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Columbus, Georgia, circa 1950. "Library -- Jean Hollis." Cited by one source as "head of Reference Division, Bradley Memorial Library." 4x5 inch acetate negative from the Shorpy News Photo Archive. View full size.
I wonder if this reference division was like the one in the main library where I grew. I hope so. I phoned with all sorts of questions, and - - no matter who answered - - the initial response tended to be something such as, "Yikes!" Then the person would rise to the challenge and talk while looking for the answer to my query. Sometimes I could hear the person call to another worker to "put another man on the job." I could even whistle, hum, or sing a phrase of a piece of music to find out the name of it. I sure did miss that library after I moved to a different part of the country.
Mr. Bradley was the John D. Rockefeller of Columbus, Georgia, building an empire that lasts to this day. At one point he was wealthy enough to purchase the Coca-Cola Company along with a few friends.
His family home and property were donated to the city of Columbus and converted to a museum and the library that you see here.
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