Atlanta Public Library

Atlanta–Fulton Public Library System

Atlanta Central Library
Established	1902
Location	Atlanta, Georgia
Branches	34
Collection
Size	3,100,217 items
Access and use
Circulation	3,220,156 (2016)
Population served	1,035,754 (2016)
Members	570,206 (2016)
Other information
Director	Gabriel Morley
Website	http://www.afplweb.com/

The Atlanta–Fulton Public Library System is a network of public libraries serving the City of Atlanta and Fulton County, both in the U.S. state of Georgia. The system is administered by Fulton County. The system is composed of the Central Library, the Auburn Avenue Research Library on African American Culture and History, and 32 branch libraries.

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.

On March 4, 1902, the first public library, the 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. 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. 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 a monument to higher education in Atlanta.

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. 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. 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. Many new branch libraries followed in the years to come. The Ragsdale branch, located in Oakland City, opened in 1912, and in 1913 the Uncle Remus Branch opened in the West End home of Joel Chandler Harris. 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.