Happy retirement to Teresa Newton

An agency that has served us for 84 years is in the midst of a significant change.
The Lawrence County Public Library has grown and evolved with the rest of our community. It was established in April 1941 on the second floor of Lawrenceburg’s City Hall and Fire Station, which was in the shadow of the city’s old-fashioned water tower on East Gaines Street.
The library moved to its current Lawrenceburg facility in 1970; a branch in Loretto opened in 1988; and a large meeting room at the main branch was added in the 1990s.
Another juncture was reached in April 1976, although no one realized it at the time. The library hired Teresa Newton, who went on to work there almost 49 years. She became Director in 1991, and her name is practically synonymous with the word “library” in Lawrence County.
Teresa’s official retirement party was December 19, but she continues to work part-time until a new director is hired by the Library Board. It’s a slower exit than she intended, but gives everyone more time to adjust.
Under her leadership, the library helped us access computers before most of us owned one. I took online seminary classes there in the summer of 2000, before my parents had internet service. Patrons have access to a bank of public computers and free wifi access for their own devices. A wiring upgrade is in the library’s near future and will make it fiber-ready – again, changing with the times.
Teresa also helped introduce us to internet-based programs now available to those with library cards. As a reminder - Tennessee R.E.A.D.S allows patrons to borrow eBooks, audiobooks, and magazines using the Libby app. Hoopla is a similar service that also offers movies, television series, and music. Patrons can also use four subscription services - Ancestry.com, Newspapers.com, Fold3.com, and Genealogy.com - at the library at no charge.
Teresa helped the library come back better than ever from a February 2020 tornado strike and the equally unexpected, but more extended, upheaval of COVID. The library continued to serve this community however it could during those restrictions.
Since COVID, there has been more emphasis on programs that give people an opportunity to explore their interests with others. The library’s genealogy group meets weekly, there are Coloring with Friends, Stitching, and Adult Crafting groups, two book clubs, and a Friends of the Library group that supports various projects.
Toddler Time at Loretto and Lawrenceburg give children early exposure to the written word, as do Summer Reading Programs that are more popular each year. This year Summer Reading inspired programs for teens and adults featuring NASA engineers from Marshall Space & Flight Center.
Maintaining the library collection is a huge task. Thanks to Teresa’s attention, the books, DVDs, and CDs in the library collection include just the right mix of the fresh and familiar.
There are hundreds of other ways Teresa Newton has helped our library meet this community’s needs for the past 49 years. Her work has made a tremendous contribution to all that is good in Lawrence County. I thank her for everything, and wish her a long and happy retirement