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New Exhibit at Mint Hill Library celebrates the 40th anniversary of the Mint Hill Historical Society (MHHS)

May 21, 2025

This blog was written by Sally Deason, a librarian at Mint Hill Library

The Mint Hill Historical Society began in 1985 when a “For Sale” sign appeared in front of an old town building. Since then, buildings have been restored and moved, books have been written and countless tour groups have enjoyed the Carl J. McEwen Historic Village, all made possible by this local group.

On display from now until December, this exhibit shares the story of a local organization created specifically to preserve the history of a quickly changing landscape. Items in our case range from a model for the proposed historic village in 1986, a vintage hat worn by one of the volunteer docents who took tour groups through the schoolhouse, glass bottles from the historic doctor’s office and much more. Articles from local newspapers share details about the formation of the group and notable events in their history.

Make sure to stop in the Mint Hill Library and celebrate this history with us!

To check out more about the MHHS, https://www.minthillhistory.com/.

A special thank you to Dawn Funk of the MHHS who spent so much time curating this exhibit and sharing it with our library patrons.

Libraries will be closed on Sundays beginning May 25 through Labor Day

May 22, 2025

Beginning May 25, 2025, all Charlotte Mecklenburg Library locations, including regional branches and ImaginOn, will be closed on Sundays through Labor Day.

You can always visit us during our regular hours Monday-Saturday and online 24/7 at cmlibrary.org.

Freegal Music Subscription Ending August 2025

May 23, 2025

Charlotte Mecklenburg Library’s subscription to Freegal Music will end in August 2025. Customers will continue to have access to digital music through hoopla.

After August 1, 2025, customers will no longer be able to access music that is stored in the Freegal app. In most cases, you can retain access to music you’ve downloaded from Freegal by transferring the downloaded music to another digital library. Playlists created within Freegal cannot be retained.

Instructions for backing up Freegal downloads for Apple and Android users can be found on the Freegal FAQ page. Scroll down to the bottom to see questions that address backing up your music or moving it from your device to a computer. Music previously downloaded to a computer (Mac or PC) should already be contained in a file (s) on your computer, so no further action is needed.

New to hoopla?

hoopla allows Charlotte Mecklenburg Library customers to instantly borrow more than 400,000 music albums. Customers can access entire music albums on hoopla. Music albums are checked out for 7 days and then are automatically returned to hoopla. Unlike Freegal, you don’t keep the music permanently but borrow it like you would a physical item from the library.

To get started with hoopla, create a hoopla account by clicking “Sign Up Now” on the hoopla site or the hoopla app compatible with your device. Create an account with your email address, password, and library card number.

Questions? Ask a staff member or contact Online Reference at [email protected].

Plaza Midwood Reopens on June 9

May 28, 2025

The work is just about done, and we’re ready to reopen our doors to you. You’ll notice two major changes:

· Fully renovated restrooms

· Repaved parking lot

This facility was built in 1995, so we completed a few other maintenance items that won’t be as noticeable but are equally important. New furniture for the children’s section will be delivered later this summer, so stay tuned for an even “comfier” area for the little ones.

We can’t wait to see you!

2025 Summer Bookmark Contest for Children and Teens

June 4, 2025

This blog was written by Jesse Isley, children's services manager for Charlotte Mecklenburg Library

This spring, Charlotte Mecklenburg Library hosted our second annual bookmark contest for children and teens in grades K-12 to showcase the creativity of our community. We were excited to expand the contest this year to include middle and high school students, and we loved hosting the contest itself in March as part of our celebration of Community Read!

We received over 1,100 bookmark entries—including hundreds from local schools and classrooms that teachers graciously dropped off for students. Themes included everything from love of books and reading (which made our hearts so happy!) to nature, animals, positive messages, and the celebration of summer. We also got to see unique materials used to complete the challenge with watercolors, stickers, and photography all submitted this year.

While it was a difficult task, we worked hard to narrow down the entries for final selection by our judges. We were so lucky to have 2 local artists judge the contest this year! To Melody Cassen and Chris Georgalas, we are so grateful for your support of our community and for your willingness to take on the hardest job of selecting winners for each range of grade levels. We greatly appreciate the judges sharing their time and expertise. Here is some of the feedback they shared:

“I loved the theme of these bookmarks—positive, universal that can apply to anyone.”

“It was hard for me to judge these as they were all so imaginative and genuine!”

“I congratulate all of the artists. It’s important for all of the creatives involved to know that they are unique in what they dream, and it is a gift they have to share with the world.”

We are thrilled to announce the winners below and first runners up below. Copies of the winning bookmarks will be available to pick up in every library location while supplies last. A huge thank you to our community for your response to this contest, and CONGRATULATIONS to our winners.

Winning Bookmarks: (l-r) Zoie Parikh, Laurel Martinez, Josephine M. & Hayden Jenkins

Bookmark Runner Ups: (l-r) Adair J., Lila Russell, Liam Christy, Ever Farley

Step into a story with Free RPG Day

June 6, 2025

This blog post was written by Laura Carroll, a staff member at the Mint Hill branch.

Join us for Free RPG Day on June 21st from 11am-4pm at our new University City Library location!

Free RPG Day is a world-wide celebration of role-playing games (RPGs). Role-playing games encourage collaboration, storytelling, and imagination as you take on the role of a character in a fictional environment.

Charlotte Mecklenburg Library is celebrating its second year of Free RPG Day. This year’s event will feature sword fighting, costume design (cosplay), and, of course, games! We’re also excited to welcome community partners like the Athena Alliance, the Black Gamer League, and the International Game Developers Association at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte among many others.

New to RPGs? We’ll have workshops where you can make a D&D character and paint a mini-fig. You can even join a game for beginner players or try your hand at sword fighting.

Want to level up your gaming skills? We have a game development workshop and a panel discussion on creating inclusive game spaces. We’ll have lots of gaming tables for you to join – including several different TTRPGs.

Feeling crafty? Join us in our Makerspace to 3D print, use a heat press, or make a button. Craving adventure? Swordwind Historical Martial Arts will present a sword fighting demonstration. There will also be giveaways, information about local gaming organizations, and a gaming lounge!

Whether you are a seasoned gamer or a new adventurer, we hope you’ll enjoy this special celebration of storytelling and exploration! Find all the details here on our calendar.

Behind the Vault Doors: The Rose Leary Love Papers

March 12, 2025

This blog post was originally written by Julie Zwetolitz, former Robinson-Spangler Carolina Room Intern, and edited and updated by Chauna Carr, RSCR Digital Production Librarian.

Rose Leary Love was a teacher, poet, musician, and writer born in 1898 in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Charlotte, North Carolina’s Second Ward. A dedicated educator, she taught in both Greensboro and Charlotte public schools from 1925 to 1964. She also spent a year teaching in Indonesia while her husband, an instructor at Tuskegee Institute (now Tuskegee University), participated in a technical assistance mission.

Rose Leary Love, Rose Leary Love Papers, 1930-1994, Robinson-Spangler Carolina Room

Love’s passion for reading and writing was deeply influenced by her parents, John and Nannie Leary. Her father was a lawyer, and her mother was a schoolteacher at Myers Street and Second Ward schools. Throughout her life, Love published numerous poems and songs and authored two children's books, Nebraska and His Granny and A Collection of Folklore. She also contributed to the North Carolina Teachers Record.

Example of Rose Leary Love’s work, credited as song composer. From Rose Leary Love Papers, 1930-1994, Robinson-Spangler Carolina Room

Poem by Rose Leary Love. From Rose Leary Love Papers, 1930-1994, Robinson-Spangler Carolina Room

Her academic journey was equally impressive, as she attended Barber-Scotia Seminary, Johnson C. Smith University, Hampton Institute, and Columbia University.

Rose Leary’s childhood home on Boundary Street

Growing up in Brooklyn, Love’s family home was located near present-day Boundary Street and I-277. She described it as a “roomy and old-fashioned” house with a wrap-around porch, filled with children and a mother’s love. Bookshelves in their home overflowed with fiction, law, travel, history, religion, and music books. As a child, she attended Myers Street School, which now stands as the Mecklenburg County Aquatic Center.

Love documented her childhood experiences in Brooklyn in her memoir, Plum Thickets and Field Daisies. After her passing in 1969, she left the original manuscript in the care of close friends. As Brooklyn changed and much of its history faded, the memoir’s historical significance grew. Recognizing its value, her friends donated it to the Robinson-Spangler Carolina Room for archival preservation.

Since then, Plum Thickets and Field Daisies has become a crucial resource for students, scholars, and authors, aiding in research papers, doctoral theses, and even a theatrical script. The warmth, humor, and vivid recollections in her writings highlighted the importance of sharing her memories with a wider audience. In 1996, the Public Library of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County published her memoir, ensuring her legacy would continue to inspire future generations.

Search her finding aid here: Rose Leary Love and make an appointment with the Carolina Room to research her collections. Visit our page here for more resources.

Tyler Wilmoth

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Read more about Tyler Wilmoth

Community Read: Chinese Art in Conversation

March 31, 2025

Not quite ready say goodbye to March - or our Community Read? Still have more questions about art, Chinese culture, or museums?

Take a look at our panel, which featured two experts on Chinese art in conversation with Anselm Smith, an Adult Services Library Associate at the Cornelius branch. The conversation touched on the history of the Zodiac heads that featured so prominently in the novel, the differences between Chinese and Western art, the tension between "regional" and "national" in Chinese art practices, the ideal museum, and more.

Additionally, here are some further recommendations from our panelists:

Dr. Ruiying Gao recommended Peter Hessler's Other Rivers: A Chinese Education, which has insight into the lives of two generations of Chinese students.

She's also looking forward to the Osaka City Museum of Fine Arts’ exhibition of Japanese National Art Treasures. In particular, she's excited about Letter of Distress and Indignation, a calligraphy piece associated with Wang Xizhi (303-361), who is regarded as the greatest calligrapher in China. This specific piece was likely collected by the Japanese imperial house as early as the 8th century.

Dr. Yukina Zhang is a fan of LuYang's work, citing LuYang's play with gender, Traditional Chinese Medicine, spirituality, and the video games, anime, and manga subculture of the 1990s.

She also recommends the work of Lara Jaishree Netting. Her book, A Perpetual Fire: John C. Ferguson and His Quest for Chinese Art and Culture, looks at the life of an American collector of Chinese art who was discussed during the panel discussion and who serves as a model for Chinese-American friendship and appreciation.

For those in the area interested in Chinese bronzes, there will be a lecture by Dr. Pengliang Lu, Brooke Russell Astor Curator of Chinese Art at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, at Davidson College on Thursday, April 10, from 6:30 - 7:30.

See the flyer for more information!

National Library Week 2025

April 7, 2025

National Library Week (NLW) is organized by the American Library Association (ALA) as "an annual celebration highlighting the valuable role libraries, librarians, and library workers play in transforming lives and strengthening our communities." It is from April 6 to April 12.

We have prepared a series of images that highlight a few things that the Library offers the community!