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Kanopy
Summary
Kanopy is an award-winning video streaming service providing access to more than 30,000 independent and documentary films ─ titles of unique social and cultural value from The Criterion Collection, The Great Courses, Media Education Foundation, and thousands of independent filmmakers.
Details
Getting started:
If you are a first time user, create a Kanopy account by clicking the "Sign Up" button. When creating your account, enter your name, email address and select a password. An email will be sent to you with a verification link. Click on the link sent in the email and it will ask you to select your Library (Charlotte Mecklenburg Library) and enter your Charlotte Mecklenburg Library barcode and PIN number.
New collections - Ticket Free!
- British Cinema and TV: A unique blend of intriguing mysteries, addictive dramas, and big-hearted comedies for Anglophile customers who relish proper British movies and TV series.
- Kanopy Favorites: Customer and staff favorites from the Kanopy catalog.
- Spanish Collection: Popular global films for Spanish speakers.
- Credit-Free Films: Kanopy offers a small collection of free movies each month.
Access the Collection
- Click the "Access Now" button below
- Download the Kanopy app for Android, Apple, and Amazon Fire tablets.
- Kanopy can be streamed on your desktop computer, tablets, smartphones, and TV apps.
- Click here for supported devices.
Borrowing
- Charlotte Mecklenburg Library customers have 12 tickets per month to use on Kanopy content.
- The viewing period for movies and episodic content will be displayed beside the number of tickets to be used on content. After starting a video, customers can watch it as many times as you want within the viewing period.
- Great Courses are 5 tickets per course. When you check out a Great Course, you have access to all the videos in that course for 21 days (from the time of check out).
- Kanopy Kids does not use tickets.
- Tickets reset on the 1st of the month.
NEW
In order to control the Library's spending in Kanopy, we have a monthly budget cap in place. Once the Library has reached it's spending cap service will be paused until the next month. You will see the following message when our budget cap has been met, "Sorry, access is currently limited per your library's request." Read more about it here. You will still be able to view movies in our ticket free collections.
Tips
- Kanopy also has a site dedicated to kids! Kanopy Kids highlights films and TV series that inspire and inform, helping children develop empathy, mindfulness, and self-esteem through entertaining and educational videos. Kanopy Kids categories include TV Series, Learning Languages, Animated Storybooks, Anime Favorites, Classic Films, and Movies for the whole family. Parents can set up parental controls for their Kanopy accounts. Kanopy Kids is unlimited plays! Learn more here.
- Check out more than 70 Great Courses available on Kanopy. View Great Courses such as Masters of Mindfulness, Decisive Battles of History, and Fundamental of Photography. Upon checking out a Great Course, you have access to all the vidoes in the series for the next 21 days!
Need Help?
Click on the "Support" link in the footer of the Kanopy site. Help articles on creating accounts, using the website, mobile and tv apps, and more are available.
Kanopy es un servicio galardonado de transmisión de video que brinda acceso a más de 30,000 películas independientes y a documentales ─ títulos de valor social y cultural único de las siguientes organizaciones: The Criterion Collection, The Great Courses y Media Education Foundation. También se ofrecen videos de miles de cineastas independientes.
Explore algunos de los más de 70 cursos disponibles en Kanopy como Maestros de atención plena, Batallas decisivas de la historia y Fundamentos de la fotografía. ¡Al ver uno de estos cursos, tiene acceso a todos los videos de la serie durante los próximos 21 días!
¡Kanopy también tiene un sitio dedicado a los niños! Kanopy Kids destaca películas y series de televisión que inspiran e informan, ayudando a los niños a desarrollar empatía, atención plena y autoestima a través de videos entretenidos y educativos. Las categorías de Kanopy Kids incluyen Series de televisión, Aprendizaje de idiomas, Libros de cuentos animados, Favoritos de anime, Películas clásicas y Películas para toda la familia. Los padres pueden configurar controles parentales para sus cuentas de Kanopy. ¡El número de videos que puede acceder con Kanopy Kids es ilimitado! Aprenda más aquí.
Kanopy se puede transmitir en su computadora, tabletas, teléfonos inteligentes y aplicaciones en su televisor. Los usuarios de la Biblioteca Charlotte Mecklenburg tienen 12 boletos para usar en el contenido cada mes. El período de visualización de películas y otros contenidos se muestra junto al valor de la entrada. Los boletos se reinician el día 1 de cada mes.
Para comenzar:
Si es usuario por primera vez, cree una cuenta en Kanopy haciendo clic en el botón "Registrarse". Al crear su cuenta, ingrese su nombre, dirección de correo electrónico y seleccione una contraseña. Se le enviará un correo electrónico con un enlace de verificación. Haga clic en el enlace enviado en el correo electrónico. Se le pedirá que seleccione su biblioteca (la Biblioteca de Charlotte Mecklenburg) e ingrese su número de tarjeta y número PIN de la Biblioteca de Charlotte Mecklenburg.
¿Necesita ayuda?
Haga clic en el enlace titulado "Soporte" en el pie de página del sitio de Kanopy. Encontrará artículos sobre cómo crear cuentas, usar el sitio web, aplicaciones móviles y de televisión, y más.
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June is African American Music Appreciation Month!
June 6, 2025
This blog was originally published in June 2019 by Sydney Carroll and updated in June of 2025 by Chauna Carr, digital production librarian in the Robinson-Spangler Carolina Room
Originally coined Black Music Month, the commemoration was conceived by black music moguls Kenny Gamble, Dyana Williams and Ed Wright in the 1970s and initiated by President Jimmy Carter on June 7, 1979. The holiday was later renamed African American Music Appreciation Month by President Barack Obama in 2009.
This month, we celebrate African American musicians, their songs and their lasting cultural and historical impacts. Join the Robinson-Spangler Carolina Room as we celebrate this month – our music archive is a treasure trove of music produced by notable African American artists from North Carolina.
Music created by African Americans has played a significant role in the Long Civil Rights Movement, serving as the rallying cries of protests and the beat to which activists march. Songs used during the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s were often pre-existing songs that were modified to reflect the aims of the movement, such as We Shall Overcome and This Little Light of Mine, but there were also many new songs written specifically as protest songs, such as You’d Better Leave Segregation Alone and Dog, Dog by James Bevel and Bernard Lafayette. Some of the most popular tunes were captured in Sing for Freedom: The Story of the Civil Rights Movement Through its Songs, compiled by Guy Carawan in 1990. In addition to providing the lyrics and sheet music for songs used in the Civil Rights Movement, Carawan provides historical context, including events in North Carolina and the city of Charlotte, and includes interviews from the movement’s participants detailing the significance of music to their activities.
Charlotte has been home to notable rappers, jazz musicians and R&B artists. Some of these Charlotteans include Fantasia, Arsena Schroeder, DaBaby, Deniro Farrar, K-Ci & Jojo, Bettie Grind, Ruga, Anthony Hamilton, Elevator Jay, Lute, Harvey Cummings, Jason Jet, D’Yenna Dukes and Jodeci.
The city has celebrated the month in several ways – the Harvey B. Gantt Center has held free events in honor of the month, and Charlotte radio station Power 98 FM has dedicated the month of June to honoring African American musicians. The #BeONE Music Experience was also created to observe African American Music Appreciation Month in the Charlotte, bringing together live music, comedians, food and black culture in several celebrations throughout the city during the month of June.
The Robinson-Spangler Carolina Room’s music archive features a multitude of albums produced by black North Carolinian artists of all genres such as John Coltrane, the Badgett Sisters, Clyde McPhatter, the Jordan River Boys and many others. Also available are albums featuring various artists, such as Big Mamas: Independent Women’s Blues (Ida Cox, Billie Holiday, Martha Copeland) and A Cappella Gospel Singing (Georgia Peach, Dixie Hummingbirds, The Spirit of Memphis Quartet).
Want to listen to hits by prominent black artists? Check out this compilation of playlists from Freegal (available until August 2025):
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Cover Image Caption: Album cover of Rhythm and Soul by Durham R&B, soul, and rock artist Clyde McPhatter. Available for listening in the music archive of the Robinson-Spangler Carolina Room of the Charlotte Mecklenburg Library.
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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.
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Travel the World with the Frontline Puppeteers!
June 17, 2025
All summer long, join the Charlotte Mecklenburg Library's Frontline Puppeteers for any of our music-filled puppet show: Travel the World! This is a 30-minute puppet show that incorporates songs, folk tales, and stories from children's picture books featuring countries like Germany, Mexico, Australia, and Africa, followed by a puppet-making activity and a chance for attending children to meet our friendly puppets. The show is geared toward children ages PreK-Gr. 2, but all ages are welcome.
The puppet show is traveling to all 20 library branches throughout the summer months, so join us for one or for them all!
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Wednesday, June 18th at 11:00 at Myers Park Library (1361 Queens Road, Charlotte, NC 28207)
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Monday, June 23rd at 11:00 at North County Regional Library (16500 Holly Crest Lane, Huntersville, NC 28078)
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Tuesday, June 24th at 2:00 at Allegra Westbrooks Regional Library (2412 Beatties Ford Road, Charlotte, NC 28216)
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Tuesday, July 1st at 1:00 at South Boulevard Library (4429 South Boulevard, Charlotte, NC 28209)
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Wednesday, July 2nd at 2:00 at Mountain Island Library (4420 Hoyt Galvin Way, Charlotte, NC 28214)
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Thursday, July 3rd at 2:00 at Cornelius Library (21105 Catawba Avenue, Cornelius, NC 28031)
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Tuesday, July 8th at 2:00 at Davidson Library (119 South Main Street, Davidson, NC 28036)
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Wednesday, July 9th at 3:00 at Matthews Library (230 Matthews Station St., Matthews, NC 28105)
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Thursday, July 10th at 2:00 at Hickory Grove Library (5935 Hickory Grove Road, Charlotte, NC 28215)
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Tuesday, July 15th at 2:00 at University City Regional Library (5528 Waters Edge Village Drive, Charlotte, NC 28262)
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Wednesday, July 16th at 3:00 at SouthPark Regional Library (7015 Carnegie Boulevard, Charlotte, NC 28211)
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Thursday, July 17th at 2:00 at Mint Hill Library (6840 Matthews-Mint Hill Road, Mint Hill, NC 28227)
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Monday, July 21st at 2:00 at Pineville Library (505 Main Street, Suite 100, Pineville, NC 28134)
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Tuesday, July 22nd at 2:00 at Steele Creek Library (13620 Steele Creek Road, Charlotte, NC 28273)
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Wednesday, July 30th at 2:00 at South County Regional Library (5801 Rea Road, Charlotte, NC 28277)
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Thursday, July 31st at 10:30 at Sugar Creek Library (4045 North Tryon Street, Suite A, Charlotte, NC 28206)
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Tuesday, August 5th at 2:00 at Independence Regional Library (6000 Conference Drive, Charlotte, NC 28212)
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Wednesday, August 6th at 2:00 at West Boulevard Library (2157 West Boulevard, Charlotte, NC 28208)
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Tuesday, August 12th at 2:00 at ImaginOn: The Joe & Joan Martin Center (300 East Seventh Street, Charlotte, NC 28202)
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Thursday, August 14th at 2:00 at Plaza Midwood Library (1623 Central Avenue, Charlotte, NC 28205)
More information about the shows can be found on our events page HERE.
The Charlotte Mecklenburg Library Frontline Puppeteers are a troupe of trained puppeteers who work for various branches of the library. We have been bringing puppet shows and silly voices to Charlotte since 2018.