Introduction
The Fulton County Central Library located at One Margaret Mitchell Square in downtown Atlanta began its life as the Young Men’s Library Association (YMLA) and later became the Carnegie Library of Atlanta until the 1950s when it was renovated and renamed the Fulton County Library. Since that time it has undergone several changes and renovations, the latest of which was during the COVID pandemic. The newly remodeled Bauhaus style library reopened five weeks ago to the public. The Georgia History and Special Collections department of the system is housed on the third floor of the building.
Digital Access
Digital access (https://www.fulcolibrary.org/central-library/) to the special collections is limited online and mainly accessed in person at the Central Library due in part to renovation to the building. A great many of the photograph galleries are provided online, however. The digital access to the library as a whole is comprehensive and is relatively easy to navigate with a great deal of information.
The Space & Physical Access
The special collections area of the library is a smallish room containing six large sets of shelves that hold the city directories, genealogy, and Georgia history collections. Along the walls around the room are closed and locked shelves that hold many of the rare books collections including the YML donations, the Margaret Mitchell collection, several Joel Chandler Harris Brer Rabbit texts, as well as a myriad of assorted rare books dating back to the 1600s. Computers and a new upgraded microfiche machine are available for special searches since the discovery of a few dozen (or more according to the librarian) boxes of misplaced microfiche in a library storage facility. Three glass fronted ‘reading rooms’ are also available for patrons to use for researching materials. While talking with the Special Collections librarian, Ms. Thelma, it was disclosed that the physical space for these collections was in fact still too small due to an underestimation of needed space during the remodel and they are currently working on solutions in order to bring in the collection of rare books in its entirety.
Services & Intellectual Access
Few services outside of the microfiche machine and the special collections librarians are available at this time. They do have a Genealogy Research database – HeritageQuest and Fold3, a military database online for library card holders. The stacks themselves are organized according to the Dewey decimal system mostly falling in the 929s (genealogy) and 975s (southern history). Overall, the space was a touch claustrophobic and too small for the collection but lovely in simplicity of design.
People – Patrons & Staff
The main purpose of the collection based on the texts present is genealogical in nature. On Saturday, when I visited, the collection was only open from 10:00 until 1:00. The staff seems to consist of two librarians who alternate weekends. I was the single patron on the day I visited. Mrs. Thelma was extremely helpful and knowledgeable about the contents of the collection.
Collections
City Directories for Atlanta and the metro area date back to 1869 (1857 to 1869 on microfiche) is an interesting collection of maps and information used by everyone from environmental firms to movie production companies.
The genealogy collection is arranged by county and covers Georgia and southern states focused on family histories, cemetery records, military records, newspaper clippings, and many more. There are several fascinating indexes located in the this areas as well including the Native American/Sortheastern Cherokee rolls, Slave rolls, Roster of Confederate Soldiers of Georgia, etc.
The Georgia history collection is varied and includes works by Southern authors, civil war information, and the history of Atlanta. It also includes maps dating to the 1500’s.
Archives holdings deal mainly with the history of the library itself from the YMLA to present.
The Margaret Mitchell collections is one of the highlights of the special collections. It was donated by Ms. Mitchell through her husband, John Marsh, this static (can not be changed or added to) collection includes original copies of Gone With the Wind, her Pulitzer Prize, a huge gallery of photos, and her personal book collection. Also included in the collection are her typewriter, Carnegie library card, and many other items.
Many of the books in the rare book collection came from the YMLA and Carnegie collections. Books in this collection date back to the 1600s and include original copies of Gone With the Wind and Joel Chandler Harris’ Brer Rabbit.
This particular library also houses the Georgia Library Services for the Blind and Print Disabled, a fabulous children’s section with weekly storytimes, and the Best Buy Teen Tech Center for young adults, as well as training and meeting facilities. Overall, it was impressive for a downtown public space with a fabulous special/rare collections section. I can’t say enough about all the librarians on duty from the special collections to the youth librarian when I visited, they were absolutely delightful and fully informative.