East Cobb Library In Danger Of Being Shuttered

Cobb’s proposed budget for next year is already $21.5 million in the red since commissioners voted not to raise the millage rate last month.

Commissioner Bob Ott warned taxpayers not to complain if libraries closed because the millage rate remained steady. But it’s Commissioner JoAnn Birrell who has recommended closing the East Cobb Library on the corner of Johnson Ferry and Lower Roswell roads, according to the Marietta Daily Journal.

Shu Zhang, a Cobb resident and mother of two, spoke at Tuesday night’s meeting urging commissioners to keep the library open.

“I have visited the library with the kids many times,” Zhang said. “And every time, I have to drag both of them out of the library because they love the library so much.”

Zhang says the location of the East Cobb Library also enables senior citizens to walk there.

Rachel Slomovitz, who also spoke during the public hearing, said closing the library would be a disservice to the community.

“I was there this morning, and there was a mom with a baby having a snack on the outside. There was a child being tutored on the inside. There were people studying in the classrooms in the back,” Slomovitz said. “It’s the life and the heart of East Cobb.”

An online petition on change.org that was started a day ago to save the branch has garnered more than 900 signatures. According to petitioners, East Cobb is the second busiest of the 16 libraries in Cobb County.

Commissioners will vote on a final budget Sep. 12.