This blog was written as part of Charlotte Mecklenburg Library's Black Lives Matter program initiative. Learn  more about the program and corresponding events here.

It is October, and the Supreme Court is back in session garnering its expected news headlines. Some are watching, though, with a heightened sense of concern and Irv Gornstein, executive director of Georgetown University’s Supreme Court Institute, is one of them. He fears the overwhelming switch in recent years to a majority conservative court can hurt the court’s credibility with the public.

“I think we may have come to a turning point. If within a span of a few terms we see sweeping right-side decisions over left-side dissents on every one of the most politically divisive issues of our time—voting, guns, abortion, religion, affirmative action—perception of the court may be permanently altered,” Gornstein said in an interview with the Associated Press.

Point taken. Would those decisions fairly represent the greater American public? Would they be respected and upheld?

Gornstein’s observations may be spot on or off the mark. Regardless, Supreme Court decisions impact the public for decades, and Black U.S. citizens would be significantly affected. The “divisive issues of our time” mentioned by the professor can jolt Black Americans in safety, economic status, and citizenship conditions. Affirmative action is readily associated with African Americans as a court issue. Still, voting rights is an old policy fight that has received renewed attention, detailed in a Library blog last month.

One book in the Charlotte Mecklenburg Library collection, on Account of Race: the Supreme Court, White Supremacy, and the Ravaging of the African American Voting Rights by Lawrence Goldstone, examines the Supreme Court’s past decisions have not spread the right to vote for Blacks. Book critics commend accessible writing and in-depth research. Doubtless, those unfamiliar with the Court’s decision-making past may come to understand how it can operate and remain a substantial force in public conduct.

Goldstone’s book is included in a new booklist about the power the court has specifically affecting Blacks. The booklist consists of a separate book about the only Black Supreme Court justices, the revered, late Thurgood Marshall and his successor, the controversial Clarence Thomas, the current longest-serving justice.

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This blog was written by Lawrence Turner,  adult services librarian at South County Regional Library.

On October 29, 2021 at 5 p.m., Main Library will close to the public. We look forward to reopening a reimagined destination library to serve the Charlotte Mecklenburg community for decades to come. During this period, we know this closure will impact how customers use library services Uptown. Building a newly designed Main Library will allow us to serve customers and Mecklenburg County in better and more advanced ways. The new Main Library will continue the community and neighborhood tradition of having a trusted public library in the same place that it has stood for 118 years. The new Main Library will be designed with customer and community interests and input in mind. Funding for the project is provided through a public-private convention with generous support from Mecklenburg County and private donors.

As always, customers can visit any of our 19 Library locations throughout Mecklenburg County to access helpful resources, programs and services. Throughout the closure period, we also ensure convenient library access through two interim Uptown locations for which we will soon share opening dates. Until then, we are excited to provide a glance at the services we will offer at each location. They are as follows:

CMLibrary @ Founders Hall, located at 100 North Tryon Street in suite 290, will be a hub for Library users to retrieve materials on hold, browse and check out materials from a select, popular collection, return materials, obtain Library cards and search the catalog. 

CMLibrary @ College Street, located at 406 N College Street (in the fellowship hall at First United Presbyterian Church), will provide Library users a space to study, sit, read and more. This location will be equipped with publicly accessible Wi-Fi and computers, as well as a variety of programs, resources and services including job help and career services, and printing and copying.

Cardholders will continue to have access to the same great programs and printed materials at all Charlotte Mecklenburg Library locations, as well as a growing digital collection that includes books, music, videos, research and leisure resources and more. We hope this information helps community members understand service options during the closure and keeps patrons engaged with the Library. The patronage of our customers is vitally important, so please read on for helpful information as well as other useful updates.

During the closure, we hope you will continue to use library services by connecting with another branch for browsing, borrowing, classes/workshops, family storytimes, and the many other ways you engage with your Library, or by using our online services at cmlibrary.org.

Other local branches near the Uptown area
There are other branch locations in proximity to the Uptown area that continue to offer a variety of online, virtual and limited outdoor programs, as well as access to extensive services and resources. We encourage Main Library customers to explore the option closest to them and to continue their library experiences at:

• Allegra Westbrooks Regional Library – 2412 Beatties Ford Road, Charlotte 28216 (704) 416-3000
• Myers Park Library – 1361 Queens Road, Charlotte 28207 (704) 416-5800
• Plaza Midwood Library – 1623 Central Avenue, Charlotte 28205 (704) 416-6200
• South Boulevard Library – 4429 South Boulevard, Charlotte 28209 (704) 416-6400
• Sugar Creek Library – 4045 North Tryon Street, Suite A, Charlotte 28206 (704) 416-7000
• West Boulevard Library - 2157 West Boulevard, Charlotte 28208 (704) 416-7400

Library Holds and Pick-ups
As of October 15, 2021, Main Library will no longer be an available option for placing items on hold. Any items placed on hold for pick up at Main, before October 15, will be available through October 29, 2021. Items will then become available for pick up at Plaza Midwood Library beginning November 1, 2021. After October 15, cardholders who normally pick up materials at Main Library will be prompted to select a new holds pick-up location the next time they place a hold in the Library catalog

Customers who wish to choose a different location for their holds pick-up rather than Plaza Midwood Library, can do so in the following ways:

1. Request assistance from Library staff at any Charlotte Mecklenburg Library location; or
2. Call the Library at 704-416-0101

Click here to learn how to update your default holds pick-up location in the catalog.

Returning Books and Materials to the Main Library Book-drop
Please note that on October 29, Main Library will no longer accept book returns and the book drop return boxes will be closed. Customers can drop off items at any of our other 19 Library locations, including at the nearby ImaginOn: The Joe & Joan Martin Center located at 300 East Seventh Street.

For more information, please visit our  Frequently Asked Questions

Want to learn more about our Building Projects? Click here

Thank you for your patience during the rebuilding of our new Main Library. We encourage customers to continue using a Charlotte Mecklenburg Library location – either at one of our other 19 locations or online at cmlibrary.org. We appreciate your patronage and support over the years at our Uptown location and look forward to welcoming everyone back to our new library in the future!

Main Library is located at 310 North Tryon Street, Charlotte, 28202. For information on all branch locations, click here.

November is an exciting month for aspiring writers!  November is National Novel Writing Month when writers worldwide write with a goal of ending the month with 50, 000 words of a brand-new novel.  Are you inspired to write the next great American novel?  Do you want to create a book of family history to share with cousins near and far?  The Charlotte Mecklenburg Library has resources for every type of writer to get you started on your journey.

Digital Resources

The Charlotte Mecklenburg Library has resources to help you in writing, publishing, and sharing your creation. 

Pressbooks is an easy-to-use online software program that allows writers to create professional e-book and print ready files in ePUB, MOBI, and PDF formats.  Pressbooks covers all aspects of writing your book, start to finish.  All you need to get started is a library card!  Access Pressbooks from the Library’s Resources page and create a Biblioboard profile to get started. 

After creating your masterpiece, you can submit your work to be self-published using the Indie Author Project resource.  Submitting your work to Charlotte Mecklenburg Library’s Indie Author Project resource can promote your work and increase readership.  After being vetted by Biblioboard, your work is added to the statewide Indie North Carolina Collection on Biblioboard Library.

Biblioboard Library is an e-book resource.  Content on Biblioboard Library includes titles from independently published authors in North Carolina, a curated K-12 Classroom Collection of literature, philosophy, history and geography topics, and other top independently published e-books.  E-books created by Charlotte Mecklenburg Library customers can be found here!  Biblioboard Library e-books are always available with no wait! 

Print Resources

Need some help getting started on your writing journey or just want to learn more about the writing craft?  Recommendations from Charlotte Mecklenburg Library staff can be found in our catalog.

• Writing for Authors
• Editor Betsy Thorpe Recommends Writing Titles
• Memoir Writing Resources

Events and Programs

Want to connect with fellow local writers?  Attend one of our writing group programs!  Love poetry?  We have a program for you!  Charlotte Mecklenburg Library has programs and events for writers of all ages.  Explore our event calendar here.

Access all the Library’s resources for free with your library card.  Don’t have one?  Sign up here!  If you need more help with the resources covered in this blog, Charlotte Mecklenburg Library staff are available to help by email, chat, and phone. 

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 This blog was written by Amy Richard, library collections manager at Charlotte Mecklenburg Library.

November marks National Family Literacy Month, a time to celebrate families- adults and children- learning together! Charlotte Mecklenburg Library always strives for families learning together, and this month we place a special emphasis on promoting and sharing all the resources, services, and programs you and your family can utilize to improve your literacy practices at home.

Read Together

Visit your local Library branch often as a family to check out books together! According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, children who are read to have better language skills, have more interest in reading, and have better nurturing relationships with their parental figures (AAP, 2014).  Make it a habit to read as often as you can as a family. If you cannot make it in person to our Library locations, thousands of digital e-books await you online! Browse one of our digital book resources, and spend time reading together as a family.

Talk Together

Talking about books and what is going on in your child’s life will help to improve your child’s language and vocabulary skills. Cognitive scientists from MIT found that conversation between an adult and a child can actually change and enhance a child’s brain physiology (Association of American Universities, 2018)! Active Reading, or the practice of reading aloud a children’s picture book by asking questions, building vocabulary, and making connections to the child’s world and experiences, is a wonderful way to talk together as a family. Charlotte Mecklenburg Library provides Active Reading Family Workshops and Active Reading Training programs to help you and your family have meaningful conversations about books together.

Write Together

There are many ways to practice writing as a family at home. Start a family journal, where family members write back and forth to one another, or simply send notes and letters to each other! Seek inspiration from our storytellers at the Library to write your own story together as a family. Drawing counts too! The practice of writing aids in fine motor skills, self-expression, and language development. Feel free to write a book review as well together as a family and add it to our catalog for others to enjoy!

Learn Together

Charlotte Mecklenburg Library’s mission and vision is to improve lives and build a stronger community. We do this by learning together! There are many ways to learn together as a family at the Library. Programs are available daily that you can attend together as a family including storytimes, story explorer programs, puppet shows and more! Check out step-by-step books to create a new recipe or craft together as a family too. Discuss what you learned together as a family and share it with others.

Celebrate with Us

To celebrate National Family Literacy Month, you and your family are invited to participate in a special Virtual Family Literacy night on November 16, 2021 at 6 p.m. Expect singing, dancing, reading, writing, and learning together as a family to improve your literacy practices at home!

Improve your family literacy this month and beyond by checking out all that Charlotte Mecklenburg Library has to offer. Read together, talk together, write together, and learn together. We consider your family a part of our family, and we hope you consider Charlotte Mecklenburg Library part of your family too. Happy National Family Literacy month!

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This blog post was written by Elyse Berrier, Library Program Coordinator, at Charlotte Mecklenburg Library.

In March 2020, ProQuest & Ancestry graciously provided libraries with remote access to Ancestry Library Edition at no extra cost so that library customers could continue with their genealogy and family research during shutdowns due to COVID.  ProQuest & Ancestry continued to extend that access during the last 20 months.  Now that libraries are re-opening and adding more services, ProQuest & Ancestry has made the decision to end remote access.

Charlotte Mecklenburg Library will return to our previous service model of offering access to Ancestry Library Edition for in Library use on December 23, 2021.  Please visit any of our twenty locations to access Ancestry Library Edition after this date.  For customers wanting to maintain remote access from a similar product, HeritageQuest (powered by Ancestry) is the best solution.

For questions about Ancestry Library Edition or any of our other resources, please contact your local branch or contact our staff by email, chat and phone.

Access all the Library’s resources for free with your Library card.  Don’t have one?  Sign up here! 

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 This blog was written by Amy Richard, library collections manager at Charlotte Mecklenburg Library.

An essential component of Charlotte Mecklenburg Library's mission is to improve lives and build a stronger community by removing barriers to accessing information and critical resources. Enter MeckTech Connect.

Bridging the digital divide, MeckTech Connect is a program bringing free wireless internet service to over 800 homes in the West Boulevard corridor. While this area is rich in people and culture, this community's internet adoption lags behind the rest of the city of Charlotte by 50 percent. Charlotte Mecklenburg Library’s West Boulevard location has been active in digital literacy work for many years. Still, the Library aims to be a leader in providing digital equity and digital literacy to communities with fewer resources. MeckTech Connect is a step in the right direction.

The Library’s efforts to lead in digital equity are matched by their partnership with Open Broadband, an essential partner as the internet service provider for MeckTech Connect. They are a regional internet service provider that contributes to underserved communities. Work on the MeckTech Connect infrastructure is currently underway in the West Boulevard community. In addition to the partnership with Open Broadband, the Library was awarded a grant and funding from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) and The Knight Foundation. Additional support from organizations such as bloom., City Startup Labs, Hack & Hustle Academy, RowdyOrb.it, and the West Boulevard Neighborhood Coalition helped make this effort possible.

MeckTech Connect is in the business of filling the digital divide and providing opportunities beyond just internet service. The Library is excited to lead this pilot in the West Boulevard corridor.

For more information about MeckTech Connect, please visit www.mecktechconnect.org.

2021 is over, so let's take a look at which books were most popular with Charlotte Mecklenburg Library readers this year. We pulled circulation data for our adult fiction (both print and digital), adult nonfiction, young adult fiction, juvenile fiction and graphic novels.

A few listings stood out this year:

• For the first time in a while, no novel returned to the top ten fiction list that appeared there the previous year. 
• Digital usage dominated the list this year. The top print adult novel circulated wouldn’t even have made the digital list. The top adult print nonfiction book would have been #10 on the digital list. 
• Last year, Michelle Obama’s memoir Becoming was the #1 nonfiction title.  This year, President Obama’s memoir A Promised Land comes in at #2.  However, President Obama’s memoir did top the audio list.
• Jeff Kenny, once again, dominated the print juvenile fiction list and Dav Pilkey cleaned up on the digital side.
• The top graphic novel, Sisters by Raina Telgemeier, circulated more than twice the number of times as the second place graphic novel. It was also the top Young Adult book of the year.

We hope you enjoy going through this year’s lists and be sure to visit your local library branch and our webpage and get started on reading the books for this year’s list.

Print Adult Fiction

• The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah
• The Last Thing He Told Me by Laura Dave
• The Midnight Library by Matt Haig
• Win by Harlan Coben
• A Gambling Man by David Baldacci
• The Guest List by Lucey Foley
• The Red Book by James Patterson & David Ellis
• Eternal by Lisa Scottoline
• The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett
• The Bounty: A Fox and O’Hare Novel by Janet Evanovich & Steve Hamilton​

Digital Adult Fiction

1. The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah
2. The Midnight Library by Matt Haig
3. The Last Thing He Told Me by Laura Dave
4. Anxious People by Fredrik Backman
5. The Guest List by Lucy Foley
6. The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by Victoria Schwab
7. Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid
8. In Five Years by Rebecca Serle
9. American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins
10. People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry

Print Adult Nonfiction

1. Caste: The Origins of our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson
2. A Promised Land by Barack Obama
3. The Premonition: A Pandemic Story by Michael Lewis
4. Peril by Bob Woodward & Robert Costa
5. Greenlights by Matthew McConaughey
6. Untamed by Glennon Doyle
7. The Code Breaker: Jennifer Doudna, Gene Editing, and the Future of the Human Race by Walter Isaacson
8. I Alone Can Fix it: Donald J. Trump's Catastrophic Final Year by Carol Leonnig & Philip Rucker
9. Keep Sharp: Build a Better Brain at any Age by Sanjay Gupta, MD with Kristin Loberg
10. Think Again: The Power of Knowing What You Don't Know by Adam Grant

Digital Adult Nonfiction

1. Maybe You Should Talk to Someone: A Therapist, HER Therapist, and Our Lives Revealed by Lori Gottlieb
2. Nomadland: Surviving America in the Twenty-First Century by Jessica Bruder
3. Untamed by Glennon Doyle
4. A Promised Land by Barack Obama
5. Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson
6. The Splendid and the Vile: A Saga of Churchill, Family, and Defiance During the Blitz by Erik Larson
7. Educated: A Memoir by Tara Westover
8. Greenlights by Matthew McConaughey
9. Atomic Habits: Tiny Changes, Remarkable Results: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones by James Clear
10. The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America's Great Migration by Isabel Wilkerson

Print Young Adult Fiction

1. Sisters by Raina Telgemeier
2. The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins
3. The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
4. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling
5. Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo
6. Hatchet by Gary Paulsen
7. A Good Girl's Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson
8. Midnight Sun by Stephenie Meyer
9. The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan
10. I'm Not Dying With You Tonight by Kimberly Jones & Gilly Segal

Digital Young Adult Fiction

1. Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo
2. Five Total Strangers by Natalie D. Richards
3. Midnight Sun by Stephenie Meyer
4. The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins
5. A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas
6. Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo
7. Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo
8. We Were Liars by E. Lockhart
9. I'm Not Dying with You Tonight by Kimberly Jones & Gilly Segal
10. Ruin and Rising by Leigh Bardugo

Fiction & Nonfiction Audio Books (Digital and Physical)

1. A Promised Land by Barack Obama
2. The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah
3. Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
4. Greenlights by Matthew McConaughey
5. The Guest List by Lucy Foley
6. The Midnight Library by Matt Haig
7. Talking to Strangers: What We Should Know about the People We Don't Know by Malcolm Gladwell
8. The Duke and I by Julia Quinn
9. Becoming by Michelle Obama
10. The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck: A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life by Mark Manson

Graphic Novels (Young Adult & Adult)

1. Sisters by Raina Telgemeier
2. The boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse by Charlie Mackesy
3. My Hero Academia 1, Izuku Midoriya: Origin by Kohei Horikoshi
4. My Hero Academia 3, All Might by Kohei Horikoshi
5. My Hero Academia 2, Rage, You Damned Nerd by Kohei Horikoshi
6. My Hero Academia 24, All it Takes is One Bad Day by Kohei Horikoshi
7. My Hero Academia16, Red Riot by Kohei Horikoshi
8. The Lightning Thief: The Graphic Novel by Rick Riordan
9. My hero academia 25, Tomura Shigaraki Origin by Kohei Horikoshi
10. The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood

You might have noticed your holds aren’t arriving as quickly as you’re used to. Or those Halloween titles you requested for your children weren’t on the shelves until well into December! Due to unprecedented supply chain delays and worker shortages, some titles have been delayed or canceled altogether. Books are sitting in warehouses or container ships for months, waiting for workers to process them and ship them to us.

We apologize for the longer than usual wait times, which are unfortunately a common problem right now, but please know we’re working our hardest to make sure the books, DVDs, audiobooks, and other library materials you love are in your hands as soon as we’re able to get them to you. We appreciate your patience and look forward to returning to the timely service you’ve come to expect!

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This blog was written by Bethany Pierce, librarian for Charlotte Mecklenburg Library.

What better place to fall in love than the Charlotte Mecklenburg Library? We don’t mean romantic love alone. All love is welcome here. Familial, platonic, volunteer, literary—you name it.

As an essential community connector, libraries are places where people fall in love with, and among, books – and we want to hear your story. Have you made a new a friend at a Library program or while serving as  a Library volunteer? Maybe a Library employee suggested to you a self-help book that changed the trajectory of your life and your love self. Or, maybe your dog helps shy readers conquer their fears of reading aloud each week through a Paws to Read program at your local library branch and inspiring literacy in children brings you joy.

That’s a whole lot of love to share.

This is your chance to let the Charlotte Mecklenburg Library know how we've helped you fall in love with financial literacy, locate your dream career or introduced you to a life-changing hobby. And, if really did brush hands with the love of your life while looking for a good read at the Library, we want to know about that too.

SHARE YOUR LIBRARY LOVE STORY by Friday, February 4, 2022.

*Collected stories will be lightly edited (punctuation, spelling, etc.) and used on the Charlotte Mecklenburg Library blog, social media platforms and in other areas where marketing the stories is deemed appropriate. Participation in this survey is voluntary and only first names will be used in public posts.

Thank you for sharing the love.

The Hickory Grove Branch Library is located on the Eastside of Charlotte, NC. This vibrant and eclectic neighborhood connects deeply with the immigrant community with everything from diverse restaurants and grocery stores to language immersion schools and of course, the library itself. The Hickory Grove Branch has a large world language collection for all ages with Spanish being the largest number of items represented in the collection. Additionally, ten other languages are represented including Vietnamese, Chinese, French, Japanese and Korean.

Within just a couple of miles from the library, this community has two Spanish language immersion education programs. Charlotte Bilingual Preschool for ages three through five has provided innovative solutions for preparing Spanish-speaking children for success in school by providing superior dual language, multi-cultural early childhood education. And they have been providing this educational service in the Hickory Grove neighborhood for over twenty-two years. In the other direction, located in the old Eastland Mall Parking lot, is the Charlotte East Language Academy for kindergarten through eighth grade.  The school was established in 2018 and is a Title I school.

The Hickory Grove neighborhood has several community organizations dedicated to helping newcomers settle into life here in the Queen City. OurBRIDGE for Kids is a nonprofit organization that supports the immigrant and refugee community in Charlotte by providing afterschool programming and other community-based initiatives. The Latin American Coalition is a community of Latin Americans, immigrants and allies that promotes full and equal participation of all people in the civic, economic, and cultural life of North Carolina through education, celebration and advocacy. Finally, the Simmons YMCA New American Welcome Center is designed to provide a combination of services and strategies to connect and enhance cross-cultural understanding. With a focus on language and education, employment, health and wellbeing, citizenship and civic engagement, and the Y helps empower immigrants to achieve their full potential.

East Charlotte is also home to the Charlotte History Museum. This museum features programs and exhibits that explore important civic themes and how their meaning has evolved over time, including ideals of liberty, freedom, equity, justice, democracy, and citizenship. The museum sits on an eight-acre wooded campus and it is also the site of the oldest surviving house in Mecklenburg County, the Rock House, which was built circa 1774 for the Hezekiah Alexander household. And if you need to grab a bite after a day at the museum, Antoine James, the Access Services Manager at Hickory Grove, highly recommends our area for its food and restaurants. His favorite? Why Not Pizza located right next door to Hickory Grove Library. They have everything from pizza and pasta, to subs and wings. It is a staff favorite for sure!

New to Charlotte? Explore other neighborhoods through the Charlotte Mecklenburg Library blog and WelcomeCLT, a digital space created for newcomers to Charlotte.

Resources:

• Hickory Grove Branch Library - 5935 Hickory Grove Rd, Charlotte, NC 28215 | 704-416-4400
• Charlotte Bilingual Preschool - 6300 Highland Ave, Charlotte, NC 28215 | 704-535-8080
• Charlotte History Museum - 3500 Shamrock Dr, Charlotte, NC 28215 | 704-568-1774
• Charlotte East Language Academy - 6108 Wilora Lake Rd, Charlotte, NC 28212 | 980-343-0380
• Latin American Coalition - 4938 Central Ave #1, Charlotte, NC 28205
• OurBRIDGE for Kids - 3925 Willard Farrow Dr, Charlotte, NC 28215 | 980-272-6022
• Why Not Pizza - 7008 E W.T. Harris Blvd, Charlotte, NC 28215 | 704-536-0891
• YMCA New American Welcome Center - 6824 Democracy Dr, Charlotte, NC 28212 | 704-716-6600

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This blog written by Lonna Vines, children's librarian for Charlotte Mecklenburg Library.