"The very beginnings of the genealogy library were some rare books stored in a janitor’s closet at the Carnegie Library, she said. Eventually, the Odom Gift Committee was formed to allocate money from the estate of Ellen Ashby Payne Odom, a trustee of the library. Its purppose was to help build a genealogy library and purchase the Emmett Lucas collection, which is the “core” of the Odom Library. Godwin said the committee included Van Platter, Eva Rice, Merle Baker, Bert Harsh, Campbell Ansley, James Kirk, Jack Short, Bill McIntosh, Jestina Lewis, and Melody Jenkins. "

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