Time to rethink public libraries' use

A few days ago I was looking through back copies of the AJC. In doing so I came across the column "Is library a true need or luxury?" [AJC Northside Opinions, My View: Jim Osterman, Jan. 6].

While I try to keep current on events in Sandy Springs, I confess I missed this debate. Too bad, because I've given a lot of thought to the role of libraries in the current lives of urban residents in the United States.

While I am not about to admit they no longer serve a useful purpose, I strongly believe there needs to be a healthy debate about their value. After all, they are generally very expensive and under-utilized institutions. Thanks for your contribution to that debate.

I hope that I am not mischaracterizing this, but it seems that at one time they served at least two important functions: as a convenient and centralized location to obtain learning material and as a focus of the community.

As you have pointed out, clearly the first function has come under attack and needs to be carefully examined. As to the second, libraries long ago ceased to serve as the focus of a community. The edifices envisioned by [Andrew] Carnegie have all too often been replaced by cold, modern, uninviting structures.

A few weeks ago while waiting to get a book at the Central Atlanta Library, I stepped out to the plaza to make a phone call. Even though I was outside the building on a vast and completely empty terrace, I was told by a security guard that I could not loiter in that area.

So here is my suggestion for a bit of current day relevance for the Sandy Springs library (at least until a better or more appropriate use is found): The library system should open a coffee shop. This would attract more patrons, help the library become more of a community focal point and revenues could subsidize the system.

There is a precedent. Years ago there was a small cafe/restaurant called Delectable in the main library. It was a great place to get away from the noise and traffic of downtown.

Think about the possibilities with a coffee shop at the Sandy Springs library. It could at the least serve as a refuge for all of those Cobb County-bound motorists trying to negotiate the Johnson Ferry/Roswell intersection at rush hour. Thanks for the column, wish I had seen it earlier.

BRUCE CAPPS, Atlanta

No pity for thieves, homeless or not

Thank you, Jim Osterman, for stating it like it is. Too many of us are afraid we might offend the homeless. But if they commit crimes, there must be NO PITY! ["Homeless who steal should be dealt with," AJC Northside Opinions, My View: Jim Osterman, March 16.]

They must be removed from the streets immediately if they are stealing. It is frightening to walk by people lying on the streets not knowing if they will approach us.

Could they not find any type of job —- possibly sweeping floors at a fast-food joint?

It certainly makes me glad that I have moved farther north from the Sandy Springs that I once knew and loved.

SUSAN HARTSFIELD TANNER, Cumming

Response to: What do you think about Georgia's efforts to realign the state's boundaries to include a portion of Tennessee, specifically the Tennessee River?, AJC Northside Opinions

Water belongs to Tennessee, not us

I'm not a lawyer, but I think there is a legal principle called "title by adverse possession," which states that if you claim and occupy property for several years, it's yours. In spite of that unfortunate surveyor's error, it looks to me like the land in question now belongs to Tennessee.

Why don't we offer to trade something for it —- maybe Clayton County?

MARION BLACKWELL JR., Vinings