[ Itinerary ]
[ Tour Guide ]
[ Related Sites ]
[ Discovery Place ]
[ ]
[ Education Tour ]
[ Directions ]
[ ]
[ Itinerary ]
[ Tour Guide ]
[ Related Sites ]
[ Discovery Place ]
[ Education Tour ]
[ Directions ]
[ ]
The Public Library of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County was established in 1903. It consists of a Main Library and twenty-two branch libraries and serves a population of 570,000 residents and 3,000 non-residents.
The Library's collections consist of 1.3 million volumes, 20,000 films, 8,000 compact discs, and over 7,000 maps.
PLCMC is governed by a seven member Board of Library Trustees, six of whom are appointed by the Mecklenburg Board of County Commissioners and one by the Board of Education.
The Library's operations budget is $15 million, of which $12 million is appropriated by the Mecklenburg Board of County Commissioners. Other revenue sources include State and federal funds, library generated revenues and gifts and grants.
PLCMC is the largest public library system in the two Carolinas. It sponsors the annual NOVELLO Festival of Reading and seeks to be the most advanced and innovative public library in the nation.
In May of 1995 our library was named Library of the Year. The value of distinction as national Library of the Year goes beyond the $10,000 award however as library systems from across the country have been calling the Queen City to see firsthand why the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Public Library is tops in the country.
To earn the top honor, the public library bested more than 40 other nominees from the 9,000 public library systems nationwide. The annual contest is sponsored by Gale Research of Detroit and Library Journal magazine of New York.
The library's special features include the Virtual Library, a computer room that offers free word processing and CD-ROM capability, Charlotte's Web, a gateway to library catalogs and parts of the Internet, the International Business Library and other services and programs.
The system is available in all 22 public library branches, in 11 recreation centers, as well as in neighborhood centers, boys and girls clubs, the Charlotte Chamber and homeless shelters. Eventually it will be in 74 publicly available access sites. Schools are linking to the system as fast as possible.
Its purpose is to open on-ramps to the information highway across Mecklenburg County and, as soon as feasible, to all counties of the Charlotte area.
First, it aims at an immensely broad spectrum of information and services. Examples range from information on where construction will snarl traffic to listing new city and county government jobs. E-mail and Internet access will be offered.
Second, serving the entire region - businesses, nonprofits, schools, even homeless shelters - is a top priority. The web's computer whizzes have focused on driving down connection costs for those who can't afford state-of-the-art computers, modems and dedicated telephone lines. At a homeless shelter for families, the web crew resurrected yesteryear's hardware - ``286'' model PCs - for a similar multimachine, single-line, text-only system. Businesses are giving old 286s away. Hundreds of similar set-ups are possible.
Third, Charlotte's Web is training an expanding team of coaches, who can explain to others how to use the system.
Next let's head over to our science museumDiscovery Place.
Directions
310 North Tryon Street
Charlotte, NC
28202-2176
Phone (704) 336-2725
FAX (704) 336-2677
[ Top of Page ]
[ Itinerary ]
[ Tour Guide ]
[ Related Sites ]
[ Discovery Place ]
[ Education Tour ]
[ Directions ]
[ ]