Beauty, Truth, and Bonds: Is Library a Classy Eyesore?
By Alan Judd, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, July 28, 2008
The aesthetic charms of Atlanta's Central Library aren't necessarily visible to the naked eye.
The flagship of the Atlanta-Fulton Public Library System is, basically, a big box —- a big, grayish, concrete box. By
design, it lacks the easy appeal of nearby landmarks: the elegant flourishes of the Candler Building, the soaring majesty
of Bank of America's skyscraper, or even the sharp, clean lines of the Georgia-Pacific Tower.
With a cantilevered, almost colorless exterior and a scarcity of windows, the 28-year-old library —- designed by the
iconic Modernist architect Marcel Breuer —- challenges viewers to find its beauty.
"It is," said John Szabo, the library system's director, "a fabulous brutalist building."
But the building's intentionally off-putting stance may end up contributing to its own obsolescence.
Fulton County commissioners will ask voters this November to approve a $275 million bond issue for the library system. The
centerpiece: $85 million to help pay for a new Central Library downtown.
The county plans to build a 300,000-square-foot Central Library, about one-third larger than the current facility. In
addition to the bond proceeds, officials hope to use profit from selling the current property, which has been appraised at
$15.6 million, and to raise $83 million in private donations.
Officials say they want a new facility with more room for special collections, with more public meeting space —- and with a
more attractive, inviting countenance.
"I'm talking world-class," Commissioner Robb Pitts said, "not just four walls with books and stacks inside."
The bond issue, the first for the library system since 1985, would also pay for building eight new branches and renovating
or expanding 25 others. Fulton County's property tax rate would increase by .3160 mills —- an additional $18.96 a year on a
home assessed at $150,000.
An appraiser estimated the county could sell the current library, at Forsyth Street and Carnegie Way, for about $15.6
million. Three downtown sites are being evaluated for the new building.
Until the Nov. 4 election, though, officials will focus on explaining the need to replace a building less than three
decades old without sounding like Philistines disrespecting a master of the Bauhaus School.
"While a wonderful building and a celebrated building and a building certainly worthy of preserving, the building and the
spaces inside have never been entirely embraced by Atlanta and Fulton County residents," Szabo, the library system director,
said in an interview this week.
Attractive designs have been "tools for increasing traffic" in other big-city libraries, Szabo said. But he added: "I don't
think it's about having a prettier library. I think it's about having a vision for what having a new Central Library can
mean for our community."
Szabo and other library supporters say a new facility would draw people downtown, much as the Georgia Aquarium and the
World of Coca-Cola museum have done. A building with "architectural significance," Pitts said, could boost economic
development.
"Times have changed," he said. "We do need something that is more futuristic."
When the library opened in May 1980, critics praised the pre-stressed concrete exterior and even the mostly monochromatic
interior. And commissioning Breuer so near to the end of his career had been considered a coup. His works had included the
Paris headquarters of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, or UNESCO; the Washington office
of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development; and the Whitney Museum in New York. His design for Atlanta's
library strongly recalled the Whitney, perhaps his most famous building.
Breuer was too ill to attend the library's opening. He died the following year in New York at age 79.
"The Atlanta library was really Breuer's last work," said Susan Piedmont-Palladino, an architect and curator at the
National Building Museum in Washington, which sponsored a major Breuer exhibition last year. "In preservation circles,
that gives it a special kind of significance."
Piedmont-Palladino described the library as "the bigger, younger brother to the Whitney." Like many of Breuer's other
buildings, she said, it is "monumental and dignified, but in a modern language."
"I think it's an absolutely beautiful building," she said.
Regardless, she said, Atlanta is joining a series of cities trying to abandon their old libraries.
"Everyone wants a spiffy new library," Piedmont-Palladino said. "The old building represents an older, shabbier time."
The Central Library fell into disrepair over the first two decades of its existence, and the county spent $5 million on a
mostly cosmetic remodeling in 2002. Efforts to diminish the building's harshness resulted in new carpet with colorful
highlights and the occasional purple wall. A fuller renovation would have cost an estimated $34 million —- nearly twice the
$18.9 million spent on original construction.
Even a "vastly improved" version of the current structure "would not in any way touch what building a new Central Library
would mean and would do," Szabo said.
"This is incredibly important to Fulton County residents," Szabo said. "It is a $275 million bond issue that will transform
their public libraries. Everyone recognizes the need."
[Sidebar:]
A $275 MILLION LIBRARY PLAN
Fulton County commissioners will ask voters in November to approve a $275 million bond issue for the library system. The
following work would be completed with that money:
New branch libraries
- Alpharetta: 25,000-square-foot library to replace current 10,000-square-foot building.
- Palmetto / Chattahoochee Hill Country: 10,000-square-foot library.
- East Roswell: 15,000-square-foot library on land provided by the city of Roswell.
- Milton: New 25,000-square-foot library.
- Northwest Atlanta: 25,000-square-foot library, replacing three branches that total 5,500 square feet.
- Southeast Atlanta: 15,000-square-foot library, replacing three branches that total 8,200 square feet.
- Stewart-Lakewood: 25,000-square-foot library to replace existing 10,000-square-foot facility.
- Wolf Creek: 25,000-square-foot library on property owned by Fulton County.
New central library
The proposed bond issue would provide $84 million, about half the money needed for land acquisition and construction for a
new 300,000-square-foot central library in downtown Atlanta. Private donations would cover the remaining costs.
Library expansions
- Auburn Avenue Research Library on African-American Culture and History.
- South Fulton branch.
Library renovations
- Adams Park
- Adamsville/Collier Heights
- Buckhead
- Cleveland Avenue
- College Park
- Dogwood
- East Atlanta
- East Point
- Fairburn
- Hapeville
- Kirkwood
- Martin Luther King Jr.
- Mechanicsville
- Northeast/Spruill Oaks
- Northside
- Ocee
- Peachtree
- Ponce de Leon
- Roswell
- Sandy Springs
- Southwest
- Washington Park
- West End
Source: Atlanta-Fulton County Public Library System
A Neighbor with Smarts
Master Plan: New Library for Atlanta Would Reflect a Commitment to Education, Literacy
--- and to Downtown
by John F. Szabo, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, June 25, 2008
Libraries make good neighbors. Good libraries make cities stronger. Great libraries boost economic development, serve as a
stop for tourists and residents alike and become their community's center. The library's mission is open and equal access
to all, which signifies opportunity for all —- every age, income level, ethnicity or physical ability —- offering programs
that educate, entertain, enlighten and engage. Lifelong learning is the hallmark of libraries throughout history, even
before the catch-phrase was popular.
The bold and exciting idea to build a new central library in downtown Atlanta, offered up by Fulton County Commissioner
Robb Pitts as an addition to the library's facility master plan, is forward-thinking and reflects a commitment to education,
literacy and the value of public libraries as critical cultural institutions. Thanks not only to Pitts for surfacing the
idea but to our library's board of trustees and the Fulton County Board of Commissioners for their support of this idea.
A signature central library would follow in the wise path of other great U.S. cities that have built new central libraries
in recent years, including Seattle, Nashville and Minneapolis. A strong central library enhances the entire community, and
in downtown Atlanta, with world-class neighbors such as the Georgia Aquarium, World of Coke and CNN Center, a signature
library would add to the cultural landscape of our city in a way that nothing else can.
The Atlanta-Fulton Public Library System began in 1902 as the Carnegie Library of Atlanta, one of the first public libraries
in the United States. We are proud to carry on the tradition of Andrew Carnegie.
Last year, the library began a strategic fact-finding mission in order to determine the best course of action for a
long-overdue facility master plan. The library system held a series of 37 public meetings, in communities from Chattahoochee
Hill Country to Alpharetta. We heard from hundreds of citizens, each with a personal story of how our libraries have
supported or in fact changed their lives. We listened to their recommendations for how we can become better. The final plan
calls for eight new libraries, two expansions and 24 renovations, and, if approved by the commissioners next month, the
plan will be placed on the November ballot as a bond referendum. In a time when the commission has to carefully examine the
balance of our tax dollars with the services provided to residents, I believe there is no better time to invest in public
libraries.
Ten years ago, pundits predicted that the Internet boom and bookstore mega-chains would lead to the demise of the nation's
16,000 public libraries. In fact the opposite has proven true —- current data show that U.S. library visits have increased
each year, and the demand for new and improved spaces is at a record high. Almost 550 public library construction or
renovation projects were completed from 2004 through 2006 —- growth unmatched since Carnegie led an effort to build 1,600
new libraries in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Fulton County cannot afford to fall behind.
The Atlanta-Fulton Public Library System serves nearly 1 million people in Fulton County and Atlanta in DeKalb —- with 34
libraries. It does this at a satisfaction rating of 97 percent. We offer innovative programs, services and technology to
meet our community's needs. Today's libraries continue to offer books, magazines and newspapers, but we are also the place
to take classes, download e-audiobooks, research your genealogy, get homework help, join the summer reading program, see
art exhibitions, check out videos, CDs and DVDs, earn your GED, hear authors speak, research online databases, and see
musical performances. This extensive list of programming, services and events attracts young and old alike.
Our library system averages a circulation of 3.2 million materials per year. Last year, citizens made more than 3 million
visits to the 34 libraries —- with close to 600,000 to the Central Library alone. More than 7,000 enrichment programs were
attended by more than 250,000 patrons. Our Web site had more than 5 million hits, about 13,700 per day. Patrons were
provided with 1.8 million individual sessions on 650 computers to search the Internet, look for jobs, create resumes, use
e-mail, research health issues and more.
Think of the Central Library as a hub, the branch libraries its spokes, working as one to serve communities, build minds,
help students, grow businesses and expand futures. For good reason, a new urban library would be the cornerstone to a vital
downtown for years to come. Our city deserves it now more than ever. It's the neighbor we all want to have.
John F. Szabo is director of the Atlanta-Fulton Public Library System.
To Get Library's Land, Developer Offers to Build Replica
Fulton Commission Interested in $24 Million Bid for Buckhead Branch
by Kevin Duffy, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, May 22, 2008
Streets of Buckhead developer Ben Carter hasn't given up on acquiring the architecturally adventurous library on Buckhead Avenue.
His latest offer is to build a copy of the internationally acclaimed building at the northeast corner of East Paces
Ferry Road and Maple Drive, several blocks from its current site.
"Most of the commentary was not over having a new library, it was that building," Carter said. "There seems to be more
opposition to losing that architecture than the functionality of the library."
The alternative site, just under 2 acres, is east of the $1.5 billion Streets of Buckhead project, which covers eight
blocks. Carter said he doesn't own the corner lot but the owner is willing to sell.
Carter has offered about $24 million for the existing library because he considers it in the way of his project. He said
that's more than enough money for the land, construction and furnishings at a new library.
The Fulton County Commission approved a resolution Wednesday that directs staff members to analyze Carter's proposal.
The county commission will hear their recommendation next month.
"Is an offer of $300-a-square-foot worth taking a look at?" Commissioner Tom Lowe asked in an interview. "I say yes."
Lowe, who once called the library "an abortion the day it was dedicated," offered the resolution.
"Ben told me, 'Hell, I'll build the same damn library at the other site,' " Lowe said. But with $24 million, Lowe added,
the county could build "a bigger, fancier library."
"It's time to get rid of the emotion and look at it in the light of day as a business proposition," he said.
Designed by Mack Scogin and Merrill Elam, the library is distinctive for its black slate tiles and jutting angles. It's
been dubbed a "slate dragonfly." Architectural students make pilgrimages to Atlanta to study the building, which opened
in 1989.
John Szabo, the library system director, said it's doubtful $24 million is enough to build a new library in pricey
Buckhead.
"I don't think creating a duplicate library would in any way ease the concerns of those who want to preserve the existing
building," Szabo said. "I don't think that is their point."
The Atlanta-Fulton Public Library trustees recommended spending $1.9 million to renovate the library but not change its
look.
After Carter's offer to buy the library site became public in February, defenders of the building, many of them architects,
demonstrated and launched petition drives.
"I'm not going to go against what their desire is," John Eaves, county commission chairman and library trustee, said
Tuesday.
In voting against Carter's offer in February, trustees opposed the idea of sharing a building, defended the library's
unusual look and worried new construction would be too costly. The vote was 8-0, with two abstentions, one of which was
Eaves'.
Carter wants the library land because it's in the midst of his high-end project. He called the building "a gap in the
experience" at his future shopping mecca.
Now under construction along Peachtree Street, Streets of Buckhead will transform what used to be a rowdy party area.
Boutiques, restaurants and apartments are planned, and condominiums, offices and hotel rooms might be part of the mix
later.
Scogin laughed when he was told about the duplicate-library plan.
"You've got to be kidding," he said. "Doesn't he understand that building is specific to that site? All of its form is
about that site." The library sits on a rise and offers a view of Atlanta's skyline.
"The site is what the public has a privilege to. That's the issue," Scogin said. "It's in the middle of the community.
It's at the high point."
The Buckhead library should be treated no less than any other government building, he said. "Capital buildings are at the
center of things. They're not off to the side so you can build some kind of shopping center or something," Scogin said.
But Lowe argued "the other site's better." If the library stays put, he said, it eventually will be "in a hole," hemmed in
by retail.
Initially Carter offered to put the library in a new mixed-use building at the Streets of Buckhead; then he suggested two
nearby sites where a standalone library could go.
Commissioners must approve the library facility master plan by July in order to seek voter approval of bond funding in
November. Currently, that bond amount is $227 million, which includes building eight new libraries.
The Buckhead branch is not among them. At least not yet.
Atlanta-Fulton PL Plan Moves Ahead
Library Journal, May 1, 2008
The Fulton County Board of Commissioners, GA, voted March 19 to approve the Atlanta-Fulton Public Library System's plan to
upgrade the county's library services by building, renovating, and closing several library facilities. It didn't, however,
decide how to pay for the $150 million plan and must do so soon if the funding mechanism will be a bond referendum on the
November 2008 ballot. According to an article in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, eight new libraries would cost nearly
$86 million, and another $64 million would be needed to renovate or add to existing branches. Six libraries would close.
The estimates don't include land costs, construction cost increases, or contingencies.
Currently, the system has 34 branches. Because the plan submitted to the county commissioners includes renovating (rather
than closing or relocating) the Buckhead Branch, the commission's vote effectively rejected a local developer's proposal
to buy the current building, demolish it, and construct a new branch within one of the buildings in a mixed-use development.
The newspaper noted that the plan was initiated during the term of Director John Szabo, who took the reins in 2005 after
years of turmoil in the system, including a reverse discrimination lawsuit and the departure of the library's director and
deputy director.
Atlanta-Fulton Library's $150M Upgrade Plan Approved
by Lynn Blumenstein, Library Journal, April 8, 2008
The Fulton County, GA, Board of Commissioners voted March 19 to approve the Atlanta-Fulton
Public Library System’s plan to upgrade the county’s library services by building, renovating,
and closing several library facilities. It didn’t, however, decide how to pay for the $150
million master plan and must do so soon if the funding mechanism will be a bond referendum on
the November 2008 ballot.
According to an article in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, eight new libraries would
cost nearly $86 million, and another $64 million would be needed to renovate or add to existing
branches. Six libraries would close. The estimates don’t include land costs, construction cost
increases, or contingencies. The newspaper noted that the plan was developed under director
John Szabo, who took the reins in 2005 after years of turmoil in the system, including a
reverse discrimination lawsuit and the departure of the library's director and deputy director.
Currently, the system has 34 branches. Because the plan submitted to the county commissioners
includes renovating (rather than closing or relocating) the Buckhead Branch, the commission’s
vote effectively rejected a local developer’s proposal to buy the current building, demolish
it, and build a new branch within one of the buildings in a mixed-use development.
Library Plan OK'd by County Commission
John's Creek Herald, March 20, 2008
The Fulton County Board of Commissioners at its March 19 meeting accepted the Atlanta-Fulton
Public Library's master plan for a complete revamping of the county's 34 libraries.
In the plan eight new libraries will be built, including three in North Fulton. The three
existing North Fulton libraries will get renovations.
There had been some concerns about how the Board of Commissioners would receive the plan which
had ballooned to $150 million or more. But the commissioners instead bathed the library board
and staff for the thoroughness of the plan and the involvement of the community with some 37
public meetings all across the county.
Among the voices heard were those from North Fulton to add a second library of 15,000 square
feet to east Roswell and a 25,000-square-foot library to replace the Alpharetta Library
(10,000 square feet). A 25,000-square-foot Milton library was already part of the master plan.
The Library Board of Trustees has shifted its thinking to providing larger libraries offering
more services instead of smaller neighborhood libraries that seemed to drain off personnel
and operational budget.
The plan will close seven existing small libraries and consolidate their service areas into
larger, more cost-efficient libraries. Another four small libraries of between 5,000 square
feet and 7,500 square feet were deleted from the plan.
The Board of Commissioners will still have to decide how to pay for the $150 million plan. The
most likely way will be through a bond referendum for voters to approve at the presidential
general election Nov. 2.
Fulton Approves Spending $150 Million on Libraries
by D.L. Bennett, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, March 19, 2008
Fulton County commissioners signed off Wednesday on a proposal to spend at
least $150 million to overhaul and expand what is already Georgia's largest
public library system.
The board did not set how or when they would ask voters to pay for it,
though library officials have suggested a countywide vote on a bond in
November.
Preliminary numbers show the plan would add eight libraries at a cost of
nearly $86 million. Fulton would ask residents to pay another $64 million
to renovate or add to existing branches.
Officials emphasized that those numbers could change substantially by next
month when commissioners are supposed to decide whether to ask for a bond
issue. The estimates don't include land costs, increases for construction
costs over time or contingency funds officials plan to add to each project.
Five small libraries would be closed in southeastern and western Atlanta
and replaced with larger facilities.
Commissioners supported it 5-0-1, with Robb Pitts abstaining.
"I'm impressed with the report and the plan from end to end," Commissioner
Nancy Boxill said.
Pitts abstained after making an impassioned plea to his colleagues to delay
the vote until April. He wanted more time to research whether Fulton should
accept an offer from developer Ben Carter to buy the Buckhead branch,
demolish it and include the property in his redevelopment plan for the
Buckhead Village.
The board's vote essentially rejected Carter's plan because his offer was
not part of the plan approved Wednesday. The unique branch's contemporary
design has divided opinions since it opened nearly 20 years ago.
On Wednesday, several supporters of the design pushed commissioners to
spare the building.
"The price offered can't give you what you already have," said Sally Combs
of Atlanta. "My vision is to expand the building using the original
architects."
David Green, a professor of architecture at Georgia Tech, agreed the
building should be preserved.
"It remains among a handful of buildings that put Atlanta on the map for
modern architecture," he said.
The program presented Wednesday started with a consultants' study in 2006
and continued last year with a series of 37 meetings throughout Fulton.
Library officials added and subtracted facilities depending on that
feedback.
In the end, the plan calls for new 25,000-foot branches in Alpharetta,
Milton, northwestern Atlanta's Riverside area, near Wolf Creek park in
southern Fulton and the Stewart Avenue-Lakewood area in southern Atlanta.
Other new but smaller branches would be built in Chattahoochee Hill Country,
East Roswell and southeastern Atlanta.
Fulton would close or end leases at Bankhead Courts, Bowen Homes, Carver
Homes, Georgia Hill, Perry Homes and Thomasville Heights.
Even without the building program, Fulton has 34 branches and a yearly
budget of more than $30 million. Still, the system often fares poorly in
national ratings when compared with Seattle, Cleveland and other major
urban cities.
A voter-approved bond issue would have been more difficult six years ago,
when a federal jury awarded a landmark $25 million verdict to a handful of
white librarians who alleged discrimination. Consultants later found
widespread anxiety and fear among employees and the library director was
fired.
The current director, John Szabo, was brought on in 2005 to rebuild the
system. He led the effort for the building program.
Auburn Avenue Library 'Serves the World';
Resource Mecca Seeks $20 Million for an Expansion
by Eric Stirgus, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, February 29, 2008
The Auburn Avenue Research Library on African-American Culture and History
is a busy place, particularly each February as America celebrates Black
History Month.
So much so that the folks who run the place say they need $20 million to
expand the library.
Atlanta-Fulton Public Library System director John Szabo said the library
needs more archival storage space, more exhibit space and a larger
auditorium. Szabo said the expansion will likely be discussed with Fulton
County commissioners next month as part of a master plan for the entire
system.
"[This library] is so much more than a branch library," Szabo said in an
interview Wednesday. "The Auburn Avenue library serves the world."
Library officials boast they have one of the most extensive African-American
literature, photography and periodical collections in the South.
About 60,000 patrons and researchers visited the library last year.
Former Georgia State University professor Russell W. Irvine is one of the
library's frequent faces. Irvine spends about 40 hours a week there,
researching a book he's writing about the higher education of blacks before
1865.
He called the library a "treasure trove," saying it has more information on
colonization and anti-slavery materials than any location in the Southeast.
"Auburn Avenue is a rich repository and a depository that cannot be found
elsewhere," said Irvine, 63.
The library began in 1934 as a collection of books at a library on Auburn
Avenue. Library officials moved the collection to the old West Hunter
branch library in 1949.
In 1970, officials moved the collection to the central library. In 1994,
the collection was brought to its current location.
Said Szabo about the branch, "It serves a broader group of people than any
other branch in our system."
Despite its use, branch workers want to encourage more year-round use by
those who come only in February.
The efforts include a Women of Color film festival scheduled for next month,
a children's literary festival planned for April and book signings
throughout the year by prominent black authors.
"We try not to let this stay in February," said Morris Gardner, manager of
the library's program division. "Everybody benefits from this type of
expansive knowledge because when you talk about African-American history,
you're talking about the history of our country."
Gardner's name may be familiar to many football fans. He played defensive
end for six years for the Atlanta Falcons. Gardner, 39, pursued a career
in library sciences after his career ended in 1997.
The library is also trying to establish itself as a place for
African-Americans to leave personal items and their oral histories.
The library recently received a collection of photos, scrapbooks, citations
and other materials from the family of Howard Baugh Sr., the city's first
black police sergeant, lieutenant, captain and assistant chief.
Gardner said the owners don't often realize the value of such items. When
put together, he said, they tell the story of Atlanta and of its black
history.
"The things they may have, the things they may have collected, they can be
stored here and accessible for people to use," Gardner said.
Atlanta Branch Saved from Developer’s Shopping Mecca
American Libraries, February 29, 2008
Trustees of the Atlanta-Fulton Public Library voted 8–0 February 27 to keep
the system’s distinctive Buckhead branch and reject a developer’s offer of
$24 million to raze the building to make way for an eight-block commercial
redevelopment. The branch, built in 1989 by avant-garde architects Mark
Scogin and Merrill Elam, does not fit into the upscale Streets of Buckhead
shopping and residential project envisioned by developer Ben Carter, who
proposed relocating the library to a mixed-use tower where users would reach
it by elevator.
“The Buckhead library, for better or worse, represents a piece of what Atlanta
was as the 20th century drew to a close,” board Chairman John Thomas said in
the February 28 Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “We have a chance to begin a
trend of saving similar structures.” AFPL Director John Szabo said that buying
land and constructing a new building would take most, if not all, of the money
Carter had offered.
The Buckhead branch has drawn both praise and criticism for its unusual
slate-colored exterior and airiness. In 1991, it received a Library Building
Award from the American Institute of Architects and the American Library
Association’s Library Administration and Management Association. Others see it
as an eyesore. “That library, to my way of thinking, was an abortion the day it
was dedicated,” Fulton County Commissioner Tom Lowe said in the February 11
Journal-Constitution.
But Elam described its look as “emblematic of open book, open thinking,
open-mindedness.” Atlanta architect David M. Hamilton wrote an opinion piece
in the February 18 Journal-Constitution, remarking that the “destruction
of this landmark piece of architecture would make it harder for us to attract
the kind of national talent that we need to remain competitive.”
Although the library board voted against it, the Fulton County Board of Commissioners
will make the final decision about the branch’s future.
$24 Million Bid to Buy Buckhead Library Rejected
by Kevin Duffy, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, February 28, 2007
Local developer Ben Carter's $24 million offer to buy and demolish the
distinctive Buckhead library was rejected Wednesday by the Atlanta-Fulton
Public Library system.
Board trustees voted 8-0, with two abstentions, to keep and renovate the
18-year-old library, which has earned international acclaim for its design.
The vote will be a recommendation to the Fulton County Board of
Commissioners, which has the final say.
For library board Chairman John Thomas the issue came down to protecting
unique, if controversial, buildings.
"The Buckhead library, for better or for worse, represents a piece of what
Atlanta was as the 20th century drew to a close," Thomas said after the
vote. "We have a chance to begin a trend of saving similar structures."
Thomas praised Carter's $1.5 billion Streets of Buckhead project, which
will turn a former eight-block party zone into a ritzy area to shop, eat,
stay and live.
At the same time, he said, buildings that don't fit the mold are worth
protecting. "What do we believe? Do we believe it has to be shiny and tall
with no character?" Thomas asked. "We have to stop this process."
The library sits in the middle of Carter's project. He proposed relocating
the library to a future mixed-use building, where it would be sandwiched
between a parking garage and condominiums. Patrons would have to ride an
elevator to access the library.
John Eaves, the commission chairman and a library trustee, abstained from
voting.
Eaves said he initially thought Carter's proposal was "wonderful." But
after press reports about Carter's idea, Eaves said he heard a lot of
opposition and retreated from his earlier enthusiasm for the plan.
Trustee Jim Maddox, an Atlanta city councilman, also abstained. Early in
the meeting he said, "What's being offered is very, very significant. It
sounds to me like a very fair offer."
After his abstention, Maddox told the standing room crowd, "I couldn't feel
strongly for it; I couldn't feel strongly against it."
Carter, who was not at the board meeting, has said the library would be "a
gap in the experience" when Buckhead Avenue, where the library is located,
becomes a high-end shopping area.
The library has been referred to as a "slate dragonfly" because of its
unusual exterior and airiness. Designed by Mack Scogin and Merrill Elam,
the building sits on a crest and offers a view of downtown.
About a dozen people spoke for preserving the library before the board
voted.
"Pretty soon, all our children are going to wear the same clothes from
Target," said one audience-member, defending the library's unique look.
John Szabo, the library system director, said Carter had suggested two
sites on East Paces Ferry Road where a new standalone library could go.
But buying that land and constructing a new building would eat up most, if
not all, of the $24 million Carter offered, Szabo said.
Trustees opposed to putting the library in a mixed-use building said it
would be "a captive" under that scenario.
More than 100 library defenders demonstrated outside the building last
weekend. An online petition drive to save the library had garnered in
excess of 1,500 signatures by Wednesday afternoon.
The Northside Library Association, equivalent to a friends-of-the-library
group, started a separate petition drive and gathered another 400
signatures from fans of the building.
"What residents want is a valued piece of art that happens to be a library,"
trustee Stephanie Moody said before making the motion to reject Carter's
offer.
Weigh Library as Part of Texture of the City
by Catherine Fox, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, February 24, 2008
It's a $24 million question —- and then some: When do a city's civic values trump its
commercial interests?
The answer, in Atlanta, is all too rarely.
The question arises just now because of developer Ben Carter's proposal to raze the
landmark Buckhead public library and replace it with a tower more in keeping with his
vision for the area. But it's an issue Atlanta struggles with all the time —- or ought to, if it
ever wants to become the top-tier city it aspires to be.
More often than not, commercial interests and civic values are congruent. Economic
success is any city's engine. But there are times when the two concerns butt heads. And
when they do, the matter requires careful consideration. After all, growth in itself does not
ensure greatness.
The cities we admire, that we like to visit or live in, have something else: character.
Architecture is the physical manifestation of a city's history, habits, fashions and values.
Great cities embrace the look-at-me diva and the background building, the elegant and the
quirky, the old and the new.
You don't get the texture and personaliy of a San Francisco or Chicago by sweeping away
great swaths of the environment every generation. You can't apply the basic commercial
standard of highest and best use to every situation. That way lies blandness. Had that
standard prevailed here in 1974, the cherished Fox Theatre would have been razed for
another high-rise.
Like the Fox, the Buckhead library is in the way of "progress." But there's an added
complication. It's a modern building, around only since 1989. And Miss Congeniality it is
not. Enveloped in black slate tiles and announced by the jutting angles of its entrance
canopy, it is a dynamic, some say jarring, presence. It's hard to say which is its greater sin:
that it is tough and assertive or that it is contemporary.
In general, Atlanta's grand ambitions don't extend to architecture and the arts. (An
exception: The High Museum's decision in 1983 to hire Richard Meier, then at the
beginning of his career trajectory, was an adventurous move.) But mostly we play it safe.
We like polite. And in matters of taste, we are barely out of the 19th century. A beaux arts
triumphal arch to nowhere can go up in the middle of Atlantic Station without a snicker,
while contemporary architecture and art often evoke Pavlovian contempt or the vitriol
usually reserved for politics on talk radio.
This, too, is counterproductive. A city that bills itself as forward looking but doesn't engage
the architecture of its time is a contradiction in terms.
Which brings us back to the Buckhead library. Designed by Scogin, Elam & Bray Architects
(now Mack Scogin Merrill Elam Architects), one of Atlanta's most distinguished firms, it
has garnered a trophy case of local, regional and national awards. Its potential demise has
inspired in its defense a torrent of petitions, blogs and chat room debates. Even the
American Institute of Architects, both the Atlanta chapter and the Georgia association,
ordinarily mum in such controversies, has issued a statement.
"We must not destroy artistic achievement simply because we don't understand or cannot
love a work that doesn't fit our aesthetic sensibility," writes Ennis Parker, president of AIA
Georgia.
More than a plea for a single building, his remarks and the fervor in general reflect
frustration with attitudes that stifle adventurous architecture here.
All of which is not to say that the library is untouchable. In weighing Carter's $24 million
offer for the land on Buckhead Avenue, the library board and Fulton County commissioners
have to consider a variety of factors, including the building's functionality,which has been
criticized; the alternatives; value of the location; and the cost ($1.4 million) of upgrading
mechanical systems and making other repairs.
What's important is that its architectural significance be on the table along with those
other issues. Library director John Szabo promises that it will.
These kinds of battles are inevitable. But the outcome shouldn't be. Each side will takes
its lumps. The key is that those calling the shots understand that there is always more at
stake than a real estate transaction. A city, for better or worse, is the sum of every such
decision.
Catherine Fox is the art and architecture critic for The Atlanta
Journal-Constitution.
Supporters Rally for Quirky Buckhead Library
Developer has Offered $24M for 2-acre Site
by Kevin Duffy, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, February 22, 2008
Defenders of the quirky Buckhead library are marshaling their forces just days before the
Atlanta-Fulton Public Library System board is scheduled to discuss the library's future.
An online petition drive has garnered well over 1,000 signatures and a protest is planned
for 11 a.m. Saturday.
County $24 million for the 2-acre library site. He wants to demolish the building and
relocate the library to a new mixed-use building.
The current building, just 18 years old, has won several architectural awards and is
internationally known. It's been referred to as a "slate dragonfly" because of its unusual
skin and airiness.
Under Carter's proposal, the library would move to two floors of a highrise, sandwiched
between a parking garage and condominiums. Patrons would ride an elevator to access it.
"The idea of something like that being destroyed seems monstrous to me," said Michael
Riggall, a photographer who organized Saturday's demonstration outside the Buckhead
Avenue branch.
Riggall's 85-year-old mother, Frances Sottnek, is a regular library patron. She called her
son after reading a Feb. 11 Atlanta Journal-Constitution article about Carter's offer. Riggall
grew up in Chastain Park, where his mother still lives, and visited the library as a child.
He contacted Fulton commissioners John Eaves and Robb Pitts and the library system
director, John Szabo, then decided to organize the protest. He's made signs and bought
100 buttons that say "Save our Library!"
Jason Andersen, a young architect at Gensler, learned about the library proposal while
lunching with co-workers. He read the article and saw that Commissioner Tom Lowe called
the building "an abortion."
"I was mainly outraged by the language that was used," Andersen said. "I couldn't believe
somebody would describe the building that way."
He started a petition drive on www.ipetitions.com to drum up support for saving the
building. As of Friday afternoon, more than 1,070 people had signed; many included
comments.
"Would you put the Margaret Mitchell House on a parking garage?" Kimberly Brannon
wrote.
Eaves, chairman of the County Commission and a library system trustee, told other trustees
at a meeting that Carter's offer might make sense.
"This is an opportunity for the county to receive some money — to profit," Eaves said. "But
it's also an opportunity for the library to be brand new and relocated to the same
immediate area."
Designed by Mack Scogin and Merrill Elam, the building sits on a crest and offers a view of
downtown. It's also right in the middle of Carter's eight-block Streets of Buckhead
redevelopment. Hotels, residences, restaurants, stores and office space are all part of his
massive undertaking.
Buckhead Avenue is supposed to become a shopping mecca, so leaving the library there
would be "a gap in the experience," Carter said, while incorporating it into a larger building
fits in with central Buckhead's vertical growth.
There's no room in the project for a new standalone library building, he added.
Thursday night, a group of architects and architecture fans gathered at Georgia Tech to
discuss why they think the current building must be saved.
One of the participants, architect David Hamilton, wrote to Carter and development partner
Scott Higley on Feb. 13 and asked how razing the library jibes with the project's promise to
spend millions on outdoor art. Carter last summer purchased a $1 million Frank Stella
sculpture for his development.
"The library could serve as a centerpiece in your new public art collection," Hamilton wrote.
"Instead of creating acrimony and a considerable backlash against the destruction of one
of the most significant buildings in the city, why not help to preserve this work of art and
architecture?" Hamilton said he has not yet received a response.
Another attendee was Elam, who with Scogin designed the building in the late 1980s.
She described the look as "very emblematic of open book, open thinking, open
mindedness."
The library board meets Wednesday at 3 p.m. at the Central Library downtown.
"The library's board of trustees is aware of the architectural significance of the Buckhead
branch," spokeswoman Kelly Robinson said Friday.
[From "The Vent," Atlanta Journal-Constitution, February 22, 2008:]
"The problem with the Buckhead library is not its design but its sleazy construction. The
windows are exactly like those on some pickup truck covers, and most of those of us who
are its patrons can remember the buckets collecting water from the leaking roof."
Loss of Library Would Be Felt
Letter to the Editor, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, February 21, 2008
I regularly took my five children to both the previous and the existing Buckhead library,
hand in hand, carrying books. Now, I see with great dismay that the accessible Buckhead
library may be moved to a high-rise building. ["Divisive It Stands; The Buckhead Library Has
Won Awards, but Many Locals Call It Ugly. Now It May Be Razed," AJC, Feb. 11.]
The elderly, mothers with children, and others will by necessity and by personal choice be
excluded because of the cumbersome parking and walking which come with this change.
This is an issue independent of the imputed design value of the building. I hope the library
trustees and the county commissioners realize this, but I fear that the opinion of the library
patron will be little valued in light of an offer of a great deal of money.
If this radical move takes place, the developer, Ben Carter, who views the current library as
a "kind of a gap in the experience" of his urban dream of upscale retail shops and living,
will have acquired a library for the use of his building's tenants, in essence a private library
funded by taxes.
The rest of us will have lost a library. That's the realistic outcome, I guarantee it.
[Signed] Pat Royalty, Atlanta
* * *
Room for New Architecture and Old
Letter to the Editor, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, February 21, 2008
I am opposed to demolishing the existing Buckhead Library. Frankly, it's not my favorite
of [the architects'] work, but there is a bigger issue here.
It's been well known for years that some do not like this building. Some folks don't like
certain colors either —- it's just their opinion.
Petty attacks on the motives of either the library architect or the Buckhead developer are
unwarranted and mean spirited. The controversial physical appearance of the Buckhead
library is secondary to its importance to the cultural life and diversity of our city.
We cannot stay mired in the old, traditional ideas forever, suspicious of anything that
moves forward and away from our notions of what architecture should be. There is a place
for more familiar and comforting traditional design and there is place for avant garde,
thought-provoking design in every city.
I hate to think of the alternative where design creativity is stifled and we are all subject to
the soul-crushing sameness that represents much of the suburban development in Atlanta.
The Buckhead library and the "new Buckhead" can and should coexist peacefully as part
of a rich, diverse architectural landscape, developed over time and celebrating America's
individualistic nature.
Truly, architectural uniqueness represents the very essence of American individualism in
that there is not domination by any particular group or opinion. Atlanta has already lost
much too much of its proud and vibrant past to the wrecking ball, losing forever the
historical continuity of the built environment that makes so many other cities great. Let's
not make those same mistakes as we move forward into Atlanta's emergence as a great
American city.
Importantly, libraries remain one of the few public entities that exist to promulgate new
knowledge and ideas. Is it not fitting that the design of the library should embody these
same principles?
[Signed] Tracy Carusi, Atlanta
Axing Library Would Send Artless Message
Guest Editorial by David M. Hamilton, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, February 18, 2008
Atlanta is a young, big city. First and foremost, it is a place that aspires to be known as
both progressive and hip. It is a beacon of diversity and sophistication in what was once
viewed, and still is by some, as the backwater South.
In the relentless pursuit of reputation, wealth and growth, some important things have
been overlooked. The city's increasingly large but still struggling arts community fights
against the perception (and too often the reality) that Atlanta is not an arts-friendly town.
It is because of that, I believe, that the reported destruction of the Buckhead Library
seemed to strike such a deep chord with so many artists and architects in the city.
The very notion that a developer seemingly committed to public art would advocate for the
demolition of what is arguably one of the most significant pieces of art and architecture in
Atlanta seemed to confirm their worst fears about the direction of the city.
Replacement of a truly world-class and public piece of architecture with more shopping,
parking and luxury living seemed to indicate that the city no longer held a place for the
quirky, the experimental or frankly even the interesting things that make a culturally
vibrant community.
For all the opinions about the Buckhead Library, it is a nationally and internationally
recognized work of art and architecture that has appeared in a multitude of journals and
other publications on architecture.
The library, designed by the acclaimed Atlanta firm of Mack Scogin and Merrill Elam
Architects, has won a number of significant design awards including the 1993 National
American Institute of Architects Award for Excellence. This yearly National AIA Honor Award
is indeed a very difficult award to win and is only given to what is considered the very best
work in the country. The honor award is the highest form of that award.
The building is certainly a contemporary landmark for the city of Atlanta as well as the
entire Southeastern region as students and practicing architects alike from around the
country make regular pilgrimages to view and study this groundbreaking work of art and
architecture.
As one of the principals of an architecture firm based in Atlanta, I can truly say that the
destruction of this landmark work of architecture would make it harder for us to attract the
kind of national talent that we need to remain competitive. Young architects are very
selective about where they choose to live and make a living. The reputation of a city for
respecting and allowing innovative and sophisticated architecture rank high on the list of
a city's attributes for them. I suspect other creative fields have similar perspectives and
problems.
All too often in Atlanta we have exchanged great art and great potential for immediate and
simple gain. When we as a city and our leadership stand for the long-term good of the city,
for developing the deep culture and the real future potential of the place where we live
and work, then we will truly have entered that upper echelon of towns and cities around
the world that Atlanta so clearly aspires to.
David M. Hamilton is the 2008 co-chair of the Metropolitan Public Arts Coalition and a
principal at an Atlanta architectural firm.
[From "The Vent," Atlanta Journal-Constitution, February 18, 2008:]
"Let's tear down the Buckhead library and put up glass. That's what Atlanta does best.
We'd rather see our own reflections than reflect on our history."
Divisive It Stands
The Buckhead Library Has Won Awards,
But Many Locals Call It Ugly.
Now It May Be Razed.
by Kevin Duffy, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, February 11, 2008
In early fall, more than 40 architecture students from Mississippi State
University made a five-hour bus pilgrimage to Atlanta to study buildings.
For the past couple of years they've narrowed their focus to just three
places: the High Museum of Art, the William R. Cannon Chapel at Emory
University and the Buckhead branch of the Atlanta-Fulton Public Library
System.
The "deconstructivist" library, with its unusual slate shingles and
fragmented shapes, is especially intriguing to the students.
"It's a lot more experimental than the other two buildings, so they have a
lot more questions," associate professor Rachel McCann said.
Design experts also admire the 18-year-old building on Buckhead Avenue.
It's won four awards, including two from the American Institute of
Architects.
"It's one of the most important buildings of the last quarter-century" in
Atlanta, said Robert Craig, an architecture professor at Georgia Tech.
"It's one of the handful in the city known well beyond the city itself."
But the library's unruly character, its attempt to express the excitement
of city life and elicit reactions, might help bring about its downfall in
a changing but still traditional Buckhead.
Developer Ben Carter, the builder of the $1.5 billion Streets of Buckhead
project, is offering Fulton County $24 million for the 2-acre site. He
proposes demolishing the building, which sits in the middle of his
eight-block redevelopment, and relocating the library to a future
mixed-use building with condominiums and retail.
"The Buckhead area of our city is becoming more urban," Carter said.
"There is a great opportunity with public buildings to incorporate them
into a more urban-style project."
Under his plan, the new library would occupy two floors above a parking
garage. Patrons would gain entry via an elevator. An outdoor reading
terrace is possible.
His proposal would give the library more space, and his price might
provide the county with a small financial windfall.
But almost as important to some powerful people is that the odd building
would go away.
"That library, to my way of thinking, was an abortion the day it was
dedicated," Fulton County Commissioner Tom Lowe said. "I am a lover of art.
I can even stand abstract art. But God darn, who in the world would build
something like that? There ain't no damn artistic value to that library."
Charles Loudermilk, the founder of Aaron Rents, agreed. "I see it from my
window. I think it's ugly," Loudermilk said. "I like brick and limestone,
stuff that looks like quality."
A portion of the $24 million —- perhaps $5 million by Carter's estimate —-
would fund the new library space; the rest would be the county's to spend
as it sees fit. The County Commission would have to approve the sale.
"This is an opportunity for the county to receive some money —- to profit,"
commission Chairman John Eaves told the library system's board of trustees,
of which he is a member. "But it's also an opportunity for the library to
be brand new and relocated to the same immediate area."
"I think that it's absolutely worthy of exploring," John Szabo, the
library system director, said. "Once the Streets of Buckhead development
is completed, the library site is not going to be harmonious with the
overall development."
Trustees want Carter to suggest a standalone alternative but have not
ruled out the mixed-use location, which would be a first for a library in
Atlanta.
The developer said there's no room in his project for a library by itself,
but land in Buckhead could be found elsewhere.
Buckhead Avenue has been home to a library since 1942. The current building,
designed by Mack Scogin and Merrill Elam, was dedicated in December 1989.
Back then, the design was just as provocative as it is today. A business
group, the Buckhead Coalition, tried to kill the project. Business leaders
called the look "modernistic battleship."
But shortly after its opening, the library began to garner awards.
"Energetic and lively, this branch library amid a nondescript strip of
neon lights, shopping centers and gas stations ... invigorates its
disjointed surroundings," a jury of the American Institute of Architects
wrote in 1993. "The dramatic geometry of the canopied entry creates an
aura of excitement not typically associated with a library and draws the
visitor inside to the quiet spaces."
In the 15 years that have followed, Buckhead's commercial heart has
changed dramatically. Towers stand where strip centers used to be. The
single-level library sticks out even more.
Reached in India where he's pursuing a new project, Scogin wondered whose
interests are paramount in the library discussion.
"To turn it over to private enterprise to decide on its fate I think is
hugely disappointing," said the former chairman of Harvard University's
architecture department. "It's sort of contrary to basic principles of
democracy and how the public is allowed to enjoy the kind of product its
government creates.
"The client is no longer the public. The client is private industry. It's
the developer."
In the Streets of Buckhead project, Carter wants to build hotels,
residences, office space and 80 upscale shops and restaurants. Land
clearing began last summer.
He made his pitch to library trustees in November. Buckhead Avenue, he
said, will become a retail destination and the current library is "kind of
a gap in the experience." The mixed-use library he proposed would be
entered on Pharr Road.
An Irish pub and an upscale boutique are slated to be built on two sides
of the library land, and another high-end shop is planned for across the
street.
"Right now I'll offer the county $300 a square foot," Carter told the
trustees. "If the library is 25,000 square feet and it costs $200 a square
foot [to build], that's $5 million. So there's $19 million out there in
this transaction to either enhance the library or go back to the county or
go back to the citizens."
He went on to say that due to "the rents we're getting from retail, we're
able to pay property owners in Buckhead numbers they've never dreamed of."
Trustee Roger Rupnow asked Carter if it would be possible to move the
library building. Carter said no.
"If you want to take that gorgeous thing and move it somewhere, that'd be
great," he joked.
In an interview last week, Carter said he will build around the existing
library if he has to. "It's not a have-to thing," he said. He originally
offered $18 million for the land.
McCann said architecture that challenges ought to be protected.
"We're building way too many buildings to make ourselves comfortable," she
said. "We don't build enough buildings to make us think harder. This
building does that. It's a brave building and we all ought to be braver."
Razing the Buckhead library would be Scogin's and Elam's second sacrifice
to mixed-use development. A conference center they designed at Emory
University, also from the late 1980s, was recently demolished to make way
for a project on Clifton Road.
Scogin and Elam "are the most internationally recognized avant-garde
architects we have," Judith Rohrer, chairwoman of Emory's art history
department, said. "Atlanta needs to have works by their most acclaimed
architects. It's really, really a shame that they aren't as appreciated
here as abroad."
The prestigious Royal Institute of British Architects is honoring Scogin
and Elam this week with a fellowship.
With one building gone and another in jeopardy, does Scogin feel slighted
in his hometown?
"We love Atlanta. I grew up there," he said. "I can't let that sour my
attitude on the place."
News researcher Richard Hallman contributed to this article.
Roswell One Step Closer to Getting a Second Library
by Mary MacDonald, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, January 25, 2008
Roswell will get a second library for its book-loving population, under a newly revised
proposal expected to go to the Fulton County Commission in late February.
Advocates for a new branch were delighted. They had pressed the Atlanta-Fulton County
Library System board for months, and succeeded in making a case for a second facility,
said John Szabo, the library system's director.
The effort, coordinated by a group called People for a Library in East Roswell, included
letters, personal appeals and arguments about the distance between east Roswell schools
and homes and the existing library, at 115 Norcross St.
"They were very strong in their advocacy, sent many e-mails, and made a compelling case,"
Szabo said.
The 11-member system library board voted Wednesday to recommend a 15,000-square-foot
facility in east Roswell, at the intersection of Fouts and Holcomb Bridge roads.
The city of Roswell owns the property and had already agreed to give it to the library system
for a new branch.
In addition to the new facility, the 10-year master plan for library system improvements still
includes a recommendation for a major renovation of the original Roswell library.
New Libraries Needed Now More Than Ever in Fulton
by John R. Thomas, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, January 27, 2008
[Guest Editorial; a response to "Is a New Library a True Need or Luxury" by Jim Osterman,
Northside Opinions, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, January 6, 2008]
A decade ago, some pundits predicted the Internet and giant bookstore chains would lead
to the demise of some, if not all, of the nation's 16,000 public libraries.
Instead, the number of visits to libraries continues to grow, increasing 61 percent between
1994 and 2004, according to a study released in April 2007 by the American Library
Association. That growth is almost counterintuitive, but as we become inundated with
more and more information, we have a greater need for libraries to help us filter, interpret
and understand that information.
An article in the autumn 2007 issue of Creative Living notes that almost 550 public
library construction or renovation projects were completed from 2004 through 2006. This
growth is unmatched since Andrew Carnegie led an effort to build 1,600 libraries in the
late 19th and early 20th centuries, one of which was here in Atlanta.
Today, many new and remodeled library buildings are becoming cultural destinations,
attracting a wide variety of residents and visitors, both long-term library users and many
who have never before visited the library. With designs by internationally renowned
architects, these contemporary libraries have such elements as dramatic exteriors and
interiors, commissioned artwork, outdoor meeting spaces, spacious computer labs and
coffee shops.
The renaissance goes beyond buildings and location. Innovative programs and services are
redefining the library experience. While libraries continue their traditional role, they are
also strategically meeting specific needs. More and more public libraries are playing a part
to solve community problems. "When the Cleveland Public Library found that seniors were
intimidated by technology, it used a $1.9 million grant to help bridge the digital divide.
Since 2003, the library has instructed more than 1,000 seniors in computer use, both at
the library and at sites such as assisted-living facilities and senior centers," Creative
Living reported.
Libraries also are developing wide-ranging programming for teens, a trend that started at
the end of the 1990s. Some 75 percent of Americans believe offering teens a safe place to
study and congregate should be a priority among libraries, according to a 2006 study
sponsored by the Americans for Libraries Council. Programming and events go along with
the expected library offerings to make each brand unique and integral to its community
and appeal to a wide variety of audiences, from very young children to seniors.
In our community, the Atlanta-Fulton Public Library System, with 34 libraries, serves a wide
demographic and geographic population and offers extensive programming and events to
attract many audiences. Some examples of programming just for January and February
prove this: classes on computers, chess, yoga and first-time home buying; plus book clubs;
Black History Month events; musical performances; a feng shui demonstration; author and
master storyteller talks; arts and crafts; films; and art exhibitions.
With the number of visitors increasing each year, the demand for new and improved
spaces to serve the community and an ever-evolving calendar of events, classes and
programs, I argue that libraries are as relevant today as they were in the past.
Thomas is chairman of the board of trustees, Atlanta-Fulton Public Library System.
Library Open to All Patrons;
Children's Area Not Off-bounds to Adults
by John Szabo, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, January 7, 2008
The Atlanta-Fulton Public Library System is committed to providing a safe and welcoming
environment to all its patrons and visitors in our community. The library system and each
of its 34 libraries welcome and encourage children, young adults and adults of all ages to
visit and make use of the libraries' resources and services and to attend the extensive array
of library events and programming. While the library still offers all the great books,
magazines, newspapers, DVDs and CDs that visitors expect and enjoy, today's library is a
vibrant and ever-changing place to experience exhibits, classes, lectures, book club
meetings, homework help and performances. With cutting-edge technology, libraries
connect patrons to the global community with information from around the world, affording
us opportunities like never before.
The safety and security of each patron is the highest priority of the library. The libraries'
youngest patrons warrant special consideration and, while library staff members are
available to provide help and support to children and to ensure that they have a safe and
secure environment in which to read and learn, it is ultimately the parents, guardians and
caregivers who are responsible for the safety and supervision of children at all times. In
situations where library staff feels that the health, safety or security of library users is
threatened, they may take appropriate action to exclude a patron or visitor from library
facilities or call security or police for assistance. Library staff members evaluate situations
on a case-by-case basis and take appropriate action.
The library does not exclude patrons from any public area within the library. There are
numerous reasons that adults without children — grandparents, teachers, parents,
caregivers, etc. — make use of the libraries' children's areas and resources, and they are
welcomed and encouraged to do so. In the case of a patron being asked to leave the
children's area because he was not accompanied by a child or children, the security guard
erred on the side of overt caution and, in this case, should have spoken to the library's
manager on duty prior to making the final decision. ("A childish misplacement of vigilance
at the library," @issue, Jan. 4.)
The Atlanta-Fulton Public Library System serves over 3 million library card holders and
visitors annually, with close to 600,000 annually at the Central Library, located downtown.
The library system provides a free service to library card holders and visitors alike — open
and equal access — in a safe and secure learning environment, making it a unique, vibrant
and invaluable resource within our community.
A Childish Misplacement of Vigilance at the Library
[Guest Editorial] by Kevin Luttery, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, January 4, 2008
The Atlanta Fulton County Public Library never ceases to amaze me with its enlightening
public programs or widely diverse circulation holdings.
As the system is representative of the city's progressive image, such offerings should be
expected. What shouldn't be expected, however, are actions that infringe upon the civil
liberties of its patrons. While recently visiting the central branch downtown, I was
enlightened as to one such action.
Sitting in the children's department, I was approached by the security guard and told to
leave. When asked why, he responded that it was the branch's policy to prohibit any adult
from utilizing that section of the library if not accompanying a child. When asked why such
a policy existed, he said that pedophilia was quite rampant in today's society.
My reaction was one of shock. Despite having been accused of many things in my life,
pedophilia has never been one of them. Of course, the security guard wasn't accusing me
outright of anything other than being a childless male, yet his tone and demeanor were
both quite accusatory as he escorted me to a different location. As a few visitors stared at
us, perhaps wondering what was the nature of my breach, I couldn't help but wonder a
few things myself.
Was it not my right to take a seat of my choosing in a public building? Were my tax dollars
not directly responsible for funding the facility?
As I am in the process of finding a publisher for a children's picture book I recently
completed, I went to the library specifically looking for a book similar in layout to my own.
It doesn't follow the traditional 32-page picture-book spread. After I found a few books, I
took a seat in a nearby chair (in the children's department) and began reading them. I also
took time to write down the authors' names, the titles and the publishing houses.
When I attempted to explain to the security guard that I was a writer, often penning both
adult and children's material, he simply repeated that it was the branch's policy and that I
could no longer sit and read in the children's department.
Understanding that he was only following instructions delivered from above, I felt it
necessary to seek the director and express my discontent. The director wasn't in the office
at the time, nor was the head librarian. I was thus resigned to speaking with the third in
the chain-of-command.
Scribbling on a spiral notepad, she politely listened to my concerns, taking down my
phone number and assuring me that one of her supervisors would give me a call to address
the matter directly. She even offered some level of agreement with my stance that the
branch had its policy completely backwards. Rather than prohibiting adults without kids,
the department should prohibit kids without adults. After all, no one would expect a
parent to drop her child off at the playground while she runs a few errands. Even retail
stores post signs for parents not to leave their kids unattended. So what makes the library
so exclusive? Absolutely nothing.
Once again, the library is a publicly funded and visited facility. It is not a day care or
afterschool program. That the central branch would treat it as such is a gross misplacement
of responsibility. No one should have a more vested interest in a child's well-being than
that child's own parent. Yet in today's society, so many parents shift that responsibility to
other institutions. Schools and churches can't raise kids, nor can community centers or
psychologists.
While I would be the last person to argue that such outside sources are not invaluable to
the healthy development of a child, it is still ultimately the responsibility of parents to
ensure their children receive proper guidance, nurturing and protection.
As a writer and native Atlantan, I have been a patron of the library system for many years. I
don't foresee that changing. It is my hope, however, that the administration thoroughly
reviews its current policy and makes appropriate changes with all its visitors in mind. In
the meantime, I still await my phone call.
[AJC] Editor's note: A spokesman for the Atlanta Fulton County Public Library System said the
security guard was acting on his own, not implementing branch policy.
Click here to read media reports
about AFPL published in 2007
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