Up until now I've given pretty much favorable reviews of almost all of the libraries I've been to. Then came my visit to Cleveland, Georgia! Later that same day when I visited the library in the fake alpine town of Helen, I stopped by the only other, and main, branch of the White County Public Library, which in turn is part of the consortium called the
Northeast Georgia Regional Library System. A member of
PINES, these libraries simply do not get sufficient funding and therein lies the paradox - libraries in areas with high average household incomes get the most funding despite the fact that residents do not rely heavily on library resources and are in a much better financial situation to purchase their own books, music, movies, etc. Libraries in poorer areas such as rural Georgia get much less funding and here citizens are much less likely to afford to buy their own material and rely on the public library for borrowing privileges.
All I remember from this visit is a drab building, especially on the inside. Dark, musty and the collection in virtually disarray. No one acknowledged my presence and I didn't stick around very long. Now this was more than six years ago, so perhaps there's been a renovation or other changes made. I for one certainly hope so!
