“Libraries hold the tools and support to make dreams come true.”
The very existence of libraries affords the best evidence that we may yet have hope for the future of man.
— T.S. Eliot
WHY LIBRARIES MATTER
There are as many library stories as there are people who use libraries—and in Mecklenburg County, that’s two-thirds of the population in the last year.
Diverse voices share why Charlotte Mecklenburg Library is essential in our community:
Equity Impact Circles Focus on Understanding
Partnership with Community Building Initiative facilitates dialogue across difference
Stonewall Sports Charlotte celebrates Pride Month with donation of LGBTQ children’s books
Titles will augment Library collection
Private Support Extends a Digital Lifeline
Merancas Foundation investment reduces MeckTech waiting list by 25%
Shared Investment Multiplies Impact
With funding from Google Fiber, new partnership brings Wi-Fi to neighbors experiencing homelessness
Living Archive will Document Local Impact of Covid-19 on Under-Represented Communities
“an important resource as we work toward a more equitable future”
Q&A with Caitlin Moen, Chief Customer Officer and Library Director
Library Director Caitlin Moen reflects on her new role and what lies ahead
A statement from Charlotte Mecklenburg Library
On equity, access, diversity, inclusion and democracy
For the Love of Libraries
Libraries are a recurring character in the lives of readers and writers.
Reflections on the Knight Library and New Media Conference
from Library Foundation board member Gene Cochrane
Beyond Books: The Transformation of Charlotte’s Main Library, with $10M from Knight
Knight’s largest commitment to date in Charlotte.
Do We Still Need Libraries to Learn?
Libraries are those special places you can go to get exactly what you need and come out with so much more.
REGIONAL AND GLOBAL PERSPECTIVES
Regionally, nationally and internationally, research has proven the economic, educational and social value of libraries.
It checks out — libraries are an “investment that’s well worth it”
David Brancaccio, Chris Farrell, Erika Soderstrom, and Daniel Shin
Marketplace
Honeywell donates $1M to new Main Library in uptown for innovation lab
Ashley Fahey
Charlotte Business Journal
Want to defend democracy? Start with your public library.
Opinion by Katrina vanden Heuvel
The Washington Post
Our Library helps many in Mecklenburg. There’s a new opportunity to support it.
Amy Hawn Nelson and Ricky Woods
The Charlotte Observer
Public Libraries’ Novel Response to a Novel Virus
Deborah Fallows
The Atlantic
ULC Libraries Use 3-D Printers to Help Fight COVID-19
C. Rogers
Urban Libraries Council
Palaces for the people: why libraries are more than just books
Eric Klinenberg
The Guardian
Charlotte’s Knight
Vanessa Infanzon
SouthPark Magazine
Charlotte’s New Library – An Investment In What We Ought To Be
Tommy Tomlinson
WFAE
13 Local News Stories and Series That Made a Difference in 2019
Mark Glaser
Medium
Inside Charlotte’s Reimagining of What a Library Is Supposed to Be
Jen Tota McGivney
Charlotte magazine
This is how Report for America ended up funding a community Wikipedia editor (!) at a library (!!)
Christine Schmidt
NeimanLab
Charlotte has had four main uptown libraries. What do they tell us?
Eli Portillo
UNC Charlotte Urban Institute
Libraries have always been a sanctuary for me. Here are 9 reasons I love them so much.
Gemma Correll
The Lily
Libraries Are Even More Important to Contemporary Community Than We Thought
Eric Klinenberg
Literary Hub
Where Libraries are the Tourist Attractions
Alyson Krueger
The New York Times
I Found My American Dream at the Public Library
Daniela Petrova
Literary Hub
How the New York Public Library Remains Current 125 Years After its Founding
The Chronicle of Philanthropy
To Restore Civil Society, Start with the Library
Eric Klinenberg
The New York Times
13 Reasons Why Libraries are Holding Us All Together
Tiffany King
Read it Forward
Why Public Libraries are Still Essential in 2018
Constance Grady
Vox
The Librarian and the Astrophysicist
Brian Koberlein
Forbes
Why Public Libraries Matter More Than Ever
John Palfrey
The Charlotte Observer
Why Public Libraries Matter
Katrina vanden Heuvel
The Nation