Library System Plans Include Milton Branch
Atlanta Journal-Constitution, November 26, 2006
A major library in the new city of Milton's Birmingham community is part
of the Atlanta-Fulton Public Library System's 10-year expansion plan.
The library system is asking the County Commission to approve eight new
libraries, with seven of them in Atlanta or the southern end of the county.
It also is asking for renovations at 28 library branches, five of which
are on the Northside.
Roswell had offered to donate a prime piece of land in east Roswell if the
board would build a library branch at the site, but the offer was turned
down.
Major renovations are planned for Sandy Springs ($1.9 million), Roswell
($1.7 million) and Northeast Spruill ($1.5 million). Smaller renovations
have been recommended for Alpharetta ($668,000) and Robert E. Fulton,
formerly Ocee, in the new city of Johns Creek ($145,000).
But the big winner on the Northside is the Birmingham community of Milton.
"We need one; the population has exploded up here," said Tiffany Santi,
who lives in the Birmingham area.
Santi has two children, ages 11 and 14, and when they need a library they
use the little one at their school because the nearest library branch is
in downtown Alpharetta.
Milton has only about 20,000 residents, but they're spread out over 44
square miles, which means most residents have to travel long distances to
get to a library.
"There is a very large geographic area and a decently sized population
north of Alpharetta that is not currently served by a public library,"
said library director John Szabo, who led the effort to draw the master
plan. Szabo said his $112 million plan would likely require a bond issue
approved by the voters.
Under the plan, two major new libraries would be built, both 25,000 square
feet and costing $12.5 million apiece: one in Milton, the other in the
Chattahoochee Hills community of unincorporated south Fulton.
The other six new libraries would be smaller branches in Atlanta or south
Fulton.
The biggest projects are not new libraries, however. They are a proposed
$20 million expansion of the Auburn Avenue library in northeast Atlanta
and a $21 million renovation of the system's central library in downtown
Atlanta.
"The central library is a significant part of our system," Szabo said.
"This plan aims to make the central library relevant to everyone, from
Alpharetta to Palmetto. I don't believe the central library serves the
entire community like it should."
East Roswell residents have to travel to the west side of the city for a
library, and they will be disappointed not to be on the list of new
branches — but they shouldn't give up trying, said Roger Wise, who lives
in Horseshoe Bend, one of east Roswell's major neighborhoods.
"We should not take no for an answer," Wise said. "Plans can be modified,
and we should encourage the library authority to take advantage of free
land and put a library here."
Gay Library Director,
Local Bibliophile Join
for Exhibition of
Gay Book Collection
by Bo Shell, Southern Voice, August 25, 2006
It’s not everyday that one of Atlanta’s largest public institutions
dedicates a space dedicated to gay and lesbian history, but that’s exactly
what happened when John Szabo, director of the Atlanta-Fulton County Public
Library system, welcomed “Out at the Library” to the system’s largest
location.
The national gay history display brought an invigorated interest in
archiving local gay history, a part of Atlanta that should not be
forgotten, Szabo says.
“[The public library], in many respects, is a caretaker of community
history,” Szabo says. “Atlanta has a large lesbian, gay, bisexual and
transgender community, and we continue to serve that community’s needs.
But as we also collect and archive pieces of Atlanta and Fulton County
history, it’s important that we include pieces of that history.”
Szabo, who served as the director of the Clearwater, Fla., public libraries
for six years prior to moving to Atlanta in April 2005, says the city’s
public library system further opens its doors to the acceptance of gay
memorabilia by changing the name of its Central Library archives from
“Georgia Local and Family History” to “Special Collections.” The new
description “allows us to be a little bit broader in scope,” Szabo says.
“We’re looking for materials that aren’t so easily available today, things
collected in the 1930s, ‘40s and ‘50s... even small posters or brochures
that promoted certain causes or advertised particular organizations,” he
says.
Szabo, who is gay, adds that special efforts to archive black gay history
are in the works at the Auburn Avenue Research Center with cooperation
from Zami, an Atlanta organization for lesbians of color.
Representatives from Zami did not return calls for comment.
Szabo says gay-specific archives remind gay and straight Atlantans that
gay men and lesbians are and continue to be part of the community’s
collective history.
“In the last 10 years with the explosion of the gay and lesbian experience
in the media, the tremendous amount of coverage causes a lot of people to
only think about gays and lesbians being something of recent history,” he
says. “I think it’s good to remind people that gays and lesbians have
always been around.”
Evidence of gay men and lesbians in history is perhaps most apparent in
literature, where names like Walt Whitman, Oscar Wilde and Tennessee
Williams join other celebrated authors, regardless of their sexual
orientation.
Rick Hudson, a book collector and Atlanta physician, says he hopes his
expansive book collection, which includes first editions and autographed
books by some of the world’s most prolific gay authors, will serve as a
steppingstone toward a brighter future for archiving gay history.
Some 1,500 rare books and other pieces of gay ephemera, like papers from
the 1950s gay rights group the Mattachine society, comprise Hudson’s
collection, which he says could be worth about $250,000.
“I think of it as a starting point because there’s so much more that needs
to be done,” he says of his collection. “It could be the largest gay and
lesbian archive ever in the nation. That’s what I would like.”
Hudson’s collection dates back to 1860, when Walt Whitman published his
second edition of “Leaves of Grass.”
First editions are usually considered the most valuable, but for a gay
book collector, Whitman’s “Leaves” in second edition is even better, as it
contains both the gay-themed Calamus poems and Whitman’s signature.
Hudson selected 15 to 20 of his most prized books for display in
conjunction with Touching Up Our Roots, an Atlanta gay history organization,
and “Out at the Library” at the Central Library in Downtown Atlanta.
The collection, is scheduled to open Aug. 29 with a reception featuring
local gay writers.
“[History] should inspire,” says Dave Hayward, coordinator of Touching up
Our Roots. “It gives you a sense of strength, and identity to keep on
going. We don’t have full equity, we’re still a long way from that, but
this could be an inspiration to appreciate what we’ve done and use it to
keep going.”
Berl Boykin, a local author expected to attend the exhibit event, says
Hudson’s display collection, which features works by Truman Capote, Gore
Vidal and others, will hopefully serve as “a magnet.”
“It should draw other books, other records out of the closet, literally,
physically and metaphorically,” Boykin says. “These are the rock stars of
the collection.”
Hudson says the books reflect the individual tastes of gay authors, but
also the times in which they were written.
His earliest books, for instance, feature gay characters who suffer tragic
circumstances and sometimes commit suicide due to internalized homophobia.
Later books show strong characters, reflecting changes in the public’s
perception of gay men and lesbians.
“Each decade has its own flavor,” Hudson says. “Part of the value is that
you don’t get this out of one or two books. As time progresses, there is a
change of identity and self-awareness, definitely professing in a
beneficial way.”
“We can’t lose our history,” Boykin adds. “It’s been suppressed, stomped
on and repressed by the straight community, and if we don’t pull it
together, it will all be lost.”
Fulton Commission, Look at Your County
by Hatcher Hurd,
http://www.northfulton.com/,
March 23, 2006
Fulton County is a tough county to govern, there is no question of that.
It contains the state's largest city, the state's largest non-profit
hospital, is the most populous county and has the world's busiest airport.
That said, it is also a county of enormous resources – see list above.
Fulton also has the largest tax digest in the state; national corporate
headquarters are located here. There is still some of the sheen left over
from the 1996 Olympic Games and the economic growth in Fulton has
oscillated from steady to phenomenal especially in North Fulton.
At long last, South Fulton has the attention of the development community
and the next office-building cycle is rumbling like it is ready to gear up
again.
So why does so much of Fulton County seem to wallow in mediocrity? Why is
it that Fulton County cannot seem to pull the trigger on the most
straightforward of issues?
Let us take the most current issue of the Tax Assessors Office. For years
the way assessments were determined and carried out has been a sore point
with property owners. Finally, an audit of the department by an independent
source was carried out. The result was sobering.
Senior appraisers were not certified for the job. Continuing education,
required by the state, was lacking. There were instances of unqualified
personnel going out to make property inspections.
There was also a systemic breakdown in record keeping as well as the entire
process of property assessment in Fulton County.
In short, the entire tax collecting process has been called into question.
If the public does not have confidence in the tax digest, the underpinning
which holds up all of county government, then it is small wonder there is
such a renewed call for a new Milton County.
Only Fulton County would take six months to ask for the resignations of
the Board of Assessors, then spend $50,000 to defend their appeal of the
dismissal (although three did resign, to their credit, to allow the county
to begin to restore confidence and credibility).
Instead of stepping up to restore confidence immediately, the County
Commission broke down into its usual internecine political squabbling.
This is a pattern repeated over and over by the commission. Over the last
15 years, Fulton County had a history of defending the indefensible. It
must lead all Georgia counties in lost discrimination cases. It should be
noted that almost all of these involved white victims. The crowning moment
came when, after exhausting pointless appeals, the county anted up $16
million in damages to white library staff who were proved to be victims of
blatant racial discrimination by the Atlanta-Fulton Public Library Board
of Directors. It took years to clean out that rat's nest.
A small footnote; the library settlement also involved a second case of
reverse discrimination against some of the same victims, if you can
believe that. But what is another $250,000 among friends?
Now we have Sandy Springs, Johns Creek and Milton as new cities or about
to become so. Not surprisingly, the Fulton County Commission's attitude
has been to treat these efforts at self-government as one of betrayal.
Betrayal to whom, one might ask.
Rather than see these residents as Fulton County residents in need of the
cooperation and help of their duly elected County Commission, they are
treated with open hostility.
Where is the root of all of this animosity?
My suggestion to the Fulton County Commission is to first look in the
mirror.
North Fulton Libraries Require Attention
Press release by Fulton County District 3 Commissioner Lynn Riley,
posted to
NorthFultonTimes.com, March 6, 2006
As I meet with groups throughout the district, residents come to me with
many issues and questions about Fulton County. One question I received
recently is: "The citizens of northwest unincorporated Fulton County, as
well as city of Alpharetta residents, have long recognized the need for a
regional library to replace the Alpharetta Library on Canton Street. This
library is way too small to adequately serve the residents who have moved
here in record numbers. How do you plan to address this deficiency?"
There has been tremendous growth in our area since that library was built
in 1989. Since then, two additional libraries have been built in north
Fulton: the Spruill Oaks Regional Library and the Dr. Robert E. Fulton
Regional Library at Ocee. Both, however, were built only after much
political wrangling by my predecessor, Bob Fulton.
The Ocee library was furnished as only an 18,000-square-foot library,
although the facility contains 25,000 square feet. The money to finish
that library remained in the budget, but it required three board meetings
to get the four votes needed to approve the expenditure.
John Szabo, the Atlanta-Fulton Public Library director, is completing an
assessment of the resources and needs of the entire library system. The
Facilities Master Plan will address library needs throughout the service
area — all of Fulton County and the part of Atlanta in DeKalb. This
includes needs in unserved and underserved areas as well as needs in areas
with existing facilities. An important part of the plan will be a
prioritized list of recommended projects.
Click here to read media reports
about AFPL published in 2005
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