On Sunday, February 18, at Beatties Ford Regional Library, more than 125 people turned out for the rededication of the Elizabeth S. Randolph Community Room.  Congresswoman Alma Adams, State Senator Joyce Waddell, City Councilman Justin Harlow and School Board Members Thelma Byers Bailey were present, along with many civic leaders including Thereasea Elder.  Library Trustee Rob Harrington represented the Library Board. 

After a welcome from Branch Manager Alecia Williams and Director of Libraries David Singleton, Reverend Ricky Woods of First Baptist Church West delivered the invocation. Two local teens who use the Library sang “I Rise Up.” 

In her remarks, Congresswoman Adams reflected on the role of African American women and some of the struggles that Randolph faced during her lifetime.  

Sheila Bumgarner of the Library's Robinson-Spangler Carolina Room provided background on An African American Album, the landmark photographic history edited by Randolph, which the Library published in 1992.  Framed photographs from the book were displayed throughout the room.  

Doris Williams, President of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Alpha Lambda Omega Chapter, provided remarks on Ms. Randolph’s role in the sorority and in the greater community, celebrating many of the firsts that Randolph accomplished.

In the afternoon's biggest surprise, a local woman who is over 100 years old stood up and shared her memories of Randolph. They were born just a few months apart in 1917. 

City Councilman Justin Harlow read a proclamation from the City of Charlotte celebrating Randolph.

Finally, Congresswoman Adams and Rob Harrington unveiled a new Community Room sign honoring Randolph, to great applause.

Summer Break starts June 1^st and ends July 31^st. Register for the challenge online by visiting cmlibrary.beanstack.org or downloading the app, Beanstack Tracker. Your account allows you to track reading time and learning activities to collect virtual badges. Even tracking Queen Charlotte can be logged into Beanstack as an activity. There is fun and incentives for everyone this summer!

For our youngest community members there is an updated Bingo challenge for Wee Readers (age 0-4). Track reading and activities using the app or a bingo card picked up at any branch! Wee Readers who complete the challenge by completing the entire bingo board get to choose a book.

This year there are some fantastic prizes for participating and completing Summer Break thanks to our sponsors: Wendy’s, Charlotte Football Club, and the Charlotte Mecklenburg Library Foundation. Just for registering participants receive a Wendy’s Frosty Jr. Coupon and a Charlotte Football Club sticker!

New this year are mid-level prizes! When a participant earns 600 points, they’re eligible for a Charlotte Football Club Sports Flyer (ages 5-17) or a magnetic bookmark (ages 18+).

Completing the challenge (earning 1200 points), children and teen participants can choose between a book or water bottle. Adults can choose between a water bottle, drawstring bag, or a notebook with a pen.  All prizes are available while supplies last.

Saving the best for last! There are two bonus prizes for participants and readers ages 5 to 17! A drawing for a 4-pack of tickets to a Charlotte Football Club game, with one 4-pack per branch! The second bonus prize is for the top 20 readers of Summer Break, they will be given the opportunity to tour the Charlotte Football Club stadium.

Sign up today and start logging your reading and activities to join in on the fun and help us reach our community reading goal of 10 million minutes!

Exciting Programs

Though our Summer Break 2023 program can be completed entirely online, our libraries are hosting some wonderful programs this summer. Check out these upcoming programs.

Comments? Questions?

Are you having problems with the Summer Break 2023 website or your account?  Do you have questions about the program?  Feel free to call your local branch or email us at [email protected] for help or feedback.

The 2023 Summer Break program is brought to you by Charlotte Mecklenburg Library with additional support from Wendy’s, Charlotte Football Club and the Charlotte Mecklenburg Library Foundation.    

Public libraries in the United States are free and open to everyone. Charlotte Mecklenburg Library has long been a safe and trusted place for those looking for support and services – offering English conversation classes, citizenship preparation, computer literacy programs and more. We never turn anyone away or ask about immigration status. Our Library staff can help you find information on many topics and can give you a library card that allows you to borrow items, such as books and other resources, free of charge. Charlotte Mecklenburg Library branches have computers and free Wi-Fi that you can use to access the internet.

The Library also offers classes, online assessments and handouts to strengthen your digital skills. We want to help you become a more confident technology user. We are currently offering our Basic Skills and Workplace Tools classes, which feature popular Microsoft Office software and Google services. We continue to add more online classes, so please check our calendar frequently for the most up-to-date class availability. All classes are held virtually via Zoom. New to using Zoom? Check out this helpful video to get you started.

If you already have a Library card you can access many digital resources for learning and exploring. If you are new to Charlotte, visit your nearest library branch with a photo ID and proof of Mecklenburg County residency to receive a physical card. If you cannot get to a branch, consider a virtual card. It all has the same benefits as a physical card, and you can print it or add it to your mobile device using our app. 

We hate to break your heart on Valentine’s Day, but we’re improving our systems just for you. Please expect an interruption in Library services and accessing resources on Monday, February 14, 2022 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

During that time, online and digital resources (OverDrive/Libby, hoopla, etc.) will be unavailable. Library users also won’t be able to place holds, use self-checkout, renew items, pay fees, sign up for a Library card or call/live-chat with Library staff.
 
Library locations will remain open and customers will be able to: access internet-ready computers and complete materials checkouts with staff assistance.

We apologize for any inconvenience this interruption in service may cause. As always, we appreciate your patronage and look forward to improving our libraries to better serve our community.

The South County Regional Library is in South Charlotte, on the corner of Rea Road and Pineville-Matthews Road. A beautiful public art piece, Open Book, Open Mind by North Carolina artist and sculptor Jim Gallucci, features colorful book covers with classic titles, brightens up the exterior of the branch. This southernmost location in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg County Library system is freshly renovated. On the first level of the two-story building, our popular collection, composed of the newest adult books, DVDs, books on disc, and playaways, is the first department visible from the front door. The children’s department houses a new storytime room with a wooden tree that grows up to the ceiling! Also located on the first floor is a “cafe” with vending machines, tables, and a laptop bar.

Upstairs there is an awesome teen zone with a private teen loft set aside for studying and teen programming. Tables, chairs, and booths fill the second level and create perfect spaces for customers to read, write, and tutor. There are also windowed alcoves for customers who desire more privacy. The majority of the adult collection can be found upstairs. Genres range from romance to mystery, and best sellers to independent publishing houses. There are adult and young adult graphic novels, an adult large print collection, public computers, and printers as well.

South Charlotte is a growing community full of residents from all over the world. To assist them to the best of our ability, our library houses an extensive collection of world language materials for all ages. In the young adult collection, there are books in Spanish, Chinese, Gujarati, Hindi, Japanese, Russian, and Vietnamese. For adults, there is a world language section which includes Arabic, French, German, Gujarati, Marathi, Telugu, Hindi, Russian, Chinese (there is a substantial number of books!), Vietnamese, and Spanish (this is another extensive collection). Finally, the children’s department contains books in Spanish, Spanish/English (books that have both languages on the pages), Gujarati, Hindi, Telugu, French, German, Russian, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and Vietnamese. In addition to the languages in print found at South County, there are also members of the staff who are fluent in Russian, Greek, Vietnamese, German, Hindi, Marathi, and Afrikaans, to name a few!

The Four Mile Creek greenway is walking distance from South County, and is a popular, outdoor, walkable park. If you are looking for a beautiful location to jog, walk, or bike, this greenway is a wonderful place to be outdoors and avoid car traffic. Across the street from the greenway is a Trader Joe’s location, which always keeps the parking lot on the corner of Rea Rd and Bevington Place busy.

There are a wide range of communities and shopping centers within a 20-minute radius of South County. The Arboretum (Pineville Matthews Road near Providence Road), Stonecrest (Rea Road, near 485), and Blakeney (the intersection of Rea Road and Ardrey Kell) are examples of local shopping centers which house stores and restaurants for all your shopping and dining needs, such as Wal-Mart, Target, Old Navy, Harris Teeter, Marshalls, Malaya Kitchen, Nothing but Noodles, Greco, 131 Main, and Zoe’s Kitchen. A nearby neighborhood named Ballantyne has much to offer including a location named, Ballantyne’s Backyard. It is an old golf course converted into a community park. For our Hindu neighbors, the Hindu Center of Charlotte is a 30-minute drive away from this branch.  

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

Resources:

• South County Regional Library – 5801 Rea Rd, Charlotte, NC 28277 | 704-416-6600
• Trader Joe’s -- 6418 Rea Rd, Charlotte, NC 28277 | 704-543-5249
• The Arboretum -- 8008 Providence Rd, Charlotte, NC 28277
• Stonecrest -- 7900 Rea Rd, Charlotte, NC 28277
• Blakeney -- 9870 Rea Rd, Charlotte, NC 28277
• Malaya Kitchen -- 8200-400 Providence Rd, Charlotte, NC 28277 | 704-541-6668
• Greco -- 9820 Rea Rd Suite E, Charlotte, NC, 28277 | 704-542-7770
• Ballantyne’s Backyard -- 11611 N Community House Rd, Charlotte, NC 28277 | 704-248-2000
• Hindu Center of Charlotte -- 7400 City View Dr, Charlotte, NC 28212 | 704-607-8412

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This blog is written by Kristiana Belsito, a library assistant for Charlotte Mecklenburg Library.

If you thought we’d get emotional about your kind words about how much you love the Library, you were right. We can’t help it – you’re our people.

As we cling to our mission to improve lives and build a stronger community, we wholly commit ourselves to being the best Library we can be for everyone who enters our doors, visits us online, hangs out on our Mobile Library and more. Through our programs, partnerships, resources and services, we make connections and build relationships that sometimes last a lifetime.

February is Library Lover’s Month and we wanted to give you the floor - or a blog post - to gush or boast about what you love about the Library, friendships you've made, programs you'll always remember, your favorite librarian, and even the impact Charlotte Mecklenburg Library has made on your life. And we hope you know; the love is mutual.

Here’s what you had to share:

“Love the virtual rookie science programs at my library. Very engaging for me and my little ones!”

- Joan (North County)

“As a 5-and-a-half-year-old girl in blue overalls and blonde pigtails, I would pull my red wagon up to the Myers Park Library and fill my wagon with books that I loved to read. It was a passion that I would do every few days. Books took me to far away places, and taught me a love of animals and how to protect them. There was no better place to feel safe and secure. Because I loved reading, I became a reading teacher for many years. I am always with a book!

- Linda (Myers Park)



"When I was single, I used to rent movies, read real estate magazines and just hang out there reading different books of interest. As a student at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, I used the room provided to study and PC rooms to revise my resume. Now married with kids, I love the fact that you guys have bilingual reading events. For me, it's beneficial for my kids to be bilingual and it's good to start early."

- Christian (North County)

"I still remember when my dad took me to University City Regional Library for the first time and got my library card. The cube when you first walk in had me awestruck. Over the years, I moved and I always missed and longed for this library. Finally, I moved back and Covid hit, but this library helped me virtually connect with so many book clubs and now new friends!"

- Heather (University City)

"When my family and I moved to Charlotte in 2007, I had no idea the trips to SouthPark Library with my then, two-year-old, would provide the missing puzzle piece to determining what type of writer I would become. While I'd always loved to write, reading multiple picture books with my daughter created a new passion and desire to write one myself. Fast-forward 15 years. I have published one picture book, and have a chapter book series coming out fall 2022. Among a few other things, I owe my love for children's lit and ultimately my writing career, to those library treks with my toddler in tow. Some of my fondest memories for sure."

- Dorothy (SouthPark)

"We have the Library to thank for our love story. Meeting at a book club in fall 2017, it wasn't quite love at first sight, but many years wiser and book discussions later, we started dating in 2020. Nurtured by our book club leader, who encouraged our romance, we enjoy reading together, sharing recommendations, and discussing what we're reading. We're a nerdy match made in book club heaven."

- Sarah (Plaza Midwood)



"My mom took me to UC and ImaginOn for years, but I first started frequenting the UC library when I was pulled out of CMS and homeschooled in 2012-2013. I had been struggling a lot academically and emotionally, and felt very alone. The library was a place I knew I could always escape and do schoolwork, and get lost in books about airplanes, electronics, and Guinness World Records. Even now years later, I always feel comforted knowing the library is always there even when I feel lost."

- Ben (University City)

Paws to Read program:

"Hi Kristen, thank you so much, that was exceptional. I could hear Ruben’s owner interacting and laughing at the pictures and that means a lot to Ari. It’s such a positive experience to have these interactions. CMLibrary's OUTSTANDING librarians and staff have made our lives rich with positivity in this world tragedy. As a mom, having these lights shining in my daughters and my life makes my heart sing!"

- Ari & Lesle (Matthews