Allen Memorial Library

First Baptist Church Decatur Media Center

About Our Library

Located on the second floor of our Sanctuary building, The Allen Memorial Library and Media Center provides quality reading selections and media resources for church members and the local Decatur community.

Our church library contains over 15,323 cataloged items, including 

• Books

• Bibles and Commentaries 

• Periodicals

• Audiobooks

• Movies and films

• A/V equipment rental

• Reading programs and curriculum

• And much more!

Library Collections

Books for Adults  

We have books about our world, the latest fiction bestsellers, non-fiction texts to help with Sunday School study, self-help books, history, biography, periodicals, large-print books, audio-books, and computers to look stuff up. Books we can’t use in our collection, we offer for sale.

Books for Children and Youth

We’re your children’s source for the latest award-winners! Our volunteer staff includes people who know children’s books inside-and-out and can recommend top fiction and non-fiction titles to put in your collection (pre-K—Young Adult). 

Resources for the Decatur Reading Community

The Library is an information source and cheerleader for book festivals (Decatur Book Festival) and author talks (Georgia Center for the Book, Conversations, local bookstores). We post calendars for community book sales, book recommendations, interesting websites — all things BOOK.

Beth’s Books

Each month, Beth Withers, one of our library volunteers, shares the newest books that have been added to our church library this past month:

• PICTURE BOOK 

  • Inky’s Amazing Escape: How A Very Smart Octopus Found His Way Home by Sy Montgomery
    Inky was happy in his aquarium home but he was also curious and liked to explore. Because octopuses lack bones, Inky could squeeze through very small openings. So one night Inky left his tank and returned to his home in the Pacific Ocean. This is Inky’s story based on true incidents. There are also fun facts about octopuses in the back of the book.

• JUVENILE NON-FICTION

  • When You Grow Up to Vote: How Our Government Works for You by Eleanor Roosevelt with Michelle Markel

    This is a reissue of Roosevelt’s “wonderful book” and “now her clear words, Michelle Markel’s timely updates, and Grace Lin’s charming new illustrations will help today’s children understand who our local, state, and national officials are, what they do, and why it is so important for each of us to do our part to help choose them.” Marian Wright Edelman, founder and president of the Children’s Defense Fund. Ages 8-12.

• ADULT FICTION

  • My Friends by Fredrik Backman, author of the acclaimed A Man Called Ove.
    The author’s “signature charm, humor, and attention to the poignant details of everyday life are on full display in this funny, moving novel. His most heartfelt and personal tale yet, My Friends is a charming testament to the transformative, timeless power of art and friendship.” Shelley Woodruff raved about this book and there are 166 holds on it at the DeKalb Public Library!

• ADULT NON-FICTION

  • The Bookshop: A History of the American Bookstore by Evan Friss
    This is an affectionate and engaging history of the American bookstore and its central place in cultural life from Benjamin Franklin’s first bookstore in Philadelphia to the present day with Amazon Books, Barnes & Noble and Ann Patchett’s Parnassus Books in Nashville, Tennessee. Donated by Shirley Silver.

Contact the Library

Give us a call at 404.373.1653 (ext. 2229) or send us a message using the form below.