August 31, 1999



Ms. Jo Ann Pinder
Director
Gwinnett County Public Library
1001 Lawrenceville Highway
Lawrenceville, Georgia 30045-4707

Dear Ms. Pinder:

     The Georgia First Amendment Foundation is an organization that seeks to advance the cause of open government and monitors freedom of information issues throughout this state.

     The ACLU's legal director, Gerry Weber, has brought to our attention his concerns regarding your response to his Open Records Request, as well as a copy of his letter to you dated July 28, 1999.  That was over a month agao and I understand that you still have not provided him with any response justifying your position.

     As Georgia's Open Records Act recognizes, public officials have a responsibility to promptly respond -- within three business days -- to requests for readily identifiable public records of the sort requested here.  Of equal importance is the Act's directive that only a "reasonable" charge may be collected for search, retrieval and other direct administrative requests.  O.C.G.A. 50-18-71.  Additionally, the Act provides that this charge may not exceed the hourly charge of the lowest paid full-time employee who has the necessary skill and training to perform the request and you cannot charge any fee for the first quarter-hour.  Id.  In light of these clear statutory directives, a charge of $1,900 to retrieve basic documents regarding the Library's blocking software is obviously exorbitant.

     So that we can evaluate this matter further, we would appreciate an explanation from you as to what you are doing to remedy Gwinnett County Public Library's evidently defiant conduct in this regard.  Thank you for your attention to this important matter.

                                                       Sincerely,



                                                       Hollie Manheimer
cc:  GFAF Board of Directors