The Charlotte Mecklenburg Library (previously the Public Library of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County) is the public

library A library is a collection of materials, books or media that are accessible for use and not just for display purposes. A library provides physical (hard copies) or digital access (soft copies) materials, and may be a physical location or a vir ...

system of the city of

Charlotte Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...

and Mecklenburg County in

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and ...

About

Charlotte Mecklenburg Library is one of America's many urban public libraries, serving a community of approximately one million citizens in the city of

and the towns of Matthews, Pineville, Mint Hill, Davidson, Cornelius and Huntersville – all located in

Mecklenburg County, North Carolina Mecklenburg County is a county located in the southwestern region of the state of North Carolina, in the United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,115,482, making it the second-most populous county in North Carolina (after Wa ...

Early history

Andrew Carnegie Andrew Carnegie (, ; November 25, 1835August 11, 1919) was a Scottish-American industrialist and philanthropist. Carnegie led the expansion of the American steel industry in the late 19th century and became one of the richest Americans i ...

donated $25,000 to establish a public library in Charlotte in 1901. In early 1904, the city aldermen bought a lot at the corner of Brevard and East 2nd streets for a separate library for African Americans, the first of its kind in North Carolina. Although only six blocks from the Carnegie Library, it was in the heart of the Brooklyn neighborhood, the black city within the city of Charlotte where many black churches and most black-owned businesses and professional offices were located. It operated independently at first and after 1929 as a branch of the public library system before closing in 1961.

Growth of the Library System

The library system and the region grew tremendously in this period. The new, architecturally modern Main Library expanded its services to include a Carolina Room for local history and genealogy. In 1956, the library stopped segregating its customers by race and opened its services to all on an equal basis. Under the leadership of, among others, Robert E. Cannon (1986-2003), the library added more branches, inaugurated a literary festival, remodeled the 1956 Main Library building, and brought its catalog online. It continued to grow into the 21st century, constructing the

ImaginOn ImaginOn: The Joe and Joan Martin Center is a collaborative venture of Charlotte Mecklenburg Library and the Children's Theater of Charlotte located in Charlotte, North Carolina. This landmark learning center opened on October 8, 2005. ImaginOn w ...

branch as a joint venture with the Children's Theatre of Charlotte.

The Modern Library

The economic recession of 2009-2011 brought significant budget reductions, resulting in employee layoffs, the closure of four library branches, reduced hours and services at all remaining locations, and the consolidation of several support functions with Mecklenburg County. But it was from this challenging time that the Library, County and community leaders found new ways to collaborate to meet the mutual goal of providing Mecklenburg County residents with the resources they needed to be successful. Today the Library's 20 locations include a Main Library, an innovative library for children and teens called ImaginOn, and a network of branch libraries throughout Mecklenburg County. Throughout the system, the Library provides free and open access to its physical and electronic collections and information, as well as to its services for people of all ages, from toddlers to teens to adults.

References

{{authority control Education in Charlotte, North Carolina Public libraries in North Carolina Carnegie libraries in North Carolina Charlotte metropolitan area Libraries in North Carolina Education in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina