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 

  • Chooch Helped by Andrea L. Rogers
    This lovingly illustrated picture book is the story of an older sibling learning to make space for a new child in the family. It beautifully shows a Cherokee family immersing themselves in their cultural traditions. Winner of the 2025 Caldecott Award.

• JUVENILE FICTION

  • Across So Many Seas by Ruth Behar

    A lyrically told saga of four girls from different generations of a Jewish family. This is a 2025 Newbery honor winner, given by Beth and Ron Withers in memory of Linda Rutland.

• ADULT FICTION

  • Theo of Golden by Allen Levi
    Theo arrives in Golden, Georgia early one Spring day and by chance (?) visits a coffee shop where 92 framed portraits are on display. “Inspired, Theo sets out on a mission of purchasing all the portraits one at a time and quietly bestowing them on their ‘rightful owners’. Stories are told, friendships are born and lives are changed. Theo of Golden is a beautifully crafted story about the power of creative generosity, the importance of wonder to a purposeful life and the far-reaching possibilities of anonymous kindness.” A couple of our church members have already read this book and gave it rave reviews.

• ADULT NON-FICTION

  • The Friday Afternoon Club: A Family Memoir by Griffin Dunne
    The author, himself an actor, producer and director, is a real writer. “The Friday Afternoon Club is a riveting and rollicking portrait of Dunne’s unconventional family as well as a deeply considered reckoning with the tragedy that exploded within it. He is honest about himself, generous with others, and insightful about every glittering and dark aspect of his richly lived years. He is also - like the best entertainers - ridiculously funny. This is just a wonderful memoir. Period.” Alexandra Styron. author.

Contact the Library

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