Fulton County Library System - Revision history

imported>Epicgenius: Changing short description from "Library system for the city of Atlanta and Fulton County, Georgia" to "Library system in Georgia, US"

2025-12-30T15:34:08Z

Changing short description from "Library system for the city of Atlanta and Fulton County, Georgia" to "Library system in Georgia, US"

← Previous revision		Revision as of 15:34, 30 December 2025
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			{{Short description\|Library system in Georgia, US}}
			{{redirect\|Atlanta Public Library\|the library in Illinois\|Atlanta Public Library (Atlanta, Illinois)}}
			{{Use American English\|date=August 2025}}
	{{Use mdy dates\|date=November 2023}}		{{Use mdy dates\|date=November 2023}}
	~~{{short description\|Library system for the city of Atlanta and Fulton County, Georgia}}~~
	~~{{redirect\|Atlanta Public Library\|the library in Illinois\|Atlanta Public Library (Atlanta, Illinois)}}~~
	{{Infobox library		{{Infobox library
	\| image = Atlanta Central Library.jpg		\| image = Atlanta Central Library.jpg
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	===The Carnegie Library===		===The Carnegie Library===
			{{Main\|Carnegie Library (Atlanta)}}
	[[File:Carnegie Library Atlanta.jpg\|thumb\|right\|Carnegie Library (1902–1977)]]		[[File:Carnegie Library Atlanta.jpg\|thumb\|right\|Carnegie Library (1902–1977)]]
	On March 4, 1902, the first public library, the [[Ackerman & Ross]]-designed Carnegie Library, opened on the site of the current Central Library. When the library opened, only the basement, the stacks, and the children's room were completed.<ref>{{cite news \|first=J R \|last=Nutting \|title=Carnegie's Gift to Atlanta Will Become Active Today\|work=The Atlanta Constitution \|page=1 \|date=March 4, 1902}}</ref> The Carnegie Library remained the main library of the system for most of the century. The library was renovated in 1950 and 1966 through city bond funding. Before 1950 the system was referred to as the Carnegie Library, but to commemorate the renovation of the central Carnegie Library the system was renamed the Atlanta Public Library in 1950.<ref name="100 Years of Library Service" /> It was in this building that 20 [[gay]] men were arrested following a police [[stakeout]] in September 1953, an event known as the [[Atlanta Public Library perversion case]].<ref>{{Cite web\|last=Sylvestre\|first=Berlin\|date=August 3, 2018\|title=From Whence We Came: Our LGBTQ ATL History\|url=https://thegavoice.com/community/features/from-whence-we-came-our-lgbtq-atl-history/\|access-date=August 4, 2020\|website=[[The Georgia Voice]]\|language=en-US}}</ref> In 1977 the Carnegie Library was torn down to make way for the current Central Library. However, the building's architectural bays were preserved, and used to create the [[Carnegie Education Pavilion]], a monument to [[List of colleges and universities in metropolitan Atlanta\|higher education in Atlanta]].<ref name="100 Years of Library Service" />		On March 4, 1902, the first public library, the [[Ackerman & Ross]]-designed Carnegie Library, opened on the site of the current Central Library. When the library opened, only the basement, the stacks, and the children's room were completed.<ref>{{cite news \|first=J R \|last=Nutting \|title=Carnegie's Gift to Atlanta Will Become Active Today\|work=The Atlanta Constitution \|page=1 \|date=March 4, 1902}}</ref> The Carnegie Library remained the main library of the system for most of the century. The library was renovated in 1950 and 1966 through city bond funding. Before 1950 the system was referred to as the Carnegie Library, but to commemorate the renovation of the central Carnegie Library the system was renamed the Atlanta Public Library in 1950.<ref name="100 Years of Library Service" /> It was in this building that 20 [[gay]] men were arrested following a police [[stakeout]] in September 1953, an event known as the [[Atlanta Public Library perversion case]].<ref>{{Cite web\|last=Sylvestre\|first=Berlin\|date=August 3, 2018\|title=From Whence We Came: Our LGBTQ ATL History\|url=https://thegavoice.com/community/features/from-whence-we-came-our-lgbtq-atl-history/\|access-date=August 4, 2020\|website=[[The Georgia Voice]]\|language=en-US}}</ref> In 1977 the Carnegie Library was torn down to make way for the current Central Library. However, the building's architectural bays were preserved, and used to create the [[Carnegie Education Pavilion]], a monument to [[List of colleges and universities in metropolitan Atlanta\|higher education in Atlanta]].<ref name="100 Years of Library Service" />
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	[[File:Walkin ATL 024a.jpg\|thumb\|The Central Library]]		[[File:Walkin ATL 024a.jpg\|thumb\|The Central Library]]

	The [[Atlanta Central Library\|Central Library]] in [[Downtown Atlanta]] serves as the headquarters of the library system.<ref>"[http://www.afpls.org/central-hq Central Library & Library System Headquarters] {{Webarchive\|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200727112024/http://afpls.org/central-hq \|date=2020-07-27 }}." Atlanta–Fulton Public Library System. Retrieved on June 29, 2017.</ref> Completed in 1980, it was the last building to be designed by [[Bauhaus]]-movement architect [[Marcel Breuer]]. The building, designed in the [[brutalist]] architectural style, is considered a "masterpiece" by architectural experts, such as [[Barry Bergdoll]], the Chief Architectural Curator of the [[Museum of Modern Art]], and is closely related to the [[Whitney Museum of Art]] building ~~(currently the~~ [[~~Met Breuer~~]] ~~museum)~~.<ref>{{cite web\|first=Jonathan \|last=Lerner \|url=http://www.metropolismag.com/story/20090218/overdue \|title=Atlanta's urge for a trendy new central library may mean that time is up for Marcel Breuer's final building. \|access-date=August 12, 2009 \|publisher=Metropolis Magazine \|date=February 18, 2009 \|url-status=dead \|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090704041858/http://www.metropolismag.com/story/20090218/overdue \|archive-date=July 4, 2009 }}</ref>		The [[Atlanta Central Library\|Central Library]] in [[Downtown Atlanta]] serves as the headquarters of the library system.<ref>"[http://www.afpls.org/central-hq Central Library & Library System Headquarters] {{Webarchive\|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200727112024/http://afpls.org/central-hq \|date=2020-07-27 }}." Atlanta–Fulton Public Library System. Retrieved on June 29, 2017.</ref> Completed in 1980, it was the last building to be designed by [[Bauhaus]]-movement architect [[Marcel Breuer]]. The building, designed in the [[brutalist]] architectural style, is considered a "masterpiece" by architectural experts, such as [[Barry Bergdoll]], the Chief Architectural Curator of the [[Museum of Modern Art]], and is closely related to the [[Whitney Museum of Art]] building at [[945 Madison Avenue]].<ref>{{cite web\|first=Jonathan \|last=Lerner \|url=http://www.metropolismag.com/story/20090218/overdue \|title=Atlanta's urge for a trendy new central library may mean that time is up for Marcel Breuer's final building. \|access-date=August 12, 2009 \|publisher=Metropolis Magazine \|date=February 18, 2009 \|url-status=dead \|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090704041858/http://www.metropolismag.com/story/20090218/overdue \|archive-date=July 4, 2009 }}</ref>
	{{clear}}{{Heading\|Roswell Branch}}		{{clear}}{{Heading\|Roswell Branch}}
	The Roswell Branch begun in 1946 when volunteers would make weekly trips to the [[Atlanta Central Library]]. In 1955, Arthur W Smith purchased one of the historic "Bricks" apartments in Roswell and the collection was moved there and referred to as the Carnegie Library Deposit at Roswell because all of the books were still being borrowed from the Central Library.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web \|title=Roswell Branch \|url=https://www.fulcolibrary.org/locations/ROSWEL \|access-date=April 26, 2023 \|website=www.fulcolibrary.org \|language=en-US}}</ref> It was not until 1965 that the Roswell Library became a full fledged branch with its own collection.<ref name=":1" /> Today the library building is named after Arthur W Smith.		The Roswell Branch begun in 1946 when volunteers would make weekly trips to the [[Atlanta Central Library]]. In 1955, Arthur W Smith purchased one of the historic "Bricks" apartments in Roswell and the collection was moved there and referred to as the Carnegie Library Deposit at Roswell because all of the books were still being borrowed from the Central Library.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web \|title=Roswell Branch \|url=https://www.fulcolibrary.org/locations/ROSWEL \|access-date=April 26, 2023 \|website=www.fulcolibrary.org \|language=en-US}}</ref> It was not until 1965 that the Roswell Library became a full fledged branch with its own collection.<ref name=":1" /> Today the library building is named after Arthur W Smith.
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	==Branches==		==Branches==
	{{div col\|colwidth=30em}}		{{div col\|colwidth=30em}}
	*Adams Park Branch		* Adams Park Branch
	*Adamsville–Collier Heights Branch		* Adamsville–Collier Heights Branch
	*Alpharetta Branch		* Alpharetta Branch
	*[[Auburn Avenue Research Library]]		* [[Auburn Avenue Research Library]]
	*Buckhead Branch		* Buckhead Branch
	*Cascade Branch		* Cascade Branch
	*Cleveland Avenue Branch		* Cleveland Avenue Branch
	*College Park Branch		* College Park Branch
	*Dogwood Branch		* Dogwood Branch
	*East Atlanta Branch		* East Atlanta Branch
	*East Point Branch		* East Point Branch
	*East Roswell Branch		* East Roswell Branch
	*Fairburn Branch		* Fairburn Branch
	*Gladys S. Dennard Library at South Fulton		* Gladys S. Dennard Library at South Fulton
	*Hapeville Branch		* Hapeville Branch
	*Kirkwood Branch		* Kirkwood Branch
	*Louise Watley Library at Southeast Atlanta		* Louise Watley Library at Southeast Atlanta
	*Martin Luther King Jr., Branch		* Martin Luther King Jr., Branch
	*Mechanicsville Branch		* Mechanicsville Branch
	*Metropolitan Branch		* Metropolitan Branch
	*Milton Branch		* Milton Branch
	*Northeast/Spruill Oaks Branch		* Northeast/Spruill Oaks Branch
	*Northside Branch		* Northside Branch
	*Northwest Branch at Scotts Crossing		* Northwest Branch at Scotts Crossing
	*Ocee Branch		* Ocee Branch
	*Palmetto Branch		* Palmetto Branch
	*Peachtree Branch		* Peachtree Branch
	*Ponce de Leon Branch		* Ponce de Leon Branch
	*Roswell Branch		* Roswell Branch
	*Sandy Springs Branch		* Sandy Springs Branch
	*South Fulton Branch		* South Fulton Branch
	*Southeast Atlanta Branch		* Southeast Atlanta Branch
	*Washington Park Branch		* Washington Park Branch
	*West End Branch		* West End Branch
	*Wolf Creek Branch		* Wolf Creek Branch
	{{div col end}}		{{div col end}}

	==Library systems in neighboring counties==		==Library systems in neighboring counties==
	*[[West Georgia Regional Library]] to the west		* [[West Georgia Regional Library]] to the west
	*[[Cobb County Public Library System]] to the west		* [[Cobb County Public Library System]] to the west
	*[[Sequoyah Regional Library System]] to the northwest		* [[Sequoyah Regional Library System]] to the northwest
	*[[Forsyth County Public Library]] to the northeast		* [[Forsyth County Public Library]] to the northeast
	*[[Gwinnett County Public Library]] to the east		* [[Gwinnett County Public Library]] to the east
	*[[DeKalb County Public Library]] to the east		* [[DeKalb County Public Library]] to the east
	*[[Clayton County Library System]] to the southeast		* [[Clayton County Library System]] to the southeast
	*[[Flint River Regional Library System]] to the south		* [[Flint River Regional Library System]] to the south
	*[[Coweta Public Library System]] to the south		* [[Coweta Public Library System]] to the south

	==References==		==References==
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	==External links==		==External links==
	{{Commons category\|Atlanta-Fulton Public Library System}}		{{Commons category\|Atlanta-Fulton Public Library System}}
	*[~~http~~://www.~~afpls~~.org/ Atlanta–Fulton Public Library System website]		* [https://www.fulcolibrary.org/ Atlanta–Fulton Public Library System website]
	*[http://atlnewspapers.galileo.usg.edu/atlnewspapers/view?docId=news/aga1909/aga1909-5138.xml "One of Finest Libraries in South"], Atlanta Georgian and News, December 24, 1909, from the [http://atlnewspapers.galileo.usg.edu/ Atlanta Historic Newspapers Archive] in the Digital Library of Georgia		* [http://atlnewspapers.galileo.usg.edu/atlnewspapers/view?docId=news/aga1909/aga1909-5138.xml "One of Finest Libraries in South"], Atlanta Georgian and News, December 24, 1909, from the [http://atlnewspapers.galileo.usg.edu/ Atlanta Historic Newspapers Archive] in the Digital Library of Georgia
	{{Atlanta}}		{{Atlanta}}
	{{Education in Fulton County, Georgia}}		{{Education in Fulton County, Georgia}}

imported>OAbot: Open access bot: url-access updated in citation with #oabot.

2025-05-28T06:46:44Z

Open access bot: url-access updated in citation with #oabot.

New page

{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2023}}
{{short description|Library system for the city of Atlanta and Fulton County, Georgia}}
{{redirect|Atlanta Public Library|the library in Illinois|Atlanta Public Library (Atlanta, Illinois)}}
{{Infobox library
| image = Atlanta Central Library.jpg
| caption = [[Atlanta Central Library]]
| library_name = Fulton County Library System
| library_logo = Fulton County Library System.png
| location = Atlanta, Georgia
| established = {{start date and age|1902}}
| num_branches = 34
| collection_size = 2,790,177 (2017)<ref name="GALib2017" />
| annual_circulation = 2,855,142 (2017)<ref name="GALib2017" />
| members = 626,650 (2017)<ref name="GALib2017">{{cite web|title=Current Look at Georgia Libraries 2017|url=https://georgialibraries.org/statistics_files/Current_Look_FY17.pdf|access-date=March 25, 2020}}</ref>
| pop_served = 1,052,908 (2017)<ref name="GALib2017" />
| director = Gayle H. Holloman<ref>{{cite web|title=Gayle Holloman Named Executive Director of the Fulton County Library System|url=https://www.fultoncountyga.gov/news/2020/01/13/gayle-holloman-named-executive-director--of-the-fulton-county-library-system|access-date=October 23, 2023}}</ref>
| website = {{official URL}}
| mapframe = no
}}
The '''Fulton County Library System''' is a network of [[public library|public libraries]] serving the [[Atlanta, Georgia|City of Atlanta]] and [[Fulton County, Georgia|Fulton County]], both in the U.S. state of [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]]. The system is administered by Fulton County. The system is composed of the [[Atlanta Central Library]] in [[Downtown Atlanta]], which serves as the library headquarters, as well as the [[Auburn Avenue Research Library on African American Culture and History]], and 33 branch libraries.

==History==

===The Young Men's Library Association===
The origins of the public library system lie in the Young Men's Library Association (YMLA), a subscription library system established in 1867. The YMLA was open to the public, but only paying members could check out books. Membership was restricted to white men until 1873 when white women were allowed to join. The YMLA system remained the de facto library system of the city for the rest of the century. During the 1890s, however, the YMLA, [[Andrew Carnegie]], and the City of Atlanta, started to work out the details of a new public library in Atlanta.<ref name="100 Years of Library Service">{{cite web |url=http://www.afpls.org/about-afpls/history/166-100-years-of-library-service |title=100 Years of Library Service |access-date=January 1, 2011 |publisher=Atlanta–Fulton Public Library System |archive-date=April 17, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180417023005/http://www.afpls.org/about-afpls/history/166-100-years-of-library-service |url-status=dead }}</ref> In 1897 Walter M. Kelly, [[Andrew Carnegie]]'s business manager for Southern affairs joined the board of the YMLA and advocated for the construction of a public library because the YMLA could not serve Atlanta's growing population.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last=DuVernay |first=Jina D. |date=September 1, 2021 |title=Dallas Hanbury, ''The Development of Southern Public Libraries and the African American Quest for Library Access, 1898–1963''. New York: Lexington Books, 2020. Pp. 186. $90.00 (cloth). |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1086/716276 |journal=The Journal of African American History |volume=106 |issue=4 |pages=748–750 |doi=10.1086/716276 |issn=1548-1867|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

===The Carnegie Library===
[[File:Carnegie Library Atlanta.jpg|thumb|right|Carnegie Library (1902–1977)]]
On March 4, 1902, the first public library, the [[Ackerman & Ross]]-designed Carnegie Library, opened on the site of the current Central Library. When the library opened, only the basement, the stacks, and the children's room were completed.<ref>{{cite news |first=J R |last=Nutting |title=Carnegie's Gift to Atlanta Will Become Active Today|work=The Atlanta Constitution |page=1 |date=March 4, 1902}}</ref> The Carnegie Library remained the main library of the system for most of the century. The library was renovated in 1950 and 1966 through city bond funding. Before 1950 the system was referred to as the Carnegie Library, but to commemorate the renovation of the central Carnegie Library the system was renamed the Atlanta Public Library in 1950.<ref name="100 Years of Library Service" /> It was in this building that 20 [[gay]] men were arrested following a police [[stakeout]] in September 1953, an event known as the [[Atlanta Public Library perversion case]].<ref>{{Cite web|last=Sylvestre|first=Berlin|date=August 3, 2018|title=From Whence We Came: Our LGBTQ ATL History|url=https://thegavoice.com/community/features/from-whence-we-came-our-lgbtq-atl-history/|access-date=August 4, 2020|website=[[The Georgia Voice]]|language=en-US}}</ref> In 1977 the Carnegie Library was torn down to make way for the current Central Library. However, the building's architectural bays were preserved, and used to create the [[Carnegie Education Pavilion]], a monument to [[List of colleges and universities in metropolitan Atlanta|higher education in Atlanta]].<ref name="100 Years of Library Service" />

===Expansion of the library system===
The Carnegie Library was so successful that within a year after the opening of the library, Carnegie suggested he would give more money to open branch libraries.<ref>{{cite news |title=Carnegie Will Give More|work=The Atlanta Constitution |page=11 |date=January 8, 1903}}</ref> In 1906 Carnegie formally offered $30,000 for the construction of two branch libraries, as long as the city provided a site and arranged financial support for the library.<ref>{{cite news |title=$30,000 Given Local Library For Branches |work=The Atlanta Constitution |page=B1 |date=December 2, 1906}}</ref> The Anne Wallace Library, named in honor of the first Carnegie Library librarian, opened in 1909 on the corner of Luckie Street and Merritts Avenue in Northwest Atlanta.<ref name="ReferenceA">{{cite news |title="Anne Wallace" Library" opened to the Public|work=The Atlanta Constitution |page=A3 |date=October 31, 1909}}</ref> Many new branch libraries followed in the years to come. The Ragsdale branch, located in [[Oakland City (Atlanta)|Oakland City]], opened in 1912,<ref>{{cite news |title=Oakland City Now Enjoys Branch Library |work=The Atlanta Constitution |page=5 |date=March 16, 1912}}</ref> and in 1913 the Uncle Remus Branch opened in the West End home of [[Joel Chandler Harris]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Home of Uncle Remus Will Be As Carnegie Library Branch |work=The Atlanta Constitution |page=B3 |date=October 12, 1913}}</ref> Over the next century the library system has expanded from four branches in 1913 to the 34 branches operating today. By 1924 the library system had eight branches throughout the city, and by 1967 the system had 19 branches.<ref name="ReferenceA" />

===City–county relationship===
In the first decades of the library system service was maintained for Atlanta residents only, and as a result Fulton County was left without library service. Using [[Works Progress Administration]] and city funds, the City of Atlanta and the Fulton County Board of Commissioners signed a contract in 1935 to provide library coverage throughout the county. In 1982, however, Georgia passed a constitutional amendment that allowed the city to transfer control of the system to the county, and in 1983 the system was turned over the county control. To reflect the change in control the system was renamed the Atlanta–Fulton Public Library System.<ref name="100 Years of Library Service" />

===Black Atlantans and the public library===
When the Carnegie Library opened in 1902, blacks were excluded from the library. Activist [[W. E. B. Du Bois]] led an unsuccessful campaign for black representation and equal use of the library, or at the very least a branch library for blacks, but the library board rebuffed his efforts. Carnegie had offered funds for a black branch library, but the library system did not use the money until 1921 when [[Tommie Dora Barker]], the Director of the [[Carnegie Library School]], opened the Auburn Avenue Branch Library, the first branch library for blacks,<ref>{{Cite book|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SqpJMeDXMwUC&dq=Tommie+Dora+Barker&pg=PA11|title=Supplement to the Dictionary of American Library Biography, Volume 1|last=Carmichael, Jr.|first=James V.|editor-last=Wiegand|editor-first=Wayne A.|publisher=Libraries Unlimited|year=1990|isbn=9780872875869|pages=5–11|chapter=Tommie Dora Barker}}</ref> in the [[Sweet Auburn]] neighborhood.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Desegregation of Public Libraries in the Jim Crow South: Civil Rights and Local Activism|last1=Wiegand|first1=Wayne A.|last2=Wiegand|first2=Shirley A.|publisher=Louisiana State University Press|year=2018|isbn=9780807168677|location=Baton Rouge, Louisiana|pages=27}}</ref> During segregation two other libraries were opened for the use of blacks. After opening its first branches for African Americans in the 1920's the APL began to employ black female librarians like [[Annie L. McPheeters]].<ref name=":0" /> In 1959, Irene Dobbs Jackson, the mother of future Atlanta mayor [[Maynard Jackson]] requested a library card for the central library. After days of public furor, the library board voted to allow blacks full access to the library on May 19, 1959. Between 1966 and 1973 the library staff was desegregated.<ref name="100 Years of Library Service" />

===2008 bond referendum===
In 2008 Fulton County voters approved a $275 million library bond referendum, which provides money for renovation and construction of library facilities in Fulton County. The plan includes money for eight new libraries, a new central library, expansions of two libraries, and renovations of 23 branch libraries. Five {{convert|25000|sqft|m2|adj=on}} libraries will be built in Alpharetta, Milton, Northwest Atlanta, Wolf Creek, and Stewart-Lakewood. The Alpharetta and Stewart-Lakewood libraries will replace existing {{convert|10000|sqft|m2|adj=on}} libraries, the Northwest Atlanta library will replace three small branch libraries, and the Milton and Wolf Creek libraries will be completely new. A new {{convert|10000|sqft|m2|adj=on}} library will be built in Palmetto/Chattahoochee Hill County, and two new {{convert|15000|sqft|m2|adj=on}} libraries will be built in Southeast Atlanta and East Roswell. The Southeast Atlanta library will replace three small branch libraries. In the original Library Facility Master Plan $34 million was allocated to fully restore and upgrade the site. In the final referendum, however, $84 million was provided for the construction of a new {{convert|300000|sqft|m2|adj=on}} central library. Finally, the Auburn Avenue Research Library and the South Fulton branch library will be expanded.<ref name="Beauty, truth and bonds: Is library a classy eyesore?">{{cite news |title=Beauty, truth and bonds: Is library a classy eyesore? |work=The Atlanta Journal-Constitution |page=A1 |date=July 28, 2008}}</ref>

==Central Library==
{{main|Atlanta Central Library}}
[[File:Walkin ATL 024a.jpg|thumb|The Central Library]]

The [[Atlanta Central Library|Central Library]] in [[Downtown Atlanta]] serves as the headquarters of the library system.<ref>"[http://www.afpls.org/central-hq Central Library & Library System Headquarters] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200727112024/http://afpls.org/central-hq |date=2020-07-27 }}." Atlanta–Fulton Public Library System. Retrieved on June 29, 2017.</ref> Completed in 1980, it was the last building to be designed by [[Bauhaus]]-movement architect [[Marcel Breuer]]. The building, designed in the [[brutalist]] architectural style, is considered a "masterpiece" by architectural experts, such as [[Barry Bergdoll]], the Chief Architectural Curator of the [[Museum of Modern Art]], and is closely related to the [[Whitney Museum of Art]] building (currently the [[Met Breuer]] museum).<ref>{{cite web|first=Jonathan |last=Lerner |url=http://www.metropolismag.com/story/20090218/overdue |title=Atlanta's urge for a trendy new central library may mean that time is up for Marcel Breuer's final building. |access-date=August 12, 2009 |publisher=Metropolis Magazine |date=February 18, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090704041858/http://www.metropolismag.com/story/20090218/overdue |archive-date=July 4, 2009 }}</ref>
{{clear}}{{Heading|Roswell Branch}}
The Roswell Branch begun in 1946 when volunteers would make weekly trips to the [[Atlanta Central Library]]. In 1955, Arthur W Smith purchased one of the historic "Bricks" apartments in Roswell and the collection was moved there and referred to as the Carnegie Library Deposit at Roswell because all of the books were still being borrowed from the Central Library.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=Roswell Branch |url=https://www.fulcolibrary.org/locations/ROSWEL |access-date=April 26, 2023 |website=www.fulcolibrary.org |language=en-US}}</ref> It was not until 1965 that the Roswell Library became a full fledged branch with its own collection.<ref name=":1" /> Today the library building is named after Arthur W Smith.
{{Heading|Cleveland Avenue Branch}}
Initially opened in 1992. In 2001 the library was renamed the Cleveland Avenue-[[Roy Lyndell Yancey]], Sr. Branch Library. The Cleveland Avenue Branch Library is the first ever Fulton County Government roof top solar installation facility.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Cleveland Avenue Branch |url=https://www.fulcolibrary.org/locations/CLEVE |access-date=April 26, 2023 |website=www.fulcolibrary.org |language=en-US}}</ref>

==Branches==
{{div col|colwidth=30em}}
*Adams Park Branch
*Adamsville–Collier Heights Branch
*Alpharetta Branch
*[[Auburn Avenue Research Library]]
*Buckhead Branch
*Cascade Branch
*Cleveland Avenue Branch
*College Park Branch
*Dogwood Branch
*East Atlanta Branch
*East Point Branch
*East Roswell Branch
*Fairburn Branch
*Gladys S. Dennard Library at South Fulton
*Hapeville Branch
*Kirkwood Branch
*Louise Watley Library at Southeast Atlanta
*Martin Luther King Jr., Branch
*Mechanicsville Branch
*Metropolitan Branch
*Milton Branch
*Northeast/Spruill Oaks Branch
*Northside Branch
*Northwest Branch at Scotts Crossing
*Ocee Branch
*Palmetto Branch
*Peachtree Branch
*Ponce de Leon Branch
*Roswell Branch
*Sandy Springs Branch
*South Fulton Branch
*Southeast Atlanta Branch
*Washington Park Branch
*West End Branch
*Wolf Creek Branch
{{div col end}}

==Library systems in neighboring counties==
*[[West Georgia Regional Library]] to the west
*[[Cobb County Public Library System]] to the west
*[[Sequoyah Regional Library System]] to the northwest
*[[Forsyth County Public Library]] to the northeast
*[[Gwinnett County Public Library]] to the east
*[[DeKalb County Public Library]] to the east
*[[Clayton County Library System]] to the southeast
*[[Flint River Regional Library System]] to the south
*[[Coweta Public Library System]] to the south

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Atlanta-Fulton Public Library System}}
*[http://www.afpls.org/ Atlanta–Fulton Public Library System website]
*[http://atlnewspapers.galileo.usg.edu/atlnewspapers/view?docId=news/aga1909/aga1909-5138.xml "One of Finest Libraries in South"], Atlanta Georgian and News, December 24, 1909, from the [http://atlnewspapers.galileo.usg.edu/ Atlanta Historic Newspapers Archive] in the Digital Library of Georgia
{{Atlanta}}
{{Education in Fulton County, Georgia}}
{{Coord|33.75753|-84.388237|display=title}}

{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Atlanta-Fulton Public Library System}}
[[Category:County library systems in Georgia (U.S. state)]]
[[Category:Landmarks in Atlanta]]
[[Category:Public libraries in Georgia (U.S. state)]]
[[Category:Works Progress Administration in Georgia (U.S. state)]]
[[Category:Education in Atlanta]]
[[Category:Education in Fulton County, Georgia]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in Atlanta]]
[[Category:Libraries established in 1902]]
[[Category:1902 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state)]]