Cauley, writer and President Emerita of the Atlanta Sherlock Holmes Society, the group was formed seven years ago at the Kennesaw Library. After the Kennesaw and Acworth libraries were consolidated into the new North Cobb library in 2019, turnout for the Irregulars meetings continued at about 15 to 25 people, she said. The pandemic led to virtual Zoom meetings with a few sessions last fall before the group took a break in December.

The Irregulars not only discussed stories, “we also delved into history, British culture and norms, language and other authors who have ripped off – excuse me, lovingly replicated – Doyle’s ideas,” Cauley said.

The Irregulars served as Cauley’s “Sherlock support group” as she completed her dissertation on Doyle for her doctorate in English Rhetoric and Composition at Georgia State University.

>>For complete information on the event, follow this link to the news release.

About the Cobb County Public Library

According to the Cobb County Public Library website:

Cobb County Public Library is a 15-branch system headquartered in Marietta, Georgia, where its staff members serve a diverse population of over 750,000 people. Cobb is one of Georgia’s fastest-growing counties, and Cobb County Public Library is dedicated to being a resource center in the community by providing equal access to information, materials, and services.

History of Cobb’s library system

The first public library in Cobb County was opened in the home of Sarah Freeman Clarke in Marietta. The first standalone library building, opened on Church Street in 1893 and was named for Clarke.

Libraries were opened in Acworth and Austell in subsequent years, and in 1959, the city of Marietta and several other Cobb County libraries combined to form a countywide system that began the Cobb County Public Library as we know it today.

You can read more about the history of the Cobb County Public Library by following this link.