• AJC Urges Citizens to Vote 'No' on Next Month's Library Bond Referendum
  Posted October 9, 2008

• More Must be Done To Make Local Voters Believe
  It's Worth Spending More Money on Public Libraries   Posted September 3, 2008
  
  

• More Depressing Evidence of County Government Incompetence   Posted August 20, 2008
  
  

Commissioners Approve $275 Million Price Tag for Upcoming Library System Bond Referendum
Posted July 17, 2008; revised July 21, 2008;
Updated July 18, July 22, July 28, July 29, July 30; August 2, August 5, August 7; September 3, September 8; October 9, 2008

• A New $90+ Million Central Library for Atlanta?
  Posted June 14, 2008; updated June 25, June 26, June 30, July 1, July 3, and July 7, 2008

• Buckhead Library Redux?
  Posted May 20, 2008; updated May 27, 2008 and June 7, 2008
  
  

• No Reform of Fulton County Government This Year   Posted April 12, 2008
  
  

• Fulton Commissioners Approve Library's
  $150+ Million Building and Renovation Plan   Posted March 19, 2008
  
  
• Georgia Legislators Introduce 10 Proposed Laws
  to Overhaul an Obstinate Fulton County Government   Posted March 11, 2008
  
  
• Milton County Proposal Still Alive   Posted March 5, 2008
  
  

• Trustees Vote Against Re-Locating Buckhead Branch   Posted February 28, 2008
  
  
• Save the Library!   February 16, 2008; posted February 28, 2008
  
  
• Branch Library an Obstacle to Developer's Plans
  Posted February 11, 2008; updated February 26, 2008
  
  
• Proposed Legislation Could Result in Budget Cuts
  for Libraries and Other County Services   Posted February 7, 2008
  
  

• Trustees Vote to Build Second Large Library in Roswell
  Posted January 30, 2008
  
  
• Designing Functional Public Libraries   Posted January 29, 2008
  
  
• Newspaper Publishes Op-Ed Critical of AFPL Policy
  Posted January 4, 2007; updated January 7 and January 14, 2008
  
  

• Citizens Want a Second Library for Roswell   Posted December 29, 2007
  
  
• Commissioners Condemn Commission Reform Plan   Posted December 29, 2007
  
  
• Legislative Committee Recommends Reducing Size of County Commission
  Posted December 18, 2007
  
  
• County Commissioners Select Next County Manager   Posted December 11, 2007

• State Legislators Consider Proposals to Downsize Fulton County Government
  Posted November 2, 2007

• Voters Reject Forming New City in Southern Fulton County   Posted September 24, 2007

• Legislative Committee to Study Fulton Governance   Posted July 10, 2007
  
  

• Garnes Fails at Third Bid for ALA Council   Posted May 3, 2007
  
  

• Legislature Considering Restructuring Fulton County Commission
  Posted March 19, 2007; additional hyperlink inserted March 21, 2007
  
  
• Garnes Trying Again for Another Term on ALA Council   Posted March 16, 2007
  
  
• County IT Department Screws Up Again, Bigtime!   Posted March 12, 2007
  
  
• County's Chief Lawyer Announces Retirement   Posted March 8, 2007

• Another Garnes Sighting   Posted February 7, 2007
  
  
• Another Hooker Sighting   Posted February 5, 2007

• Commissioners Add $2.7 Million to Library System's Budget
  Posted January 24, 2007; updated January 25 and 26, 2007
  
  
• Retiring a Metaphor (The Central Library Crater, 2002-2007)
  Posted January 16, 2007
  
  
• Circ Totals for 2006, 2005 Justify Staffing Changes at Some Branches
  Posted January 8, 2006
  
  

• Committees Won't Be Selecting Branch Collections   Posted December 7, 2006
  
  

• Centralized Selection: Say It Ain't So, John!   Posted November 6, 2006
  
  

• Latest Garnes Sighting   Posted October 26, 2006
  
  

Webmaster's Note: The stories posted to the top of AFPLWATCH throughout September 2006 have been lost. Should the stories from September 2006 become available via the Internet Archive, they will be restored to the AFPLWATCH archives.

• July's Circ Stats Identify "The Usual Suspects" as Busiest Branches
  Posted August 5, 2006
  
  

• Another Year's Worth of Data Supports Staffing Reallocations
  Posted July 31, 2006; correction posted August 1, 2006
  
  
• Supporting "The Shared Life of the Mind"   Posted July 2, 2006

• Why Not Auburn Avenue for MLK, Jr.'s Personal Papers?
  Posted June 26, 2006; postscript added June 29, 2006
  
  
• What's Wrong With This Picture?   Posted June 19, 2006
  
  
• Progress Made on AFPL's Internet Filtering Practices   Posted June 6, 2006
  
  

• Branch Staff Allocations Still Out of Whack   Posted May 17, 2006
  
  
• Garnes Loses Another ALA Council Election Bid
  Posted May 2, 2006; updated May 3, 2006

• City of Atlanta Partners with AFPL for "Atlanta Reads"
  Posted April 27, 2006; updated April 28, 2006
  
  
• Another Hooker Sighting   Posted April 26, 2006
  
  
• Busiest Branches Understaffed; Least Busy Branches Overstaffed
  Posted April 14, 2006
  
  
• Szabo Talks to the Library's Trustees about...   Posted April 3, 2006

• Newspaper Editorial: "Fulton Commissioners, Look at Your County"
  Posted March 30, 2006
  
  
• AFPL Patrons Need Mechanism for Unblocking "Forbidden" Websites
  Posted March 28, 2006
  
  
• Latest Garnes Sighting(s)   Posted March 20, 2006
  
  
• Happy Birthday to the AFPL Crater!   Posted March 16, 2006
  
  
• Recent Transfer Sends Disturbing Signal to AFPL Employees
  Posted March 10, 2006
  
  
• Latest Circ Statistics Show What They Always Show
  Posted March 6, 2006; note inserted March 20, 2006
  
  

• Why AFPL Needs an Electronic Resources Librarian   Posted February 24, 2006
  
  
• Materials Purchasing Allocation Formula Needs Overhaul   Posted February 13, 2006
  
  
• Business As Usual: Disconnect Between Staffing and Workloads
  Posted February 2, 2006

• Commissioners Increase County's 2006 Budget
  $2.5 Million Beyond County Manager's Recommendation
  Posted January 19, 2006; updated January 24, 2006 and February 9, 2006
  
  
• County's Computer Maintenance Interfering with County Library Use
  Posted January 4, 2006; updated January 9, 2006
  
  
• Employees at Some Branch Libraries Handling 10, 11, 12 Times as Much Work
  as Staff at Other Branches   Posted January 6, 2006
  
  
• 2005 Ends with Several Breaths of Fresh Air
  Posted January 4, 2006; revised January 6, 2006

• County Commission Approves Atlanta Beltway,
  Stipulates $27 Million in Library Improvements
  Posted December 22, 2005; updated January 2, 2006
  
  
• More Self-Inflicted Losses from County Coffers?   Posted December 21, 2005
  
  
• Dept. of Unexpected Accolades: East Atlanta as "Best New Branch Library"
  Posted December 8, 2005
  
  
• Circ Stats Show Need for Long-Overdue Staffing Changes   Posted December 6, 2005
  
  
• MLK Branch to Get $86,000 of Funds Designated for Ocee   Posted December 2, 2005
  
  
• Library Still Plagued by Frequent Computer Crashes   Posted December 1, 2005

• County Commission Begins Debate on 2006 Budget   Posted November 30, 2005
  
  
• Szabo Hires New AFPL Development Officer   Posted November 23, 2005
  
  
• State Fines Fulton County Government $1.4 Million
  for (Another) Tax Assessment Screwup   Posted November 22, 2005
  
  
• Ocee Branch Gets the Rest of Its Funding   Posted November 21, 2005
  
  
• Recent Garnes Sighting   Posted November 21, 2005
  
  
• John Szabo's First Six Months as AFPL Director: What's the Verdict?
  Posted November 17, 2005
  
  
• Handful of (Understaffed) Branches Handling Lion's Share of Circulation
  Posted November 3, 2005

• Former AFPL Board Chair McClure Dead at 57   Posted October 26, 2005
  
  
• AFPL Fares Badly (Again) in Annual Ratings of Public Libraries
  Posted October 20, 2005
  
  
• Editorial: Libraries a Hostage to County's Race Politics   Posted October 17, 2005
  
  
• Holds Embargo on East Atlanta Branch Materials Needs to Be Ended
  Posted October 12, 2005; updated October 19, 2005
  
  
• Usual Suspects Bearing Brunt of Library System's Workload   Posted October 5, 2005

• County Should Invest Part of Its Surplus in Its Libraries   Posted September 15, 2005
  
  
• More Staff-Adjustment-Justifying Data Now Available   Posted September 14, 2005
  
  
• Editorial: Why Can't County Government Get Serious about Employee Security?
  Posted September 13, 2005
  
  
• Busiest Branches Endure Another Year of Documented Understaffing
  Posted September 6, 2005
  
  

• Will AFPL Be Safe After Handel Departs?   Posted August 22, 2005
  
  
• July Circ Counts...and Part of What They Mean   Posted August 3, 2005

• Unconfirmed Hooker Sighting   Posted July 26, 2005
  
  
• Some Patrons More Equal Than Others   Posted July 15, 2005
  
  
• Some Branches Still Overstaffed, Others Still Understaffed   Posted July 3, 2005

• Another Upbeat Newspaper Interview with Szabo   Posted June 30, 2005
  
  
• Sandy Springs Voters Create Georgia's Newest City
  Posted June 22, 2005; updated June 29, 2005
  
  
• A New Day for AFPL Governance?   Posted June 22, 2005; updated July 3, 2005
  
  
• Still No Announcement of 2005 Holiday Closings
  Posted June 18, 2005; updated June 30, 2005
  
  
• Editorial: Library Theft Rate Finally Get Some Press Attention (Elsewhere)
  Posted June 15, 2005; reader comment posted June 22, 2005
  
  
• Some Branches Still Far Busier Than Others   Posted June 2, 2005

• What a Difference a Year Makes...   Posted May 28, 2005
  
  
• AFPL's New Director in the News Again   Posted May 28, 2005
  
  
• Editorial: The Library's Computer Woes   Posted May 6, 2005
  
  
• Same Story, 9th Verse: April's Circ Statistics   Posted May 5, 2005
  
  
• Carolyn Garnes Loses ALA Council Re-election Bid   Posted May 3, 2005
  
  

• Postscript to Recent Garnes Sighting   Posted April 19, 2005
  
  
• More Statistics, Same Conclusion: Staffing Allocations Out of Whack
  Posted April 18, 2005
  
  
• AFPL in the News Again   Posted April 14, 2005; update posted April 20, 2005
  
  
• Editorial: Hello, Szabo!   Posted April 7, 2005
  
  
• Indefensible Staffing Patterns Need Urgent Scrutiny   Posted April 5, 2005
  
  

• AFPL Crater Turns Three Years Old  Posted March 25, 2005
  
  
• Editorial: Time to Dismantle AFPL's Personnel Office?
  Posted March 11, 2005; reader comments posted March 14, 2005
  
  
• Yet Another Month of Staffing, Budget Inequities
  Posted February 2, 2005; updated March 3, 2005
  
  

• John Szabo Named AFPL's Next Director; Starts April 4th
  Posted February 25, 2005; additional links and reader comment inserted February 28
  
  
• Editorial: When No News Ain't Good News   Posted February 18, 2005

• Manager Dominoes III: Now It's the Patrons' Turn!   Posted January 28, 2005
  
  
• Editorial: Minimum Requirements for a Functional Library   Posted January 24, 2005
  
  
• County Commissioners Approve Cost-of-Living Raise
  Posted January 20, 2005; updated February 4, 2005
  
  
• Branch Budget Allocations: Good News, Bad News   Posted January 13, 2005
  
  
• Editorial: "If I Were King of the Forest..."   Posted January 7, 2005
  
  
• 2004 Ends with Staff, Budget Imbalances at AFPL Branches   Posted January 5, 2005
  
  

• Trustees Express Appreciation to Inept Predecessors   Posted December 29, 2004
  
  
• Fulton County’s Commitment to Customer Service: A Myth?   Posted December 10, 2004
  
  
• Branch Budgets, Staffing Still Don't Reflect Workloads   Posted December 4, 2004
  
  
• DeKalb PL Makes Local Headlines (The Good Kind)   Posted December 3, 2004
  
  
• AFPL Ranks Among Most Mediocre of Larger U.S. Library Systems
  Posted December 2, 2004
  
  
• MLK, Jr. Branch Re-opens???   Posted December 1, 2004

• Farewell to Osborne-Harris
  Posted November 30, 2004; reader comment posted December 2, 2004
  
  
• Ethics Board Investigating Ex-Board Chair Steed   Posted November 19, 2004
  
  
• Self-Checkout Machines: Another Approaching Trainwreck?   Posted November 18, 2004
  
  
• Handel Proposes End to County's Hiring Freeze   Posted November 16, 2004
  
  
• Hooker Sighting Update   Posted November 11, 2004; updated November 13, 2004
  
  

• Halloween Special: AFPL Memo Hall of Fame   Posted October 31, 2004
  
  
• More on Osborne-Harris' Move to Newnan Library   Posted October 29, 2004
  
  
• AFPL's Bookmobile Fiasco   Posted October 12, 2004
  
  
• Blood from Turnips?   Posted October 7, 2004
  
  
• Branch Budgets, Staffing Don't Reflect Workloads
  Posted October 1, 2004; updated October 3 and November 3, 2004
  
  

• Clark Atlanta Update   Posted September 26, 2004; updated September 27
  
  
• Grand Rapids Rejects Hooker as Its Next Director
  Posted and updated September 20, 2004;
  Reader comments posted September 21, September 22, and September 24, 2004
  
  
• Commissioner Boxhill 'Disappointed' Ocee Library is Larger Than Originally Planned
  Posted September 15, 2004; updated September 28, 2004
  
  
• PINES Developing Alternative to SIRSI   Posted September 17, 2004
  
  
• Hooker a Finalist in Grand Rapids
  Posted September 15, 2004; updated September 16, 2004

• Discrimination Lawsuit against DeKalb County Government
  Posted August 25, 2004; updated August 27, 2004
  
  
• Fulton County Sitting on $10 Million Surplus   Posted August 13, 2004
  
  
• "New" Library Board Ain't Very New   Posted August 9, 2004; updated August 24, 2004
  
  

• Management Meltdown   Posted July 30, 2004; numerous subsequent updates
  
  
• The Dennard "Remembrance Exercise": Intention=A, Execution=C
  Posted July 27, 2004
  
  
• Commissioners Reappointing Old Board Members to "New" Board
  Posted July 7, 2004; updated July 12, July 14, July 15, and August 3, 2004
  

• Beware of the Itinerant Library Director   Posted June 28, 2004
  
  
• County Posts Director Position Vacancy   Posted June 24, 2004; updated August 4, 2004
  
  
• Editorial: Time to Cut Back on Library Hours
  Posted June 18, 2004; revised June 21, 2004; reader response posted June 23, 2004
  
  
• Trustees in Denial about Colleague's Demise   Posted June 7, 2004
  
  
• Improvements at AFPL Underway   Posted June 4, 2004
  
  
• AFPL Lawsuit Plaintiffs Make Largest-Ever Donation to ALA's Merritt Fund
  Posted June 2, 2004
  
  

• AJC News Story and Editorial about Hooker's Firing   Posted May 29, 2004
  
  
• Planning for a Post-Hooker Library   Posted May 24, 2004
  
  
• County Manager Fires Mary Kaye Hooker
  Posted May 19, 2004; revised May 20; postscript added June 9, 2004
  
  
• Hooker Wants Company at Re-Training Sessions  Posted May 17, 2004
  
  
• AFPL's Head Cataloger Resigns  Posted May 11, 2004
  
  
• Personnel Office Desk Vexes Employees
  Posted May 7, 2004; reader responses posted May 10 & May 11, 2004
  
  
• Darnell "Disappointed" and "Disturbed"  Posted May 5, 2004
  
  
• Commissioners Hire Lawyers to Investigate Hooker's EEO Complaint
  Posted May 3, 2004
  

• Text of Hooker's EEO Complaint  Posted April 28, 2004
  
  
• Hooker's Newest Game: "Manager Dominoes"  Posted April 23, 2004
  
  
• Text of Library Reform Legislation  Posted April 23, 2004; updated May 5, 2004
  
  
• AFPLWATCH Editorial: Yep, We're Angry, Yes We Are  Posted April 20, 2004
  
  
• Staff Alert: Hooker Known to Take Extreme Measures  Posted April 9, 2004
  
  
• Don't "Catalog GALILEO," Do This Instead
  Posted April 14, 2004; comment posted April 20, 2004
  
  
• July 1, 2004 is Library Reform Law's Effective Date
  Posted April 13, 2004; link added April 15, 2004
  
  
• Board Vows to Monitor Specifics of Hooker's Makeover   Posted April 12, 2004
  
  
• Legislature Passes Library Reform Bill   Posted April 8, 2004
  
  
• Citizen Alert about Impending Vote on Library Reform Bill Posted April 3, 2004

• Mary Kaye Hooker's Library...By the Numbers
  Posted March 31, 2004; updated May 12, 2004
  
  
• "Library Board Members Overdue for Pokey" [AJC Letter]   Posted March 31, 2004
  
  
• Suggestions for the Mary Kaye Makeover Project   Posted March 27, 2004
  
  
• Hooker Files Discrimination Complaint (!) [AJC Story]
  Posted March 24, 2004; corrections posted March 25, 2004;
  Reader comments posted March 25, March 26; link added March 30, 2004
  
  
• "Race Divided Fulton Libraries; Years after Suits, Morale Still Low" [AJC Story]
  Posted March 22, 2004
  
  
• The March 2004 Agency Meeting  Posted March 17, 2004
  
  
• Details of MKH's Sensitivity Training, Please?  Posted March 15, 2004
  
  
• Holiday Openings Instead of Holiday Closings!
  Posted March 11, 2004; updated March 26, 2004
  
  
• Happy Birthday to the AFPL Crater!  Posted March 4, 2004
  
  
• Hooker and McClure Have Got to Go! [FCTA Article]  Posted March 3, 2004
  
  
• Support Georgia Senate Bill 231  Posted March 2, 2004

• Ignoring Circulation Statistics When Allocating Library Resources:
  Two Charts, One Question, Several Comments  Posted February 22, 2004
  
  
• Dept. of Chronic Workplace Fatigue (Frozen Staff Positions)
  Posted February 20, 2004
  
  
• "Zero Tolerance" vs. "Maximum Indulgence"  Posted February 16, 2004
  
  
• The Report the Board Used To Keep Hooker (Instead of Firing Her)
  Posted February 16, 2004
  
  
• "The Great Unraveling"  Posted February 13, 2004; updated April 6, 2004
  
  
• Hooker Keeps Her Job, Must Attend “Sensitivity Training”
  Posted February 12, 2004; links added February 14 and February 16, 2004
  
  
• "Report, Editorial Slam Atlanta-Fulton PL; Second Lawsuit Settled" [LJ story]
  Posted February 7, 2004
  
  
• "Pull Plug on Odious Library Board" [AJC Editorial and Letter-to-the-Editor]
  Posted February 5, 2004; link added February 7
  
  
• Hooker Cancels Another Library Managers' Meeting  Posted February 4, 2004
  
  
• Second Library Lawsuit Settled  Posted February 3, 2004
  
  
• "Report Alarms Library Board" [AJC Article]  Posted February 3, 2004
  

• Will Legislators Reform AFPL's Library Board? [AJC story]  Posted January 28, 2004
  
  
• Hooker, Carnes Ignoring Board Policy  Posted January 16, 2004
  
  
• McClure Named "Scalawag of the Week"  Posted January 16, 2004
  
  
• Who's On First?  Posted January 6, 2004; updated January 8, 2004
  

• Dept. of Media Ads We'd Like to See  Posted December 23, 2003
  
  
• Employees Receive Holiday Greetings  Posted December 18, 2003
  
  
• AFPL's Selection of 2004 Vendors: We Smell Several Rats
  Posted December 17, 2003; updated December 23, 2003
  
  
• Commissioners Fed up with AFPL Administrators?
  Posted December 17, 2003; updated December 23, 2003
  
  
• What Budget Crisis?  Posted December 16, 2003
  
  
• Toward a Glossary of Hookerspeak  Posted December 14, 2003
  
  
• Reader Contest: Name That Crater!
  Posted December 14, 2003; reader response posted December 23, 2003
  
  
• Trustees Object to Board's Micromanagement  Posted December 9, 2003
  
  
• AFPL Sued Again for Discrimination and Retaliation
  Links to news stories posted December 3 and December 8, 2003
  
  
• Hooker's Latest Reorganization Memo  Posted December 2, 2003
  

• Employees Receive EEO Questionnaires
  Posted November 25, 2003; updated December 4, 2003
  
  
• Head-in-the-Sand Award for 2003  Posted November 24, 2003
  
  
• The Case of the Faltering FiltersPosted November 22, 2003
  
  
• The Case of the Missing Memos  Posted November 19, 2003
  
  
• Trustees Violating Georgia's Open Meetings Act?
  Posted November 14, 2003; updated November 15, December 4, January 13
  
  
• Welcome to Hookerspeak  Posted November 11, 2003; updated November 13, 2003
  

• AFPL's Web Site Hijacked
  Posted October 29, 2003; updated October 30, November 5 & 14
  
  
• The SIRSI Saga Begins...  Updated October 30, 2003
  
  
• Myth vs. Reality Posted October 28, 2003
  
  
• Survey of EEO Violations at AFPL  Posted October 22, 2003
  
  
• Taxpayers Group Demands Hooker's, McClure's Removal   Posted October 10, 2003
  
  
• Central Library Administrator Susan Earl Resigns  Posted October 9, 2003
  
  
• Board Again Circumventing County Procedures  Posted October 7, 2003
  
  
• Staff Alert: Be Careful What You Say...  Posted October 3, 2003

• Deputy Director Carolyn Garnes Abruptly Retires   Posted September 23, 2003
  
  
• Further Evidence of AFPL's Downward Spiral   [Posted Late September 2003]
  
  
• Another Pending Lawsuit Against Fulton County?   Posted September 17, 2003
  
  
• How's the Library Doing in Providing Online Databases?   [Posted mid-September 2003]
  
  
• Good Luck to AFPL's Newest Administrator  Posted September 7, 2003

• "Regime Change" is Only Hope for Library Reform
  Posted August 12, 2003; Updated August 28
  
  
• Library Administrators Still Discriminating
  Posted August 8, 2003; Updated August 10, August 13, August 20
  
  
• U.S. Appeals Court Refuses to Review Its Ruling
  in the Library Race Discrimination Case   Posted August 1, 2003
  
  
• The $185,000 Shelving Boondoggle   Posted August 1, 2003
  
  

• AFPL's Status in a Ranking of U.S. Public Library Systems   Posted July 2003
  
  
• How the South Fulton Branch Manager Position Became Vacant - Not!"
  Posted July 2003
  

• Revealing Rankings
  Posted June 1, 2003; updated June 17, June 25, July 18, July 23, July 30, 2003
  

• Allocations of AFPL's 2003 Materials Budget   Posted May 6, 2003
  
  
• What Has to Happen Every Year Before Books and Other Materials
  Begin Reaching Library Shelves   Posted May 4, 2003

• Hooker Decrees New Dress Code for AFPL Employees   Posted April 9, 2003
  

• Library Director's Letter Reveals Her Priorities?   Posted March 27, 2003
  
  
• The Biggest Elephant in the Library's Living Room   Posted March 21, 2003
  
  
• The Library Administration's Disastrous Plan for Bestsellers   Posted March 21, 2003

Postings to AFPLWATCH between November 2000
(when AFPLWATCH was established) and late March 2003:

• Documents filed during a library race discrimination lawsuit filed in August 2000
  
  
• Documents from a race discrimination grievance filed by library employees
  following an illegal reorganization of the library system in May 2000
  
  
• Documents from various attempts between October 1997 to July 2002
  to abolish or reform the library board