Fulton urgently needs better libraries

The Fulton County library bond referendum is about 60 preschoolers packed into a tiny one-room library at Bankhead Courts listening to the story of Peter and the Wolf. I looked at the plastic windows and metal walls that have served as this community’s library for almost 20 years and thought, we must do better.

It’s about a library located in a rented former funeral home that is one of our most heavily used in the system. Don’t our children deserve better? It’s about people in east Roswell who have no library. It’s about connecting people with computers they don’t have at home. It’s about community. It’s about equitable service. It’s about addressing a need that is growing, not diminishing.

Your vote means eight new libraries, two expansions including the Auburn Avenue Research Library, and 23 renovated libraries.

This is an exceptionally important issue for voters. I know the decision will be difficult for many given the current economic climate, but it is critical we lift up our public libraries —- used now more than ever. To put the cost in perspective, the owner of a $300,000 home would pay $37.92 per year or just $3.16 per month.

People turn to public libraries even more in challenging economic times —- borrowing books instead of buying them, checking out DVDs instead of renting them, using library computers to write their resumes and search for jobs.

This is not about having prettier buildings or an aesthetic judgment on the existing central library. The library’s mission is open and equal access to all. A library signifies opportunity for people of every age, income level, ethnicity or physical ability —- offering programs that educate and engage. Great libraries make communities stronger, boost economic development and stand as their community’s center.

Seattle, Nashville, Minneapolis and others all understand this —- they’ve built many new branches and, yes, a new central library as well. A new central library in Atlanta would follow the path of these other great cities, but it is only a piece of the plan.

Our libraries had 3.7 million visitors last year and circulated 3.2 million items. More than 7,000 programs were attended by 250,000 patrons. Our Web site had 5 million hits, approximately 13,700 per day, and patrons used our computers for more than 1.8 million sessions.

Your vote touches every Fulton County resident. One question. One county. One tremendously improved library system. Fulton County cannot afford to fall behind.

> John F. Szabo is director of the Atlanta Fulton Public Library System.

This column is solicited to provide another viewpoint to an AJC editorial published today.