Guest post: East Atlanta branch library

My good friend Teresa, who also holds the free public library close to her heart, was so kind as to review her local branch of the Atlanta, GA public library. She even snapped a photo1  What a lucky gal I am, to have friends willing to guest-post!

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I have put some thought into what I enjoy about my local library. I will confess that it was an adjustment for me coming from Boston with such an extensive system of branches and an amazing collection of everything a library fanatic could want. So my view is skewed and I am still somewhat new to this library so I may want to amend my comments at a later date.

East Atlanta is not one of the best neighborhoods in Atlanta. It is what the locals would call “transitional” with new condominiums next to boarded up houses covered in graffiti. There are popular bars and boutiques but also dilapidated and empty store fronts. It is an area hard to define culturally but still maintains a reputation for being more “ghetto” than funky enclave.

The library itself is on a little street in a more residential part of the neighborhood, but just off a main road. The building is well kept has a cute little lawn attached with benches. I often see moms with kids take their newly acquired books out there to read them together.

There is an active Friends of the Library group that seem to really care about the well being of the library and its connection to the community which I think is wonderful. They host creative fundraisers, pitch in to help library staff and encourage people to get library cards. I myself will be joining them because I feel strongly that a good public library is a priceless community resource.

The East Atlanta Branch also has a significant number of computers available to the public for such a small branch. Every single time I am at the library I see people looking for jobs, researching for homework, or accessing public assistance resources on these computers. It is a great way for people to have access to modern technology who may not otherwise have the opportunity.

Lastly, I must say that the inter-library loan system overall for the City of Atlanta should not go unmentioned. Even though my local branch in East Atlanta is very small, I have no trouble going online to search the catalog and getting books I need or want from other libraries in the system. I think this is a really important asset in Atlanta because with everything being so spread out in this city, driving all over town to visit various branches would be tedious. This is especially important to someone like me who goes through books like nobody’s business 😉