The Frank and Laura Lewis Library opened to the campus on the first day of spring semester in 2009. At the suggestion of the lead donor to the project (Callaway Foundation, Inc.), the 45,000 square-foot facility was named for the late Frank and Laura Lewis. Frank Lewis (1931–2006) served at LaGrange College as a Librarian for two years and as the Director of the William and Evelyn Banks Library for 24 years. He was the first African-American member of the faculty and later of the Board of Trustees of LaGrange College. Laura Scott Lewis (1931–2003) served as Librarian and Assistant Director for the Troup/Coweta/Harris Regional Library System for 34 years. She was initially the Librarian for the Union Street Library in LaGrange. Both Frank and Laura were very active in the LaGrange community: he as a longtime sports official and she as a volunteer with the Girl Scouts.
When the Lewis Library opened its doors in 2009, the Director, Loren Pinkerman, wanted to have a time capsule installed. He wanted it to be placed where it would be visible to everyone entering the library, yet its contents would remain hidden. Today, the Lewis Library has a time capsule that is seen daily by hundreds of students, staff, and faculty although its contents will not be revealed to the public until 2059.
Time capsules have changed and improved from the days when rusty, metal boxes were buried in the foundations of buildings with their contents only becoming available when recovered from the rubble. A Heritage Time Capsule was eventually chosen for the Lewis Library for its ease of installation and opening. An email was sent to all students by Jack Slay, then Dean of Students, for suggestions as to what to include in the time capsule. Technology was excluded since it would probably be obsolete by 2059, however, the items inside hopefully will provide a glimpse of college life as it was in 2009. The inventory and instructions for opening are in a sealed envelope located in the Suber Archives and Special Collections waiting for 2059 to arrive.
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