Supporting Libraries in Tough Times

Yesterday, the Atlanta Journal Constition's Op-Ed Page focused on the changing roles of libraries as the economy falters and e-books and other electronic media gather steam.  One of the articles was on Gwinnett County Public Library's challenges as they find their budget cut 15% by their county commissioners. The Gwinnett County Library is one of the best I have ever used, and it is very frustrating that its commissioners have failed to recognize the value of its services. (The GC library system has taken it all in stride, however, and is busy looking for new ways to raise money and stretch its existing budget to cover as much as possible - showing a flexibility that demonstrates why it is such a good library system.)

The Atlanta-Fulton Public Library system has been very lucky thus far - Fulton County commissioners have done the right thing and recognized that libraries become even more important to patrons in times of need. The library provides so many services free of charge: internet access, programs on health, job searching, resume writing, etc., not to mention access to all the knowledge and entertainment contained in the hundreds of thousands of books on its shelves (and in its ebook catalog).

Kudos to our commissioners for standing behind Fulton libraries - your support is definitely appreciated!

Oh, and the value of those 47 million book checkouts,  plus the 13.5 billion computer sessions, and the programs attended by 1.4 million children?
                                                          $1,300,000,000 
 Best of all, Georgia libraries only had to spend $188 million to get those $1.3 billion in benefits to their patrons - nice return on the investment!

Bookfessions

Bookfessions is a website chock full of great quotes inspired by reading. Check it out frequently: it's constantly updated.   And hey, if you've got something pithy to say about your reading life - contribute!

A Fulton Family Loss

David and Rob Fulton, with a portrait of their father, Dr. Robert E. Fulton, at the opening ceremonies for the Ocee Library in October 2004

As many of you know, the Ocee Library's official name is the Dr. Robert E. Fulton/Ocee Library. Dr. Fulton was a County Commissioner and Library Board Trustee who fought long and hard for the creation of the Ocee Library. We literally would not exist if it were not for his passion.  Unfortunately, Dr. Fulton died suddenly just before the library opened, and the name of the library now reminds us of his dedication to our cause. (You can read more about the history of the Ocee Library by scrolling down at this post.)

After Dr. Fulton's death, his family has continued to stand by the library and they have donated funds for a variety of library needs through the years. Sadly on Friday, Dr. Fulton's eldest son, David Fulton, also passed away suddenly. David's brother Rob describes his brother as being "being most like my father, especially in terms of his unrelenting ability to get things done" (a trait of his father's that we most definitely benefited from!).  His death is devasting not only to the Fulton family, but also to our library - we have always appreciated the Fultons' continuing support of their father's namesake library.

David Fulton, visiting the library named after his father

David lived in Massachusetts, and is survived by his mother Autumn Ireland, wife Sherry, and children Kathryn and Jaclyn. He also leaves siblings Rob Fulton and Lori Cutillo.  (David Fulton's complete obituary can be viewed here, or here.)

Paul Auster on reading

 “Reading was my escape and my comfort, my consolation, my stimulant of choice: reading for the pure pleasure of it, for the beautiful stillness that surrounds you when you hear an author's words reverberating in your head.”
                               ― Paul Auster, The Brooklyn Follies

A guy that reads

Robby's blog

I love this guy! He's a 16-year old book blogger who just loves to read, plain and simple - you can (and should!) read a Publisher's Weekly interview with him here. The interview is awesome - it's great to see such enthusiasm for books in a teenage boy.


Bonus link: Here's Library Journal's list of books to look out for this fall: they lose points for only listing books by author & title - no synopsis or link - but it's a great resource for those that love to read beyond the bestseller list.