Dougherty County libraries remain a big draw during pandemic
Staff Photo: Alan Mauldin
By Alan Mauldin
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ALBANY — While some products we take for granted are scarce these days, like cars due to microchip shortages and building materials, and some items are at a premium, there’s still one place where the stock is filled and most items are free.
Dougherty County’s libraries remain a popular place for books, videos, accessing the internet, or just browsing.
The downtown Pine Avenue Central Library location and four branches are spread around the city, and three of the five are open six days a week.
On Thursday, several regulars at the 2507 Dawson Road Northwest Library, including a mother and daughter picking up summer reading materials, told The Herald what they like about the available services.
“The library is one of the institutions that is pretty much open to the entire community,” Alfred L. Gillis II said. “It’s my private place now. It’s where I get drunk — on knowledge. A lot of people think it’s just books, but it’s a lot more than that.”
On Thursday, Gillis was watching a video on a monitor at one of the tables.
Some of the chairs were taped off due to COVID-19, and seating was limited at tables.
“Today I’m just browsing, killing time,” said Gillis, who said he is in the library nearly every day.
On the other side of the facility, Tammy Morris and daughter Ashanti were looking through bookshelves.
“We’re looking for some books for my kids,” Tammy Morris said. “Reading is good. My mom and dad took me to the library. Me and my kids like to come, especially during the summer.”
Morris said her daughters have participated in the summer reading activities in the past, and she looks forward to when those programs come back.
“Hopefully, it’s going to get back to normal,” she said.
At a nearby table, Blake Raney was checking out The Wall Street Journal.
“I come down here three or four times a week to read the paper,” he said.
“There’s a number of regulars who come in to read the papers.”
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