How the Charlotte Mecklenburg Library realigned its priorities and restored $2 million in funding with help from its friends, neighbors and funders

By Jennifer Pearson

For the Charlotte Mecklenburg Library (CML), like so many libraries, the past two years have not been easy. This award-winning library saw its budget shrink 39 percent, from $34.6 to $21.7 million from fiscal 2009 to 2011, a devastating blow that required closing four libraries, reducing library hours by 50 percent and shedding about a third of the library workforce.

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Wednesday, June 27, 2012

By: Elizabeth Dias

Across from the United States Supreme Court, two hundred people gathered at the Library of Congress to celebrate Monday — and not because of the court’s immigration decision. From suited university presidents to red-shirted Boy Scouts from Cincinnati, these partiers gathered at a symposium to commemorate a troika of American institutions: the land-grant university, the National Academy of Sciences and the Carnegie libraries.

Read more: http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,2118141,00.html#ixzz1zmJh4BRS

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In Arden McLaughlin’s Need to Read segment June 5, 2012 talked about a friend’s dad, a favorite Christian chick lit author, and a book that touched her years ago;  Make It Count: The Life & Times of Basketball Great JoJo White by Mark C. Bodanza, Back to Life by Kristin Billerbeck and A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest J. Gaines.

Check out the link here.

Arden McLaughlin hosts a short spot on WBTV called The Need to Read. Check out the books she recommended May 21…

I’m so excited for summer! In my Need to Read segment on WBTV May 21, 2012, I talked about several books that will be of interest to all ages to read during these warm months. I hope you’ll check these out at your local library or purchase for your personal collection. You’ll love them!

To see the clip please click here.

So what are you reading now?

Charlotte, NC – June 6, 2012 – Yesterday, the Mecklenburg Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) approved the final FY2013 budget for Mecklenburg County, including $811,000 in additional funding that will allow the Library to open the six regional libraries on Sundays during the school year, consistent with the recommendations of the Future of the Library Task Force (www.charmeck.org/libraryfuture).

The Library is now making plans to expand hours during the school year from 54 to 58 per week at the larger regional locations: Beatties Ford Road, Independence, Morrison, North County, South County and University City. Hours at Main, ImaginOn, and the smaller community locations will remain at their current levels.

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Growing up in 1950s Lexington, N.C., I watched my girlfriends drooling over dolls and mudpies, playing mama and homemaker, and I thought, “Yuck.”

Me, I yearned for paper and books. When I discovered the Davidson County Public Library at age 6, it was heaven.

I hung out there every day after school. The world was sitting in musty, bound volumes on those shelves! The gray-bunned librarians maintained a tight ship; you could hear a pin drop in there. It was a welcome bonus that this wonder-filled place would let me borrow as many as I wanted. If I had been a bee, those books were my nectar.

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After budget cuts resulting in fewer books and materials, our libraries need more help than ever. Friends of the Library are hosting the Annual Spring Book Sale to benefit the Charlotte Mecklenburg Library. Look for lots of signage to lead you to us! We’ve got tons of fiction, nonfiction, children, and teen books. There’s also a wide variety of music and movies in all forms (yes, we’ve even got vinyl!).

SouthPark Towers: 6100 Fairview Road (corner of Fairview & Barclay Downs)

Prices: Approximately $4 and less.

Saturday, May 5 is Bag Day! $5 per bag of books.

May 1-4 open 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

May 5 open 9 a.m. to 12 noon.

Lee Keesler brings decades of experience in corporate and nonprofit sectors.