PLCMC News Releases

Ed Williams appointed to Charlotte Mecklenburg Library Board of Trustees

5/4/2011 12:00:00 AM

News Release FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Ed Williams appointed to Charlotte Mecklenburg Library Board of Trustees Charlotte, NC – May 4, 2011 – At their May 3 meeting, the Mecklenburg Board of County Commissioners appointed Ed Williams to the Charlotte Mecklenburg Library Board of Trustees, filling a vacancy that opened on the board earlier this year. Williams was a member of the recently completed Future of the Library Task Force, a 17-member citizen group that spent five months examining the Library and making recommendations for its sustainable future to the Library Board and County Commission. Williams retired in 2008 as editorial page editor of The Charlotte Observer, where his columns and editorials were part of Observer projects that won the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service in 1981 and 1988. In 2003 the Mecklenburg County Bar Association gave him its Liberty Bell Award for his community leadership and "willingness to take tough stands on tough issues." This year he was chosen for membership in the N.C. Journalism Hall of Fame. “We are thrilled to have Ed Williams as a member of our team,” says Library Board Chair Robin Branstrom. “As a member of the Task Force, Ed spent countless hours examining and learning about the Library, and is now bringing that expertise to our board. He has also spent 35 years in Charlotte as a journalist, which gives him a rich perspective on the challenges facing our community today and into the future.” Williams will officially begin his tenure at the May 19 Library Board meeting. The delivery of Library service is the result of a partnership between the Library and Mecklenburg County. The Library is the managing partner that delivers services, and the County is the funding partner that provides the funding for those services. As a member of the Library Board, Williams will be working closely not only with his fellow Library Board members, but with the County Commission to address issues that impact funding and management of the Library. ### Cordelia Anderson Charlotte Mecklenburg Library Phone: (704) 416-0712 Email: canderson@cmlibrary.org Web: www.cmlibrary.org - Find out more! news release

Press Release: Library Board of Trustees approves Task Force workgroup recommendations; County Commission to review May 3

5/3/2011 12:00:00 AM

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Monday, May 2, 2011 – Charlotte, NC – Today, the Charlotte Mecklenburg Library Board of Trustees approved a set of recommendations developed by a workgroup of Library Trustees and Mecklenburg County Commissioners charged with reviewing the report of the Future of the Library Task Force. The workgroup has reviewed the Task Force report (available at charmeck.org/libraryfuture) and shared its recommendations with the two bodies responsible for implementing them: the Library Board and the Board of County Commissioners (BOCC). The Library Board approved the recommendations today; and the BOCC has the recommendations on the agenda for their regular meeting on May 3. In their report to the Library Trustees and BOCC, the workgroup unanimously approved the majority of the recommendations of the Task Force. They made revisions to a few sections, including: Chapter 6, Funding: The per capita funding recommended by the Task Force should be used as a goal or benchmark by the County. The wording should be revised to say, “Mecklenburg County’s goal for Fiscal Year 2012 should be to provide funding of the Charlotte Mecklenburg Library in the range of $27.89 to $28.66 per capita.” Chapter 7, Operations: Should funding adequate to keep all Library branches open not be available in FY2012, the Library’s prioritization process should be first to restore hours at regionals as recommended by the Task Force, then to evaluate remaining branches based on the following criteria, in no specific order. If funding shortfalls require consideration of branch closings, the workgroup agreed to reconvene to discuss how to apply these criteria. The criteria are: Economic and educational attainment of the surrounding community, Distance to nearest regional library, All usage measures for the branch, Other relevant factors determined by the Library Board in consultation with the County Commission Chapter 8, Main Library: The 7-person committee of citizens to further explore the possibilities of Main Library should be appointed by the Director of Libraries and the County Manager, and be comprised entirely of citizens, supported by County and Library staff. The members of the workgroup were: Library Trustees Molly Griffin, Bob Sink, and Darrel Williams; and County Commissioners Karen Bentley, Dumont Clarke and Harold Cogdell. The workgroup’s report is available online at cmlibrary.org. The workgroup’s recommendations were in response to a detailed report of the findings of the Future of the Library Task Force, a 17-member group of volunteer citizens charged with providing recommendations to ensure a sustainable future for the Library. The Task Force was first proposed during the spring 2010 County budget cycle, when stakeholders began discussing the need to create a stable funding platform for the Library. At their budget straw vote, the BOCC made the creation of a task force part of its contingency for library funding for FY2011. ### Media Contact: Cordelia Anderson Charlotte Mecklenburg Library Phone: (704) 416-0712 Email: canderson@cmlibrary.org Web: www.cmlibrary.org - Find out more! news release

Sprite, Bobcats Make $25,000 Donation to Library

4/13/2011 12:00:00 AM

Blocked Shots by Bobcats Players Leads to Purchase of 5,000 New Books April 13, 2011 – Bobcats Sports & Entertainment (BSE) President and Chief Operating Officer Fred Whitfield announced today the organization and Sprite will make a $25,000 donation to the Charlotte Mecklenburg Library to purchase 5,000 books as part of the Blocks for Books Program. The program, which took place through the duration of the 2010-11 season, committed Sprite and the Bobcats to purchase 20 books for every blocked shot recorded by a Bobcats player during games played at Time Warner Cable Arena this year. As a team, the Bobcats recorded more than 250 blocked shots at home, and finished 9th among the 30 teams of the National Basketball Association in that category. "We have always enjoyed a strong relationship with Sprite, but the Blocks for Books program takes our partnership to a different level," said Whitfield. "Libraries are part of the fabric of this community and need all of our support, and it was without hesitation that we worked with Sprite to find a way to meet this need." Back in March the Bobcats hosted a book drive before the home game against the New York Knicks, and close to 200 books and $500 were collected and donated to the Charlotte Mecklenburg Library. The following week Bobcats players Stephen Jackson, Dominic McGuire and Eduardo Najera made an appearance at the ImaginOn in uptown Charlotte to read aloud to almost 100 kids participating in afterschool programs around town and raise awareness about literacy and the Blocks for Books program. Bobcats Sports & Entertainment operates the Charlotte Bobcats of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and Time Warner Cable Arena. BSE is committed to helping meet the needs of the community through Cats Care, a year-round initiative aimed at making a difference in education, wellness and the fight against hunger. Follow the Bobcats on Facebook and Twitter. ### MEDIA CONTACTS: Michael Thompson, Bobcats Sports & Entertainment Director of Corporate Communications, (704) 688-8856, mthompson@bobcats.com IMAGES: The Bobcats and Sprite present a $25,000 check to Library CEO Vick Phillips at the Bobcats' home game on April 13. - Find out more! news release

Sprite, Bobcats partner to support Public Library

3/23/2011 12:00:00 AM

Sprite, Bobcats Make $25,000 Donation to Library
Blocked Shots by Bobcats Players Leads to Purchase of 5,000 New Books
Bobcats Sports & Entertainment (BSE) President and Chief Operating Officer Fred Whitfield announced on April 13, 2011, the organization and Sprite will make a $25,000 donation to the Charlotte Mecklenburg Library to purchase 5,000 books as part of the Blocks for Books Program. The program, which took place through the duration of the 2010-11 season, committed Sprite and the Bobcats to purchase 20 books for every blocked shot recorded by a Bobcats player during games played at Time Warner Cable Arena this year. As a team, the Bobcats recorded more than 250 blocked shots at home, and finished 9th among the 30 teams of the National Basketball Association in that category. "We have always enjoyed a strong relationship with Sprite, but the Blocks for Books program takes our partnership to a different level," said Whitfield. "Libraries are part of the fabric of this community and need all of our support, and it was without hesitation that we worked with Sprite to find a way to meet this need." Back in March the Bobcats hosted a book drive before the home game against the New York Knicks, and close to 200 books and $500 were collected and donated to the Charlotte Mecklenburg Library. The following week Bobcats players Stephen Jackson, Dominic McGuire and Eduardo Najera made an appearance at the ImaginOn in uptown Charlotte to read aloud to almost 100 kids participating in afterschool programs around town and raise awareness about literacy and the Blocks for Books program. Bobcats Sports & Entertainment operates the Charlotte Bobcats of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and Time Warner Cable Arena. BSE is committed to helping meet the needs of the community through Cats Care, a year-round initiative aimed at making a difference in education, wellness and the fight against hunger. Follow the Bobcats on Facebook and Twitter. PHOTOS The Bobcats and Sprite present a $25,000 check to Library CEO Vick Phillips at the Bobcats' home game on April 13. See photos from the kickoff event. Want to check out a Charlotte Bobcats game? Visit their website for the schedule and more! Blocks for Books Event Schedule January and February: Book Drives held at CVS stores throughout Mecklenburg County. March: Book Drive at the March 26 game in which the Bobcats take on the New York Knicks. The following week Bobcats players Stephen Jackson, Dominic McGuire and Eduardo Najera made an appearance at ImaginOn to read aloud to almost 100 kids participating in afterschool programs around town and raise awareness about literacy and the Blocks for Books program. April: April 13 marked the last regular season game against division rival Atlanta. Sprite presents Charlotte Mecklenburg Library officials with a check for $25,000 to purchase books thanks to Blocks for Books! INFORMATION For more information about the Blocks for Books program contact Arden McLaughlin at (704) 416-0705 or mclaughlin@cmlibrary.org and visit our website for the latest information. Also find Blocks for Books updates on our Facebook page. Media Contacts Michael Thompson, Charlotte Bobcats, mthompson@bobcats.com, (704) 688-8856 Angela Haigler, Charlotte Mecklenburg Library, ahaigler@cmlibrary.org, (704) 416-0704 - Find out more! news release

Future of the Library Task Force releases final report at special joint meeting

3/21/2011 12:00:00 AM

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 3/21/2011 Charlotte, NC – On Monday, March 21 at 6 p.m. the Future of the Library Task Force presented its final recommendations to the Mecklenburg Board of County Commissioners and the Charlotte Mecklenburg Library Board of Trustees. At a special joint meeting, Task Force Chair Dr. Jim Woodward presented a detailed report of the findings of the 17-member Task Force, a group of volunteer citizens charged with providing recommendations to ensure a sustainable future for the Library. Using data collected over six months, the Task Force has developed recommendations, including: *The Library should be funded at $27.89-$28.66 per capita for FY 2011-2012, based on average per capita library funding of 13 peer communities. *The Library should focus its resources on providing Basic Library Services. *The Library should redistribute existing staff to expand hours at regional libraries. Should additional staff not become available through increased funding, this could result in the closing of some branches, based on criteria detailed in the final report. *The Library should use volunteers to provide no less than 5% of total staffing hours required to provide Basic Library Services. *The County Manager or his designee will serve on the Library Board as a non-voting, ex officio member. Additional recommendations about Main Library, ImaginOn, fundraising, the Library/County relationship, and the Library’s longer-term future. *Information about the Task Force, including the full report, plus supporting materials, can be found at www.charmeck.org/libraryfuture. From that website, you will also be able to view a video and slides from the March 21 presentation. As part of its data collection process, the Task Force studied 13 peer communities identified by the County and the Charlotte Chamber of Commerce, and 55 peer Library systems serving communities in the same size range as Mecklenburg County. They also conducted phone surveys of local residents and Library users. Their findings included: **The Library was not overfunded or overbuilt in comparison to 55 peer libraries. **The Library has received the greatest decrease, 39%, in local government funding since FY2009 among 13 peer communities (except for the Dallas Public Library). **87% of residents believe the Library is very or extremely important to the community; and 48% believe funding should increase, while 6% believe it should decrease. **Should more cuts be required, 79% of residents agree the remaining branches should be located where they serve the most residents, and 77% agree that branches should remain open in economically challenged areas, even if it means closing the branch closest to them. The Task Force has been meeting biweekly since October 20, 2010. With expertise ranging from finance and business to law and planning, the 17-member group has represented a cross-section of the Mecklenburg County community. At large Task Force members were appointed by the Task Force Chairman in consultation with the Library Board of Trustees Chair, the Mecklenburg Board of County Commissioners Chair, and other stakeholders. Nearly 90 people applied to join the Task Force. The Task Force was first proposed during the spring 2010 County budget cycle, when stakeholders began discussing the need to create a stable funding platform for the Library in response to the economic challenges seen by Mecklenburg County and across the nation. At their budget straw vote, the Board of County Commissioners made the creation of a task force part of its contingency for library funding for FY2011. The Task Force was primarily funded by a $150,000 grant from the Foundation For The Carolinas Catalyst Fund. Additional funding totaling $75,000, as well as in-kind services, has been provided by Mecklenburg County and the Library. ### Media Contacts: Cordelia Anderson Charlotte Mecklenburg Library Phone: (704) 416-0712 Email: canderson@cmlibrary.org Web: www.cmlibrary.org Danny Diehl Mecklenburg County Phone: (704) 336-2084 Email: Daniel.diehl@MecklenburgCountyNC.gov Web: www.MecklenburgCountyNC.gov - Find out more! news release