What does Landis Wade do?

Everything! And the Charlotte Mecklenburg Library is thrilled to be along for the ride! If you’re local to Charlotte, the name “Landis” might ring a bell. An avid outdoorsman, public speaker, self-described "recovering  trial lawyer," award-winning author and host of the exciting Charlotte Readers Podcast, Landis is a native Charlottean (he graduated from Myers Park High School in 1975!) who’s making waves in the literary community. Even better? In spring 2019, the Library teamed up with him to host the Charlotte Readers Podcast!

Through the Charlotte Readers Podcast, Landis provides a platform where Charlotte-area authors, and those visiting the city, can “give voice to their written words” by reading or discussing their noteworthy works – published or emerging. Landis encourages guests to share stories and poems that evoke the emotions, followed by the kind of questions and answers that provide in-depth insight to the readings.

Hosting Charlotte Readers Podcast is a natural fit for the Library, which is an essential connector of a thriving community of readers, leaders and learners. It’s an opportunity to introduce the community to a variety of authors and writers through a growing medium in a location they can access without a subscription or special app.

Are you a fan of Landis? When he's not spending time with his beautiful wife, Janet, their two children, Jordan and Hamilin, or spending time at his cabin in the North Carolina mountains (where he likes to  read, write, hike, bike, golf and fly-fish), you can keep up with him and the latest episodes of theCharlotte Readers Podcast.

The seventh season of the Charlotte Readers Podcast begins in September 1, 2020. CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO THE CURRENT SEASON AND ALL AVAILABLE EPISODES.

Also, be sure to follow the Charlotte Readers Podcast on social media:

Twitter: @charlottereader

Facebook: @charlottereaderspodcast

It’s week four of Summer Break! Hopefully you’ve been logging your reading time and activities, but if you haven’t, it’s not too late to enroll in the program and join in on the fun. You can even backdate your reading time to the start of the program, June 1. Keep reading, learning and exploring through the end of the program, August 10, 2019.

Making sure you get rewarded for a summer well spent

Library staff have been working hard preparing for Summer Break since September 2018 – developing recommended reading lists, engaging programs and fun incentives.

One of the biggest tasks for the team that manages the Summer Break program is choosing, ordering and sorting all the cool incentives you receive upon completion of the program. This year:

• babies and children earn a new, popular book;
• teens earn either a new, popular book OR a drawstring library tote;
• and adults earn either a car magnet OR notebook.

Once incentives are chosen, the team works with the Marketing and Communications Department to create and order lots of flyers, posters and other print materials to help us tell you all about the program. Printed pieces are sorted and distributed to all 20 library locations.

Staff then order what feels like an ocean of books for babies, children and teens. Each box must be opened, organized and sorted so that every library location has just the right selection of books for participants to choose from when they complete Summer Break.

Staff also sort drawstring book totes, notebooks and car magnets so that teen and adult completers have a variety of colors to choose from at their library location. Check out the beautiful bright yellow!

Once boxes are sorted and labeled, they are taken to the dock to be delivered to library locations.

A lot of hard work is put into Summer Break with the goal of participants enjoying the program and having fun reading and learning all summer long.

To learn more about how the Summer Break program works, and how you can sign up to participate, visit summerbreak.cmlibrary.org.

REMINDER: all library locations are closed for July 4.

Comments? Questions?

Are you having problems with the Summer Break website or your account? Do you have questions about the program? Feel free to stop by your local library for assistance, call 704-416-0101 or email [email protected].

We’re excited to inform you Scaleybark Library will soon move to a new, larger home! This fall, we expect to move into our new location at 4429 South Boulevard, approximately 0.4 miles south of our current location. The new location is currently under construction, and as we near completion, we’ll have more information to share with you about Library services and about a Grand Opening date to celebrate.  

Why is the Scaleybark Library moving? The new location is nearly three times the size of the current branch. This larger footprint will offer more room for programs, services, community and meeting rooms, and resources. We’re bringing you these changes based on your feedback, and with funding from Mecklenburg County. 

As construction proceeds, we'll provide more information so customers can understand service options during the move to the new location and keep you engaged with the library. Your patronage is vitally important to us, so please stay tuned for more information. You can find updates on all Library building projects at www.cmlibrary.org/building-projects.  

In the meantime, Scaleybark Library is still open and operating as usual at 101 Scaleybark, Charlotte 28209. This is the perfect time to stop in, sign up for Summer Break, attend a program, or check out materials. We value you as a customer and look forward to sharing the exciting changes to our relocated library with you when we re-open! 

June is Great Outdoors Month!

Whether you’re biking or beachcombing, the Library has everything you need to prepare for your summer outside!

Great Outdoors Month began as a weeklong celebration in 1998 and grew into a monthlong celebration to highlight outdoor recreation benefits.  According to a recent study, spending two hours a week in nature really is good for your health.  It’s also free!  We’re sharing our favorite ways to explore the outdoors this summer:

• Johnny Molloy’s The Best in Tent Camping guide will help you find the perfect campsite.  Download the book before you go for detailed maps and ratings. 
• Do you love the sound of nature but not the bugs or harsh elements?  Stream or download your favorite sounds, like a peaceful mountain stream or the ocean with Freegal, a music service free with your library card.
• Prepare for any outdoor adventures by with the latest digital issues of Backpacker magazine.  Other nature magazines available on your mobile device or computer include Mother Earth News and Field and Stream. 
• Take a hike—literally—with recommendations from Backpacker Hidden Gems or North Carolina hiking guides in our catalog, also available to download.
• Bring your school-aged children to a Parks and Rec program this summer at many of our locations (registration required).   We’ve partnered with them to bring a little outside indoors with turtles, insects, and wildlife programs. 
• If you’re tired of roasting the same old s’mores, try something different around your campfire with recipes from The Campout Cookbook.
• Summer is a terrific time to plant beans, tomatoes, and Brussels sprouts; get tips for your garden from North Carolina Extension Gardener Handbook. 
• Pack a healthy snack for your next hike or bike trip with an energy bar recipe from Power Hungry. 
• Are you curious about whitewater rafting or mountain biking, but don't know where to begin?  Joe Miller’s  Adventure Carolinas is full of advice for adventure activity beginners.
• Create an environmentally friendly and sustainable home with Building a Sustainable Home.
• Dust off your bicycle and find new paths in Road Biking North Carolina. If your tires are flat, choose from our collection of bicycle repair manuals.
• Teach children the skills you learned from Boy Scouts with The Young Adventurer's Guide to (almost) Everything.
• Read Camp, a collection of camping and living outdoors stories, around a campfire in your backyard.
• Take a copy of Fishing Essentials for Dummies with you and rent a fishing pole from Mecklenburg County. 
• Let the forest heal you!  Learn about Shinrin-yoku, the Japanese practice of healing forest bathing, with these books.

Don’t forget to log your outside fun as part of your Summer Break activities.  The entire family can explore or play outside today with these suggested activities as we celebrate the Great Outdoors all summer long!

For many Americans, July 4 is synonymous with Independence Day. However, in one North Carolina county, Independence Day comes early, on May 20 to be exact.

Beginning in 1825, the residents of Mecklenburg County celebrated the writing and signing of the Mecklenburg Declaration which supposedly took place on May 20, 1775, a full year before the more famous Declaration of Independence. Over the next century, May 20 was the time when residents set off countless fireworks, dined at celebratory dinners at churches, civic organizations and fraternities, held picnics, conducted parades as well as patriotic pageants and hosted dignitaries, including four United States Presidents.

By the time July 4 came around, there was very little enthusiasm to organize and prepare for another massive celebration. Except for the occasional private affairs and individual public drunkenness, most Charlotteans celebrated the day either quietly in their homes or traveled to nearby towns where the activities were in great abundance. This continued for almost 125 years.

During World War II, local officials began to encourage citizens to organize events to celebrate the fourth of July. In 1949, under the leadership of the local chapter of Disabled American Veterans, Charlotte held its first American Independence Day parade. 5,000 people filled the street to watch the Plato Price High School Marching Band and cheered when they played “Stars and Stripes Forever.” Also, in attendance were members of the 504^th Airborne, veterans from the Spanish American War, members of a local cavalry club to honor World War I Veterans, and several trained goats. Twelve planes from the Air National Guard flew high over the city in special formation. Former WWI nurse and “DAV Sweetheart, Minnie Gwaltney was also honored for her continued care of veterans. Thus, began a new tradition in Charlotte.

For more information about Mecklenburg Independence Day celebrations, see: https://www.cmstory.org/exhibits/mecklenburg-declaration-independence/mecklenburg-declaration-independence

Picture of July  parade from the July 5, 1950 Charlotte Observer.

Yes, you read that right!  

The legal separation of the Thirteen Colonies from Great Britain in 1776 actually occurred on July 2, when the Second Continental Congress voted to approve a resolution of independence proposed by Richard Henry Lee of Virginia. Lee made three main points, to include a declaration of independence, a call to form foreign alliances and a “plan for confederation”: 

Lee’s Resolution, June 7, 1776 (National Archives and Records Administration: 301685 )

After approving Lee’s Resolution, Congress turned its attention to The Committee of Five’s drafted statement of independence. The Committee met and wrote what became the Declaration of Independence between June 11-28. Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Roger Sherman, Robert Livingston, and Benjamin Franklin all served on the Committee, with Thomas Jefferson leading as the principle author.  On July 2 the document was approved, and by July 4, 1776 Congress agreed on the final wording, thus leading to the official adoption of the Declaration of Independence. 

The Committee of Five (National Archives and Records Administration: 532924 )

So, should we celebrate July 2 as our actual day of independence? It seems that John Adams thought so. He wrote to his wife Abigail: 

“The second day of July 1776 will be the most memorable epoch in the history of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival. It ought to be commemorated as the day of deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations, from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward forever more.” 

Portrait of John Adams (National Archives and Records Administration: 50780435)

Adams's prediction of how Americans would celebrate this occasion was accurate, despite being off by two days. From the outset, Americans celebrated independence on July 4, the date shown on the much-publicized Declaration of Independence, rather than on July 2, the date the resolution of independence was approved in a closed session of Congress.  

The signers of the Declaration of Independence were not all present on July 4, 1776, although Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, and Benjamin Franklin did write that they signed it the same day the document was approved and adopted. Other members of Congress, led by John Hancock, the President of the Congress, signed the Declaration nearly a month later on August 2. 

The King of England viewed the members of the Second Continental Congress as traitors, rebelling against the crown. None of the signers were sentenced to death in response to their rebellious actions, but most were punished indirectly through the burning of their homes, imprisonment, or physical harm. 

Oddly, both John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, the only signers of the Declaration of Independence later to serve as Presidents of the United States, died on the same day: July 4, 1826, which was the 50th anniversary of the Declaration. 

  ----

Sources:  

Massachusetts Historical Society. Letter from John Adams to Abigail Adams, 3 July 1776. Accessed July 2019. https://www.masshist.org/digitaladams/archive/popup?id=L17760703jasecond&page=L17760703jasecond_2   

National Archives and Records Administration. Declaration of Independence. Docs Teach. Accessed July 2019. https://www.docsteach.org/documents/document/the-declaration-of-independence 

National Archives and Records Administration. Lee’s Resolution. Docs Teach. Accessed July 2019. https://www.docsteach.org/documents/document/lee-resolution-independence  

Loft Leaders Academy is a new teen program offering at Charlotte Mecklenburg Library. Currently the program is based at ImaginOn and serves teens in grades 7-12. Loft Leaders Academy incorporates each of the Library’s programming priority areas (Learning, Literacy, Creativity, Community, and Leadership & Life Skills). This program was designed to equip teens in grades 7-12 with leadership and interpersonal skills to be successful in life, work, college, relationships, and beyond. 

Loft Leaders Academy began in the Fall of 2022 when new staff member, Breeana White saw a need for increased resume-building opportunities for local teens. She sought to discover new ways to use library resources to help teens build social capital through service-based, community-conscious youth leadership development.

The Loft Leaders Academy application opens to a new cohort twice a year in the fall (September) and spring (February). Each accepted Loft Leader will be required to commit to attending and participating in all aspects of the Academy. There are only 10 open slots per cohort.  This program, like all library programs, are free and only requires a commitment of time.

Mission

To equip teens with leadership and interpersonal skills to be successful in life, work, college, relationships, and beyond. 

Vision

To create spaces of learning and opportunity to foster potential in young leaders and make an impact in our community through service-based leadership. 

Statement of Purpose

The Loft Leaders Academy exists to bridge opportunity gaps and increase social capital in urban youth through educational workshops, mentorship, and service-learning.

Program Breakdown

Phase 1 (4 months) – interview process, program kickoff, and monthly educational workshops on the foundations of leadership

• Each applicant is invited to interview. During the interview process, applicants are given an interview tips sheet with interview questions to study. This experience is intended to give participants a feel for what they should expect during a job interview.
• The program is kicked off with an orientation night. All family members are invited, Leaders and parents get to meet each other, and any questions participants have are answered.
• Most workshops materials come from the Powerful Youth leadership curriculum. 

Phase 2 (4 months) - Leadership in Action: monthly meet ups to plan cohort service project, loft mentorship program, Leadership Gala

• Cohort Service Project: The final group activity of the Loft Leaders Academy is the planning and execution of a cohort service project. During Phase 2, Loft Leaders will perform a community needs assessment and learn how to plan a service project. Loft Leaders will use skills learned in Phase 1 and a SMART goals model to assess resources, identify a need, and plan how to effectively meet that need. 
• Loft Mentorship Program: This is a separate, partner program to the Loft Leaders Academy. The mentorship program meets once a month and connects teens with a group of background checked mentors in various career fields. 
• Leadership Gala: Participants are celebrated, and their achievements are recognized in a gala that takes place at the end of Phase 2. The Gala will feature community leader guest speakers. The Gala will also be an opportunity to reflect on each participant's progression towards their individual leadership goals. The Gala is a formal event intended to introduce participants to the experience of participating in a classy event and to set the standard for the excellence we know they can achieve.

Flight Fund

Because of the Flight Fund, our pilot cohort, Cohort 1, was able to utilize a budget to help plan and organize their service project. The teens had never worked with a budget before and were able to get some first-time experience pricing out supplies. Cohort 1 decided to partner with Roof Above to deliver sandwiches to our neighbors experiencing houselessness. Flight Fund money was also used for Cohort 1’s Leadership Gala. Catering was provided to serve our Leaders, their families, and our community leader guests.

Cohort 3

Applications for Cohort 3 of Loft Leaders Academy opens on June 5 and closes on August 22 at 5pm. See more here: https://cmlibrary.bibliocommons.com/events/645fd8cc0e0afc41007421d8

Extension Programs

Inclusive Leadership Workshop Series

• 8-week series, 2x year
• Adapted Loft Leaders Academy workshops geared towards teens with autism with a focus on executive functioning skills.

Summer Open Workshops

• Professional development summer zoom programs, open to all
  • Resume Building
  • Computer Troubleshooting
  • Financial Literacy
  • Career Exploration: Physical Therapy
  • Grassroots Community Organizing

Outreach Programming

• 1x workshops upon request

Testimonials

“I am thrilled and relieved to meet other parents & have my son make new friends.”

-Inclusive Workshops Parent

“This program has been a great confidence builder for my daughter. She always looks forward to going to leadership class with Ms. White”

-Cohort 2 Parent

“This class was outstanding. It pushed my son to thinking about situations that he might come across in the future.”

-Inclusive Workshops Parent

[Loft Leaders Academy] has provided a safe space for him to look forward to coming to for friendship, mentoring, and love.’"

-Cohort 1 Parent

“Loft leaders showed me how I could lead my group into action and how to plan everything out it was an amazing feeling to also have my new friends/teammates work with me on this project where we all take turns of being leader I would like to thank loft leaders very much for this experience.”

-Cohort 1 Loft Leader

“I had some concerns starting the program. Would my child be able to work with their peers? Would their learning disability allow them to achieve the leadership goals of the group? Can my child really become a leader? The answer is YES to all these concerns and I am so very proud of them. Thank you making these opportunities available. Thank you for supporting the self esteem of kids with disabilities. Thank you for teaching them the value of helping the community and being a part of the solution. Thank you for being you! Without the library and it's fantastic programs that only happen because of the fantastic librarians, our lives would not be so enriched in learning, growing and love!”

-Cohort 1 Parent