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AJC > Sandy Springs > Blog > Archives > 2008 > January > 07

Monday, January 7, 2008

Do we need a new library in Sandy Springs? Do we use the old one?

By Jim Osterman | Monday, January 7, 2008, 07:43 AM

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

There’s quite a fuss being raised over our library. According to current plans, some cities in Fulton County will be getting new facilities while we’re in line for a renovation.

On one hand it would be nice to have a new building. The current Sandy Springs library was where I did research for my high school term papers, and that was back when Watergate was still news.

[Note to reader - if you don’t know what Watergate is, go to the library and look it up.]

But do we really need a new library? I know there are a lot of Sandy Springsteens who want a new facility, but there is a huge gulf between a want and a need.

And I have to ask because I wonder if libraries are as vital a part of a community as they once were.

I can’t recall the last time I was in the library other than to vote. I don’t think I could find my library card on a bet. Thanks to the used book section at Goodwill, I’m backed up 10 deep in books waiting to be read. Thanks to the Internet I no longer have to leave home to do my research.

When our kids where finishing their last years of high school the library was not a necessary stop for them to gather information for term papers and research work. They also had access to the ‘net, not to mention the encyclopedia that came with the computer.

So I have to ask, do we really need a brand new building? Is the demand for library services here in town taxing the current facility beyond its limits?

If not, why spend the money and resources to put up a brand new building when it’s not needed?

Before we start pounding the table and demanding a brand-new building we need to make sure we can make a case that it’s a need and not a want. I’m not saying the library has gone the way of black-and-white TV, but where does it fit into our community?

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