By Henry Bryant
As a member of the Friends of East Atlanta Library and long-time volunteer for its support, I was interested in a recent study performed by the Carl Vinson Institute of Government. The study was directed at the impact funding being provided to Georgia’s Libraries. I live in East Atlanta and have worked to support our library, one of two Fulton County Libraries in Dekalb County, the East Atlanta Library, which sits a short block from the Dekalb border with Fulton, serves a population from both counties.
A special tax district was created when the Atlanta Public Libraries were given over to Fulton County to run about 45 years ago, when all libraries in Georgia became county libraries. Dekalb has its own Library System funded by library taxes generated in Dekalb. Back when this transfer happened the nearest Dekalb library was in downtown Decatur.
East Atlanta had been a part of the Atlanta Public Library System since the early 20th Century when East Atlanta was annexed into the city, and the Atlanta Public Library System was created. The neighborhood has enjoyed a Library in the East Atlanta Village since the early 1950s.
Where government is concerned, it is always interesting to play “follow the money.” The Vinson Institute research says that for every $1 of taxes spent on a library, we as taxpayers and library constituents receive $3.75 in services and economic impact. Julie Walker, State Librarian and Vice Chancellor for Georgia Libraries and Archives said, “This study validates what we already know: Libraries are foundational to our communities, providing value to Georgians that far outweighs their costs. The Georgia Library Service adds in their publications that for many Georgians, the value of their libraries can’t be quantified.
In the case of the East Atlanta Library and its constituents, that becomes harder not just because of benefits that are hard to put on an accountant’s ledger, but also because the money spent is not easy to follow. A special tax district was created in Atlanta in Dekalb to fund library services for that area. Of course, some Atlantans in Fulton also benefit from the East Atlanta Library, and the East Atlanta Library benefits from some of their taxes, too. As a Dekalb County taxpayer, there is an item on my property taxes for Library Services from the special tax district. That item is transferred to the City of Atlanta and Fulton County for those services. We also pay into Dekalb’s general fund for their library system to be able to use it as well (nearest library on Gresham Road near the Walmart). The water becomes muddy, so that when you ask the Fulton Library leadership how much money comes from any one area or goes to any one library the answer comes back sketchy.
The quantifiable statistics include: 408 public libraries in the state of Georgia, 45 million annual library visits in the state, nearly 11 million WiFi and computer sessions, over community organization partners, and over 4.9 million Georgians with a library card last year. Funding at your local library depends on visitation and circulation.
All I know is that I am glad to have a library near my house, and I am happy to pay for it. I am glad that my children who were raised in East Atlanta had a nearby library to use. My grandkids who also live in Atlanta in Dekalb also still are users of the Atlanta in Dekalb libraries. I am glad that my wife, who is an avid reader, is able to find books nearby without having to purchase them, the original benefit of a lending library. All of that and more cannot help but benefit the value of my house, should I decide to sell it.
