Where To Go: Atlanta Public Fulton Library

With the winter months finally upon us, I am always searching for something fun for Kamryn and I to do INSIDE. I admire you mamas who still bundle your kids up to play at the park when it is 32 degrees outside but...I am not about that life. I am from the South and in the South, we do not do cold weather. So, at the beginning of the year, I composed a list of places (I will post soon) that are great for indoor activity and we are slowly crossing them off. At the top of my list was the Atlanta Public Fulton Library. There are a few so not to be confused with the others, this is the downtown location one next to Peachtree Marta Station (One Margaret Mitchell Square, Atlanta, GA 30303.

There are so many places I could start with this review so I will try to be as clear as possible. The library is located in the heart of downtown Atlanta. That statement alone is a mouthful. I have lived in downtown/midtown Atlanta for 8 years so I would say that I am used to a certain level of "living " here and it does not bother me as much but this library part times as a homeless shelter during the daytime. I hate to say that but it is true. There is a shelter nearby so once everyone is told to leave the shelter to go look for work or whatever else, a lot of them flock to the library. Thankfully though, the children's area is located downstairs below the ground floor. It is pretty quiet down there and not a lot of everyday foot traffic.

The entry way to the library was my favorite part. My daughter was amazed by the display of the enchanted forest and the reading animals near the smiling trees. I want to say we spend our first 10 minutes there with her talking to the animals. Of course, I entertained and we sat down together to read with Peter Rabbit. Upon the entrance, there was also a schedule of all of the library's upcoming children's events for the month of February. I will post at the end of this blog post.

The library is small but cozy. We were the only ones there outside of another couple and their daughter so it was really easy to stay focused on all of the activities. Everything was divided into sections. There were 8 bookshelves going back with different animated characters placed on top, a place to build with legos, a coloring area, computer area, multiple tables and chairs for reading, and a storytime area with a television.

While I did enjoy the library for the most part, there were a few cons. It is a huge pet peeve of mine to walk into a child specific business and be greeted with rude employees. While the first woman working was extremely friendly, the gentleman who took over her shift was not so much. He did not speak and when he did it was to bark a command. After the third time of him telling me something trivial or giving me an unfriendly stare, I figured it was time to pack up and go. This alone would cause me never to return to the library again.

Another thing I did not like was that the storytime area of the library is off limits unless they are actually having an event. This area is not very large but it is just more comfortable to sit and read to your child here. Plus they have a very nice large alphabet carpet that would be fun to learn and play on. I understand that it is probably off limits because there is a large television placed there but it would be better if they restricted the area to a Child Accompanied With An Adult Zone. I would have loved to sit in there away from everything and read to my child, since we were in a library and all. But even still, we made the best of the visit.

Yes, I illegally entered the restricted zone to read a story.

I would give the Atlanta Fulton County Public Library 3 out of 5 stars and would return probably on a day when we did not have anything else to do. If you are coming to visit, I would suggest using Marta or you will be paying for parking on the street. The library is also free so that is a nice accomadation for a quick activity in the city. Below is a list of their upcoming activities for the month of February.