Groundbreaking For New East Roswell Library!

The Atlanta-Fulton Public Library System will break ground on the new East Roswell Library Thursday, August 1 at 11:00 a.m. and we would love to see you there!

The new 15,000-square-foot library for East Roswell is part of Phase I of the LibraryBuilding Program that is currently underway. The library will be located at 2301 Holcomb Bridge Road in Roswell. 

Those attending the event are asked to park in the front parking lot of East Roswell Park, located at 9000 Fouts Road, Roswell, and a shuttle will take attendees from this location to the ceremony; there is no parking available at the site.
 

For more information or to R.S.V.P. please call 404-730-1972 or email  laura.wright@fultoncountyga.gov. We look forward to meeting and greeting the future patrons of the East Roswell Library!

 

KHAFRAEngineering Consultants, in association with Holzheimer Bolek MeehanArchitects, have contracted with Fulton County to provide design and engineering services for the new library. Ajax Building Corporation is contracted to provide construction management services on this project, andHeery/Russell is the program management team.

The grand opening of the East Roswell Library is expected in the 3^rd quarter of 2014.

 

In November 2008, Fulton County voters overwhelmingly passed the Library Bond Referendum. The plan will greatly enhance all of the county’s libraries and includes:

• 8 New Branch Libraries: Alpharetta, East Roswell, Milton, Northwest Atlanta, Palmetto, Southeast Atlanta, Stewart-Lakewood and Wolf Creek.

• Two expansion projects: Auburn Avenue Research Library on African American Culture and History and the South Fulton Library.

Green building design and sustainability are priorities for these library building projects, and the Library System expects to achieve LEED Silver on all of the Phase I projects. Each library will reflect the culture and interests of its community. Please join us for this exciting event and be sure to check the progress of the Library Building Program on our website! 

Muslim Journeys Theme: American Stories

Muslims have been a part of the history of America since colonial times. American Muslims, like other religious minorities, have shaped and reshaped their own societies and that of the country as a whole.

Reprinted with permission from Azizah Magazine and WOW Publishing Inc.

The community of Muslims throughout American history is so diverse it could not be represented by a single set of books. The five books made available to the Atlanta-Fulton Public Library System through the National Endowment for the Humanities Muslim Journeys grant provide a framework for approaching the stories of American Muslims with an eye toward their diversity and their involvement in the larger story of America itself.

Prince Among Slaves by Terry Alford: Abd al-Rahman Ibrahima (1762–1829) was one of tens of thousands of West African Muslims who found himself sold into slavery in antebellum America. Unlike so many others, however, his story was not lost. Alford’s account explains the effect of the transatlantic slave trade on Islamic movements in West Africa, an angle we are not much familiar with in the West.

Prince Among Slaves (PBS documentary): Unity Productions Foundation, an educational non-profit with an interest in interfaith understanding, created a documentary based upon the book of the same name. Attend a screening of this film at the Central Library on July 17 at 2:00 p.m. The film will be followed by a discussion led by Georgia State University scholar Dr.Rashid Naim. 

The Columbia Sourcebook of Muslims in the United States, edited by Edward E. Curtis IV: Focuses on the waves of Muslim immigration to the United States who arrived voluntarily between the 1880s and 1910s from Eastern Europe, South Asia, and the Middle East plus the  turn to Islam among some African Americans in the twentieth century. Includes primary source material from pioneer Mary Juma, missionaries such as Mohammed Alexander Russell Webb and Pir Inayat Khan, and community-builders like Noble Drew Ali of the Moorish Science Temple, Elijah Muhammad, W.D. Muhammad and Malcolm X.

Acts of Faith by Eboo Patel: The American Muslim population exploded after the Immigration Act of 1965 abolished national quotas. Patel’s family, members of a Muslim religious minority from the Indian state of Gujurat, was part of this wave. His autobiographical account of growing up in the United States as a member of a minority within a minority opens a window into his struggle for identity and his growth into the interfaith activist he is today.

A Quiet Revolution: The Veil’s Resurgence, From the Middle East to America by Leila Ahmed: Few aspects of Muslim culture are as poorly understood in the West as the concept of veiling for women. Ahmed explains the many meanings of veiling for Muslim women from the activists of the 20^th century who threw off the veil, to the activists of today who embrace it.

The Butterfly Mosque: A Young American Woman’s Journey to Love and Islam by G. Willow Wilson: Intense, penetrating and entertaining account by an American woman who converted to Islam, married and lived in Egypt. She provides us with valuable insights on everything from Sufism and the meaning of faith to how one buys chicken in the market. 

Muslim Journeys Theme: Pathways Of Faith

Muslims today make up the second-largest religious community in the world. From Senegal to Indonesia, Muslims share certain fundamental principles and practices, but express their religious beliefs in a wide variety of ways. Readings for this theme explore the basic tenets and requirements of Islam and the relationship between the three Abrahamic religions: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. They also take a look at the divergent paths followed by the Sunni and Shia communities and the mystical routes to spiritual fulfillment known as Sufism.

The Muslim Journeys Bookshelf given to the Atlanta-Fulton Public Library System includes books selected to breathe life into Western understanding about Muslims throughout the world. We invite all of our patrons to check out this rich collection of materials at the Central Library!

The Children of Abraham: Judaism, Christianity, Islam by Francis E. Peters: How do scripture and tradition relate to one another? What does “worship of God” mean in each of the three faiths? How does it compare across the three faiths, and how is it different within each of them? This seminal work, recently updated, compares and contrasts these three great faiths.

Muhammad: A Very Short Introduction by Jonathan A. C. Brown: Learn the facts of the Prophet Muhammad’s life from this short, readable book. It also helps Westerners understand how early Muslims themselves gathered this information for those who would come after them, and to understand the special place the Prophet occupies for Muslims.

The Story of the Qur’an: Its History and Place in Muslim Life by Ingrid Mattson: Many Westerners find the Qur’an bewildering. This well-written book explains how the Qur’an was revealed and recorded, and places it in Muslim culture through history. Written by a Western Muslim scholar, it illuminates the Qur’an for non-Muslims while conveying how Muslims view their sacred text.

Koran By Heart: One Chance to Remember: Qur’anic recitation is an art and is carried out in many ways, varying from spiritually satisfying basic rhythmic recitations to advanced types of chanting that can be very moving. This 80-minute long HBO production chronicles one year at the world’s oldest and most prestigious Qur’an-reciting contest in Cairo. Follow 110 young people from over 70 countries as they come together for this event to compete and learn from one another.

The Art of Hajj by Venetia Porter: Illuminated manuscripts, wall paintings and photographs, calligraphy, textiles, scientific instruments, decorative tiles, maps, ceramics, metalwork, and powerful works by contemporary artists, are complemented with explanatory narrative and quotes from the Qur’an and traditional literary sources to demonstrate this exciting “pillar of Islam”.

Rumi: Poet and Mystic, edited and translated by Reynold A. Nicholson: Jalalu’l-Din Rumi (1207-73) was one of the great Persian mystical poets. Through this collection of lovely translations, the reader is introduced to Sufism, a mystical side of Islam. The poems describe Rumi’s longing for and experience of the divine. He believed that in the great mystery of existence we are all united, a revelation that has made him one of the most popular poets in the world.