Ocee Library Funds Put on Hold Again
John's Creek Herald, October 26, 2005
"It is never easy to get anything done in North Fulton."
– late Commissioner Robert E. Fulton
Johns Creek residents will wait at least another 30 days before they get
an answer to when their regional library in Ocee will get the materials
other regional libraries have.
Once again, this time on a motion by Commissioner Robb Pitts, the County
Commission has tabled a decision whether to spend $600,000 already
allocated to expand the Robert E. Fulton Regional Library at Ocee.
The request came from the Atlanta Fulton Public Library System Board of
Trustees and the library director to release funds already allocated to
Ocee two weeks ago, but the request met a stone wall from the four
Democrats on the Board of Commissioners.
Pitts, who is elected countywide, said he still has some issues associated
with the library to clear up before he is comfortable with releasing the
funds.
Chief among those concerns is the claim by the library’s contractor, EDT
Inc., that the company is due $539,000 for work completed. The county
disputes this, saying only $48,000 is due. Pitts said there are also
questions about the hours of operation of the library and the kinds of
materials needed for the library.
Despite a statement by County Attorney O.V. Brantley that there is no basis
for EDT’s claims based on the documentation presented by the county General
Services Department, Pitts said he wanted more "clarification."
Yet Brantley told the board her staff had performed "an extensive review"
of the contract.
"My staff was not able to substantiate the contractor was owed any more
than $48,000," Brantley said.
Technically, the library system is asking for a zoning modification to
allow the library to operate as a 25,000-square-foot library. It was
originally zoned only as an 18,000-square-foot library, pending evidence
that the "need" for a full regional hospital was demonstrated.
Now a year after opening, the library is consistently one of the top three
libraries in the system in circulation of materials. Yet the Democrats on
the commission have refused to change the zoning or release the $600,000
allocated for expansion of the library’s collection.
Since most of the materials circulated at Ocee are for children and young
people most of the materials that would be purchased would reflect that.
Karen Purcell, president of the Friends of Ocee Library, told the
commissioners Oct. 19 that the volunteer group has been working for the
library for years, supporting Ocee as well as the other libraries in the
system. She said she thought the library had demonstrated its worth in the
community and had demonstrated the "need" to expand the library’s
collection to reflect that of a regional library.
Commissioner Emma Darnell appeared to be explaining why she voted to refuse
the funds when she noted her mother was not able to get a library card
until she was 40 years old, despite being a professor of literature at
Spelman College.
"The race card has been played in this state for over 200 years," Darnell
said.
Darnell did not elaborate on what connection there was between Jim Crow
laws in Georgia 40 years ago and library services today.
District 3 Councilwoman Lynne Riley said she was "incredibly disappointed"
that the measure failed again.
"The materials, which will primarily be aimed for use by our children,
will be available for every child in the system. The way our system works,
any book in any library can be checked out by anyone in the system. So
ultimately, it is all our children who are deprived," Riley said after the
vote.
Ocee Library Funds Withheld
by Hatcher Hurd, Alpharetta/Roswell Revue and News, October 12, 2005
Some $600,000 that could be used to expand the resources of the sorely
taxed Robert E. Fulton Regional Library at Ocee will remain in a county
bank account while county commissioners continue a vendetta against the
man for whom the library was named.
Originally the Ocee Library was
approved for construction as a 25,000-square-foot regional library to take
some the pressure off the Spruill Oaks Regional Library on Old Alabama Road
(then the only North Fulton library north of the Chattahoochee River and
east of Ga. 400).
As a compromise to Commissioners Emma Darnell and Nancy
Boxill, it was agreed the library would be built to a 25,000-square-foot
footprint, the usual size for a regional county library, but it would only
house a collection for 18,000 square feet. This step was taken to ensure
"the need" for the library would be apparent before the collection was
expanded.
It appeared to be a routine request when Atlanta-Fulton Library
System Director John Szabo and Board of Trustees Julius Suber appeared
before the Board of Commissioners Oct. 5 to request the funds which have
been held in account for the expansion of the library. What they received
was a vituperative explosion from commissioners Emma Darnell and Nancy
Boxill in which they accused Szabo and Suber of being pawns of some sort
of conspiracy to release those funds.
Just who the author of the
"conspiracy" was, they did not say. But Darnell read some chosen parts of
the minutes from one library board meeting in which Chairwoman Karen
Handel gave the library board on how best to bring the allocation request
before the Board of Commissioners.
The bad blood over the Ocee Library
goes back many years when the late Commissioner Fulton was able to get the
votes on the Board of Commissioners to first get money allocated for plans
for the library, then to approve a site and finally build it. Darnell and
Boxill bitterly opposed the library at every turn. When funds to build the
library were voted, Fulton agreed to a concession that Ocee only be built
out to 18,000 square feet until "the need" for a full regional library was
demonstrated.
However, county officials built out the Ocee Library to the
full 25,000-square-foot footprint. Boxill said she had expected to see
"curtains" hiding an unfinished portion of the building, despite assurances
that the building was finished out to include carpeting and wallpaper to
save money in the long run.
That did not impress Boxill. When she was told
that the Ocee Library would open as a complete building with none of it
cordoned off from the public she said at the time that she would order the
"wallpaper removed and the carpet rolled up" if she were able. At the Oct.
5 meeting, she called the allocations request "a ruse," saying the board
was "very clear" about what it wanted.
It was very clear what Boxill
wanted, but other board members said it was clear the allocated funds had
been put there to bring the collection up to regional status.
She said it
was "disrespectful" to bring the request before the board. Again, it was
not clear who Boxill was accusing of being disrespectful.
However, Szabo
and Suber said they were carrying out their duties as they saw fit. The
collection at Ocee is one of the most heavily circulated in the entire
library system. It is consistently No. 1 or No. 2 in the number of items
circulated despite having a much smaller collection than the other regional
libraries in the system, Szabo said. The funds in the Ocee account -
totaling just more than $700,000 - are undesignated. That means the
library board has the maximum flexibility to spend the money as it sees
fit. The only restriction is that the funds can only be used at Ocee.
Darnell claimed the request was "politics." She noted that a master plan
for the entire library system was due out in 2006, and she wanted any
dispersal of Ocee funds held until that was completed. She noted that the
regional library in her district "was a funeral parlor."
Yet of the
627,000 square feet of available library space, the vast majority is in
Darnell and Boxill’s district. North of the Chattahoochee, only 80,000
square feet has been built and only 72,000 square feet is available for
use by the public because Ocee’s collection is still 7,000 square feet
under complement. That means 11.6 percent of available space for
collections in the library system is open to North Fulton residents.
Darnell further stated she only supported the creation of a smaller
library board because of assurances that it would "make decisions without
political interference." She said in the past the library system has had
to deal with the allocation of resources and personnel based on race.
What
she did not say was that the previous makeup of the library board,
dominated by Atlanta appointees, had so warped the system through
mismanagement and illegal race-based personnel decisions that it resulted
in a reverse-discrimination judgment of $18 million. Darnell sat on the
library board during those years although she was never a defendant in the
lawsuit. Now only the commission chair has a seat on the library board.
Fulton Chairwoman Karen Handel said the allocation was to bring the
collection up to par with other regional libraries in the system and that
there is nothing sinister about that. Nor should the funds be withheld
pending the completion of a master plan because these were allocated to
Ocee years ago and should be used for the purpose the trustees have
decided.
Friends of the Ocee Library, a volunteer group associated with
Friends organizations in most of the system libraries, say they feel
betrayed by the commissioners.
"With inter-library loans and the work of
all Friends groups to try to improve the overall library system, what
helps one library helps the others," said Ocee Friends member Michele May.
"The Friends of the Ocee Library have helped support libraries in
commissioners Boxill and Darnell’s districts -- Dogwood, Stewart-Lakewood,
Auburn, and Central. Yet where is their support?"
The vote to deny the
funding failed by a 4-3 vote, but a vote to table the motion to release
the funds passed, also by a 4-3 vote. The swing vote was, as usual,
at-large commissioner Robb Pitts. The other votes broke down along racial
and party lines.
Pitts said he was concerned that the contractor still
claims to be owed $539,000 for additional work done on the library. Fulton
General Services Director Willie Hopkins said the county never authorized
the work and therefore would not pay for the work.
Pitts said he wanted to
see that issue cleared up before he voted to release the funds.
Fulton Commission Hits Lowest Point Yet
Editorial by Hatcher Hurd, Alpharetta News & Revue, October 13, 2005
At first I almost did not believe what I was hearing. But then this is the
Fulton County Commission, and you can believe anything that is said there.
Not what is said, just that it gets said and people are expected to
believe it.
The day had been spent mostly divided along racial and party lines. And
now that all the meetings are televised, we have several actors who
impersonate political leaders and evidently get good ratings in their
districts.
The nadir came when what would be a routine matter in most counties raised
its ugly head - libraries. Did a shudder just run through you? It does
when they are mentioned in commission chambers.
Especially if you mention that particular library in Ocee. Two
commissioners in particular have a passionate hatred of that library -
Darnell and Boxill by name. Every time that library come up, they pitch a
fit against it. It doesn’t matter what the request is. They fight it tooth
and nail.
In the spiteful world of commission politics, this was perhaps their
bitterest pill. The late Commissioner Robert E. Fulton had to move heaven
and earth to get that library built, but he managed it. He did it the way
that far too many pet projects get done on that august body.
You start with a pet project that will benefit your district. Unless you
have something to trade, most times it dies there.
If you are clever, you get the project a little bit pregnant by getting
some funding for, say in the case of a library, architectural plans.
North Fulton already had Spruill Oaks Regional Library open not too many
years ago, and perhaps many figured that should do for another decade or
so. But Robert was persistent, and he massaged the system. It turns out
there was a little bit of land the county owned on Abbotts Bridge Road,
and when Darnell wasn’t looking, he got the library Board of Trustees - or
at least the library director - to approve of it for the site for a
library in Ocee.
County politics to some is a zero sum game. So an Ocee Library suddenly
meant $10 million in library funds that was not going to be spent in other
districts. I won’t waste space arguing the pros and cons of the need for
the Ocee Library or whether Robert’s bending the system crossed the line
or not.
He just played the game the way it is played in Fulton County, and as the
dean of the county commissioners Tom Lowe has said more than twice, the
game is to get four affirmative votes for your project.
As last Wednesday’s meeting, it became evident that Boxill and Darnell
were not simply making an objection to this funding. They were on a
mission, and that mission was to get even with a dead man.
They called in every card. You cover the County Commission long enough,
you get to know the code words. Right off the bat Boxill was saying that
even bringing this request for funding had "disrespected" her.
Disrespect is code for racial slight. Think of how it was on the playground
when someone said, "Your mama." It was the one insult that could not be
ignored. If an argument culminated in "Your mama," it was a challenge to
fight or lose face entirely.
For a black politician to say one has been "disrespected," it is a call to
circle the wagons against Whitey. You hear that a lot at the County
Commission, and it is effective.
Black politicians can stand just about any test except for being soft on
being black.
Now the funding request is mostly to buy children’s book and other items.
Eighty percent of the circulation checked out is by or for young people.
Just how disrespectful is that?
Darnell and Boxill know that money has been there for the expansion of the
collection all along. They just want to either delay it, or get something
in return for releasing it.
I found it amusing how Darnell prefaced her opening salvo with a pledge
for the Board of Commissioners "not to interfere" with Library Board of
Trustees in their actions. Then in her next breath - her very next
breath - moved to deny the request. In the end, it was only tabled.
Commissioner Robb Pitts took his usual route to stand on the fence and
voted merely to hold the matter. How long? Who knows. But he was caught.
It was a "disrespecting" thing.
The thing that depresses me so much is the way business is conducted now.
There is little attempt at civility anymore. It is not uncommon to see
accusations of ulterior motives.
But this was the end. People want books in their library. The Board of
Trustees and the library director want books in their library. But two
commissioners want to make an issue of it to punish the constituents of a
man now dead.
That same day, Robb Pitts and Tom Lowe, two politicians who have over 50
years of political experience in their own right, said much the same thing.
This board has become so racially divided, it is about to lose all
effectiveness.
Pitts had an item on the agenda to put it before the board to have a
retreat, to spend a day, maybe two, assessing what common goals and
objectives they could try to focus on. He pulled the item from the agenda
saying this board is so racially and politically fractured such a retreat
would serve no purpose. Sadly, he is right.
Turning a Corner: Once-Embattled Library System
Moves Forward with New Director
by Towles Kintz, Atlanta Intown, July 2005, pages 26-27
The Atlanta-Fulton County Public Library System has seen some rough years:
low employee morale and internal strife, and the library’s former Board of
Directors’ questionable hiring and firing motive have made the system less
an intellectual and educational haven than an embattled and racially
divided war zone. Last year, eight white librarians won a racial
discrimination lawsuit against the library system and its former director,
Mary Kaye Hooker, totaling $18 million.
Today, however, the system seems to have turned a corner with a newly
appointed director, John F. Szabo. Szabo, 38, moved to Atlanta from
Clearwater, Fla. Where he served as that city’s library director for
almost six years, after stints at the Palm Harbor, Fla., and Robinson, Ill.
library systems.
Szabo says he has “a passion” for libraries and their important roles in
the community and has only had one job not with a library–as an announcer
for a public radio station in Alabama. He came to Atlanta with a commitment
to improve the quality of the city’s libraries, not only for their
dedicated staff members, but also for the people whom the libraries serve.
“Atlanta is a great city and deserves a great library,” he said. “This is
an incredible opportunity to write a success story.” Szabo shared other
thoughts of Atlanta and his role at the libraries from his office at the
downtown branch.
Why are you so passionate about libraries? What about your work gets you out of bed in the morning?
Libraries serve everyone–from cradle to grave–and in so many diverse ways.
Seeing 23 young people at the Bankhead Courts Branch Library or a group of
students taking an SAT workshop at Southwest Regional Library or the buzz
of activity at Roswell on a Sunday afternoon - that’s why I’m passionate
about libraries.
The Atlanta-Fulton Public Library System has had some rough years. Why
did you decide to come to Atlanta to take on the task of revitalization?
The commitment and raw materials are here. It’s also important to remember
that even through the tough times, our staff continued to provide excellent
service to our citizens.
How have you found working at the system so far?
I have received an incredibly warm welcome from the staff, patrons,
friends’ groups, the Library Foundation, the Library Board, and colleagues
in Fulton County government. We have wonderful libraries in this system--all
serving their neighborhoods and communities in very different ways. In some
communities, circulating bestsellers is the popular service; in another,
it may be providing a safe place for a13-year old to do her homework; and
yet in another it may be the only place to look for a job online. As I
visit each of our libraries - I’ve been to 25 of the 34 so far--I am
reminded of how important they are to their communities.
What’s the biggest challenge you face?
My management style is very personal - to keep communication lines open and
chat with staff at all levels as much as I can. That approach is extremely
challenging in a system of this size.
How do you deal with the library system’s low morale?
I’m very much a people person. In my brief time here, I’ve found that
straightforward, honest communication along with individual contact go a
long way toward improving morale. There is a great sense of optimism in
the organization. Our staff, although they’ve been through some incredibly
difficult years, has a genuine commitment to delivering superb service,
and I’ve seen real openness to new ideas and change.
As the information age advances, how do you see libraries playing a part?
Libraries were using computers before many businesses. Contrary to the
perception of many, the Internet has been a wonderful thing for libraries--it
helps librarians do what we do best: find information. Libraries are also
the place people go when they don’t have a compuer or they don’t have
high-speed access. Libraries and librarians embrace the Internet.
Which section of the library is your favorite?
Unfair question! I love every nook and cranny of the library, but when I
see a group of preschoolers at story time or a mother reading to her
children, it reminds me of why I love this profession.
A favorite quote?
“There is not such a cradle of democracy upon the earth as the Free Public
Library this republic of letters, where neither rank, office, nor wealth
receives the slightest consideration.” –Andrew Carnegie
How are you finding Atlanta?
While I miss the water, I’m just as excited about the trees and
hills–-something we didn’t have much of in Florida!
John Szabo Profile:
Hometown: Montgomery
Origin of last name: It means “tailor” in Hungarian
Education: B.A. in telecommunications form University of Alabama; master’s
in library and information science from the University of Michigan.
On his nightstand now: Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow
Favorite pastimes: “I really enjoy walking and I’m especially looking
forward to exploring the North Georgia mountains. I also like orchids.”
New Day Dawning for Fulton Libraries:
Director John Szabo Wants to Invigorate Library System
Alpharetta Revue & News, May 11, 2005
 New Atlanta-Fulton Public Library
System Director John F. Szabo is only half-way through a tour of the
system’s 34 libraries, but he is already eager to get started charting a
new direction to take the department.
After years of internal strife from a bigoted, power-hungry and contentious
board of directors that culminated in an $18 million racial discrimination
judgment for eight white female librarians, the AFPLS badly needs a sense
of direction. Morale has been low as employees saw two directors who stood
up to the board get fired, then a third director was stripped of any real
authority and given to the board’s hand-picked assistant.
The $18 million judgment was the catalyst that got the state Legislature
to act. The AFPLS Board of Directors was reduced from 17 members to nine,
and its powers curtailed. Perhaps most importantly, the library director
reports directly to the county manager.
Despite Szabo’s boyish face, the 37-year-old is an experienced administrator
and came walking into the position with eyes wide open.
"The position [at AFPLS] has certainly been considered a challenge in the
profession. I’m very familiar with the issues here, but they did not
dissuade me. But they did cause me to read more and learn more about the
system when I sought the job," Szabo said.
But with major challenges also come tremendous opportunities, and that is
what induced Szabo to leave his position of director of the Clearwater
(Fla.) Public Library System.
"There is no doubt significant changes are needed. But the raw materials
to make a truly outstanding system are here. There are a good many
resources," he said.
He wants to challenge the stakeholders – the library staff, supporters,
library board, county commissioners and residents – to change their
perception of their library system.
"Perhaps the biggest change I want to effect is the notion that this is a
collection of many libraries of which they may have one to call their own.
This is one system with many resources and each library is just one part
of it," Szabo said.
To rebuild morale, one of the first things Szabo wants to do is give the
staff more of a role in the system.
"In the past, staff seldom was empowered to do anything or make any
decisions. This is too large a system for one person to control every
process or procedure," he said. "To lead an organization of this size,
you must empower your people, all the way to the front line."
For example, when Szabo sat down with the architects for a new library, he
would bring in the custodian to review the plans to get a practical
viewpoint.
"You reap so much when you allow the people to be involved. Morale is
better and you have a better product. There has not been a lot of that in
the past," he said.
But Szabo is not one to rush in to make some quick fixes just to give the
illusion of progress. First, he wants a strategic plan for new facilities,
set priorities and see what the needs are for the many communities in this
70-mile long county.
"We are a large community with an unusual geography, diverse people and an
unusual history of how this system was put together. A formulaic approach
such as was common in the past is not good for Fulton County," he said.
"People need to see a single resource offered from 34 different locations –
a single collection."
The library system needs to break down the barriers of seeing only a
single location. Fulton’s geography is a challenge, but it is one AFPLS is
equipped to handle. Any item available at one library can be at another
branch in less than a day. Technology is bringing more information to
library patrons than was ever dreamed of even 10 years ago.
Libraries today are more than a room full of books. They are community
centers for people and organizations to meet. They serve people who do not
have Internet services at home or who have slow speed Internet services at
home.
And it is not a one-size-fits-all system. While a 25,000-square-foot
library is "a wonderful thing," a 10,000-square-foot library can provide a
great deal of services, Szabo said.
"People use libraries in different ways. A big library doesn’t have to be
the answer, it depends on the overall plan," he said.
Szabo admits the current system is "a hodgepodge" of locations, born of a
system where library locations were considered more as political spoils
than the fruits of a well-conceived plan.
While North Fulton residents may feel like they are grossly under-served,
they should not feel entirely like the stepchild of the family. Szabo
noted the city of Palmetto has no library, and likewise, southwest Fulton
has no library outside the I-285 perimeter. Union City must depend on a
regional library outside the city limits.
So the first thing Szabo wants to do is identify where services are needed
and assess capital costs. More libraries are needed, but how can we first
maximize our tax dollars to best advantage, and what level of services can
we afford in ongoing maintenance and operation once capital needs are set?
Szabo says one thing he will do is bring the community into fundraising.
"It is essential to have the community involved in raising capital funds.
We have wonderful Friends of the Libraries groups. However, it is critical
to have a capital campaign for new funding," Szabo said. "It would be
unconscionable not to give the community the opportunity to participate.
The county can build a functional library system, but it can be enhanced
by the community to be spectacular."
While the Friends of the Library groups have not always felt welcome by
the library administration, Szabo said he can assure them, "The Friends of
the Library have a friend in me."
Meanwhile, Szabo says his reception halfway through his tour of the system
has been "universally warm."
"The library system seems hungry for leadership. It is an exciting time.
Atlanta is one of the nation’s great cities. It and the metro area
certainly deserve a stellar, top-notch library system."
Better Days for Atlanta-Fulton Library?
Library Journal web site, April 19, 2005
In an interview with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, new Atlanta-Fulton Public Library System
director John Szabo said he was optimistic about progress. “I look forward to working with the
board," he said. "I trust they will understand their role and responsibilities as well as mine." In
an editorial on AFPLwatch.com, staffers long critical of library administrators and board
members wrote, “[W]e think John Szabo will understand the guarded optimism that greets the
long-awaited successor to Mary Kaye Hooker, instead of the open-armed enthusiasm he might
deserve.” They cited reasons for the optimism, among them Szabo’s credentials and the
library’s new board, as well as reasons for the guardedness, calling the library “a profoundly
broken institution” with “an exhausted, depleted, and justly-skeptical work force.”
Library Looks to Renewal:
New Director Raises Hopes for Healing
Atlanta Journal-Constitution, April 14, 2005
With a new director and a revamped board in place, the embattled
Atlanta-Fulton Public Library System — described by employees as a war
zone — hopes to shelve its troubled past.
John Szabo, 37, who started this month as head of the 34-branch system,
already knows about low staff morale and the system's battered public image.
But he says he is optimistic that the state's largest public library system
is already turning a new page.
Szabo, who recently moved here from Clearwater, Fla., has initial plans
that include getting to know the Atlanta-Fulton system better through the
eyes and ears of its board, staff, supporters and users. He's visited a
handful of branches and plans to stop by others in the coming weeks. He
held his first meeting with library managers last week. On April 27, he'll
meet for the first time with the 11-member Board of Trustees.
"I'm eager to learn what the staff and board members are most proud of
regarding the system and where they see significant problems," said Szabo,
who directed Clearwater's five-branch system for nearly six years.
Karen Handel, who chairs both the Fulton County Commission and the library
board, said Szabo brings much-needed continuity in leadership. For almost
a year, the system had no director. Szabo, the fourth person chosen as its
leader in six years, was hired after a national search to replace Mary Kaye
Hooker, who was fired in May.
Having a permanent director makes it possible for work to resume on the
strategic plan, Handel said. "We have a new library director," she said.
"It's exciting and a real opportunity to take our system to the next level."
In recent years, the library system has been plagued with problems. It
forfeited $18.2 million in taxpayer dollars to settle a reverse discrimination
lawsuit filed by library employees. In 2002, a branch manager at its
southwest Fulton location was slain. The library board, which has since
been reorganized, took heavy fire for micromanaging day-to-day operations.
Restructuring reduced the library board's size and power and switched its
focus to policymaking. Control of the system now is in the county's hands.
Szabo reports to the county manager's office. Since last summer, the board
has rewritten its constitution and bylaws.
Szabo believes micromanagement by the board is a thing of the past. "I'm
not worried. I look forward to working with the board," he said. "I trust
they will understand their role and responsibilities as well as mine."
Another employee complaint is a two-year hiring freeze that has left as
many as 40 positions — some key — unfilled at the central library and some
branches. The system has about 450 employees.
Szabo said it could take months to develop a plan to make all the changes
and improvements critics say are necessary.
Online Advice
Many are airing their concerns on a Web site, afplwatch.com, run anonymously
by library system employees. On the site, the employees enumerate problems
and offer a 99 suggestions for how Szabo should proceed.
Concerns detailed on the Web site include flawed hiring and promotion
practices, many of which they blame on former Deputy Director Carolyn
Garnes. Staff shortages and the nine extra months it took the county to
hire a permanent director also have been sources of frustration, according
to comments posted on the site.
Suggested improvements include a recommendation for Szabo to reassure the
staff that "library employees never again can fall prey to a regime that
ignores county and library policy, puts favorites into key positions,
intimidates staff, applies rules inconsistently, and punishes dissent and
criticism."
'Cautiously Optimistic'
Another recommendation is to split the library's three dozen branches into
three groups, each with a separate manager "whose sole job is to supervise
and support the [branch] managers."
A recent Web site editorial welcomed Szabo and wished him luck in his new
job. " 'You are going to need lots of it,' as we say to anyone wandering
on purpose into the war zone that is AFPL," the editorial read.
Pat Marks, Buckhead assistant branch manager and youth services manager,
is among the staffers taking a wait-and-see approach.
"I'm cautiously optimistic," Marks said. "The trail leading to [Szabo's]
arrival has been littered with unpleasant goings-on."
Improving staff morale and the system's ability to catalog its materials
are among the issues senior librarian Anthony Miller would like Szabo to
tackle as top priorities. On a scale of one to 10, morale currently is No.
4 — down from No. 2 a year ago, Miller said.
"I've heard some good things about him, so I'm hoping things will improve,"
said Miller, who works at the central library downtown. "I'm not ecstatic
yet."
Ben Statham president of the Friends of the Alpharetta Library, wants to
see services increased and rules that allow branches to supplement
materials and programs through public donations. Statham's group raises
about $2,000 a month through the sale of donated books, a fund-raising
effort he said could be duplicated systemwide with more library
administration support. "We need an administrator that likes this kind of
thing," Statham said. "We hope we've got one. I guess we'll find out."
Atlanta-Fulton Libraries Get New Director
Atlanta Journal-Constitution, March 4, 2005
After nearly a year without permanent leadership, the Atlanta-Fulton Public Library System finally
has a new director.
John F. Szabo, who heads the five-branch public library system in Clearwater, Fla., will take over
the 34-branch Atlanta-Fulton system April 4.
Szabo, former president of the Florida Library Association, replaces Mary Kaye Hooker, who was
fired in May. Anne Haimes has served as acting director.
Szabo inherits a system that has been mired in problems for several years. Its controversial
17-member board was trimmed to 11 members last year, and more control was given to the county.
The system also was ordered to pay $18 million to white defendants in a reverse-discrimination
lawsuit.
Szabo, 36, will be the fourth director or interim director the system has had in six years. But the
challenges don't faze him.
"All the stars appear to be aligned to make this library system a success story," Szabo said. "I look
forward to helping to write that success story."
His biggest priority will be to restore stability and public trust and to provide leadership to the
system's librarian corps, said Keith Chadwell, Fulton County deputy manager in charge of the
library system.
"We think we found our man," Chadwell said. "There is a lot about him that we like."
Chadwell said Szabo was chosen for his inclusive leadership style, strong management skills, a
record of advocacy for support of public libraries, and his ability to forge relationships with
community groups and the private sector. He will have a $32 million budget and lead more than
350 employees.
The system recently opened the Robert Fulton branch at Ocee in north Fulton County. It plans to
build a new branch in the East Atlanta neighborhood and has begun work on a long-range strategic
plan for capital projects.
A $2.5 million renovation of the system's central library in downtown Atlanta is under way. Interior
upgrades were completed last year, but construction problems have delayed exterior work.
"We expect a lot of leadership from the new director," Chadwell said.
Chadwell said the system had hoped to hire a director by last Labor Day, but that negative publicity
made candidates reluctant to apply. Nevertheless, a national search produced about 20 candidates.
Szabo has headed the Clearwater system since 1999. His accomplishments there included
development of the city's new $20.2 million main library, and he has challenged Florida Gov. Jeb
Bush's plan to close the state library in Tallahassee.
"I'm extremely passionate about libraries and what they mean to the communities and citizens they
serve," Szabo said. "I believe Atlanta and Fulton residents value their libraries and are also ready to
turn the corner."
Atlanta-Fulton County Library System
Picks Clearwater’s Szabo
LibraryJournal.com, February 28, 2005
John F. Szabo, director of the Clearwater Public Library System in
Clearwater, FL, since 1999, has been named director of the Atlanta-Fulton
County Library System, effective April 4. He takes over a troubled system
that last year saw the state-ordered reform of the library board, taking
away their power to hire and fire the director, and the subsequent firing
of Director Mary Kaye Hooker
last May. Hooker was one of four people (along with three board
members) found liable in a race discrimination case that settled for $18
million; she was also the subject of severe criticism by employees, as
noted in a workplace audit.
Szabo was cited by County Manager Tom Andrews for playing an instrumental
role in the development of the Clearwater’s new Main Library, establishing
relationships with the private sector and community groups, and finding
new revenue sources. He is former president of the Florida Library
Association and board president of the Tampa Bay Library Consortium.
Though the search process did not allow Szabo to meet with the library
staff or the public, he told LJ that he was eager to meet with staff,
board members, and other stakeholders. “I think it’s important, in the
short term, to be very accessible and visible, particularly in regard to
the library staff,” he said, adding, “I think a time of healing has
already begun. The interim director, Anne Haimes, from what I’ve heard,
has done an excellent job. I see an incredible opportunity to help write a
success story.” He will earn $120,000; Hooker earned $116,500.
Clearwater Library Director [John Szabo]
to Depart [for Atlanta-Fulton Public Library]
St. Petersburg Times, February 28, 2005
The city library director who presided over the construction of the
$20.2-million Main Library and challenged Gov. Jeb Bush's plan to close
the State Library will step down next month to head one of the country's
largest library systems.
John Szabo, who has run Clearwater's five-branch system since 1999, will
become Atlanta's library director starting April 15, the city has announced.
"It was a very difficult decision despite being a wonderful opportunity,"
said Szabo, 36, who previously served as Palm Harbor Public Library
director and was also a former president of the Florida Library Association.
"I have absolutely enjoyed my tenure in Clearwater. It is a wonderful
community to serve as a library director."
Keith Chadwell, Fulton County's deputy county manager who oversees the
Atlanta library system, said Szabo was widely praised by colleagues when
Chadwell visited Clearwater recently. The 34-branch Atlanta system serves
all of Fulton County and has 400 employees and a budget of $32-million.
Clearwater's library has 96 employees and a $5.8-million budget.
"He infected us all with his energy and vitality," he said. "He wants to
be a part of this system. We hope he can take us to the next level."
Clearwater officials rued their loss as news spread last Friday. Kathy
Dort, Clearwater Main Library manager, will become interim director until
a permanent replacement is named.
Jan Regulski, chairwoman of the city's library advisory board, said Szabo's
new job is a deserved step up. City Manager Bill Horne said Szabo did well
by the city.
"He has the capacity to manage a bigger system than ours," Horne said. "He
has the capacity to be one of the premier library directors in the country."
While in Clearwater, Szabo shepherded the reconstruction of two of the
city's five library locations, the Main Library and the North Greenwood
Branch Library, a $1.3-million project.
The new 90,000-square-foot Main Library has become a city showpiece
overlooking Coachman Park downtown, and is the envy of librarians across
the country.
Officials from Darien, Conn., will tour the four-story structure Tuesday
hoping to borrow ideas for their new library. Darien library director
Louise Berry said Clearwater's principal library has a national reputation.
From everything Berry hears, "it sounds like some innovative stuff," she
said.
Another group from West Orange, N.J., has already visited the Osceola
Avenue library.
"It's rewarding to be able to walk through this building and talk to
patrons and librarians from all over after having sat in endless meetings
discussing every right angle and curve and piece of Formica and drywall in
this entire building," said Szabo, whose salary was $85,696 annually. "It's
special."
During his tenure, Szabo refused to apply for a federal grant for the
library that would have required the city install Internet filters on
library computers. In 2000, he was thrust on the national stage after a
seven-months pregnant woman was arrested for overdue books. Clearwater
stopped using the courts to crack down on violators, a system Szabo
inherited, after the incident.
And while serving as president of the Florida Library Association, Szabo
helped fight against Gov. Jeb Bush's 2003 proposal to close the State
Library of Florida in Tallahassee.
"John thrived and did really great work at a time when Clearwater really
needed someone that would make the buildings happen and push that system
forward," said Charlie Parker, executive director of the Tampa Bay Library
Consortium. "Now, he's ready for the next step. I am very impressed that
the Atlanta-Fulton County people had good judgment. They got the right man."
In Atlanta, Szabo will be asked to right a library system dizzy from recent
troubles. The director's position has been vacant since last May, when
Mary Kaye Hooker was fired after a tumultuous five years during which she
clashed with administrators. Her ouster was welcomed by many employees and
was even opined by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution as a "liberation."
A year earlier, eight white librarians won an $18-million settlement after
alleging they were victims of reverse discrimination.
Chadwell and Szabo say the Atlanta system has improved since Hooker left.
Szabo can't wait to leave his mark.
"I see all the stars in line to make this library system a success story,"
Szabo said.
"I look forward to helping the staff and all of the stakeholders there
write that story."
Click here to read headlines and/or
the text of news stories about the library system that were published in
2004.
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