December 31, 2008 (CHARLOTTE) – The Public Library of Charlotte & Mecklenburg County’s recent coverage in the Charlotte Observer about increased library usage is an example of a national trend. The American Library Association (ALA) stated today that media outlets across the country have been reporting about how people are using their libraries more than ever, taking advantage of free programs and services.

The Charlotte Observer story ran on Dec. 28: View Story. In addition, Director Charles Brown wrote an Observer editorial on Dec. 17 about how the library can help during the economic downturn: View Story.

ALA’s Public Information Office (PIO) started educating media about this upsurge in library visits last summer. Media —large and small— started to cover this developing story which has resulted in national media interest.

National stories include a Dec. 21 Parade Magazine article that featured an interview with ALA President Jim Rettig titled “Libraries Facing Closures and Cuts.”
Parade is distributed to nearly 330 newspapers world-wide and reaches over 32 million people each week.

According to the ALA’s 2008 State of America’s Libraries Report (www.ala.org/2008state), Americans visited their libraries nearly 1.3 billion times and checked out more than 2 billion items in the past year, an increase of more than 10 percent in both checked out items and library visits, compared to data from the last economic downturn in 2001.

Founded in 1903 as a Carnegie Free Library, PLCMC has become one of the premiere libraries in the country with 24 locations, 1.6 million volumes, and 28,000 videos, DVDs and CDs. The library sponsors a variety of community-based programs – from computer- and Internet-education workshops to the award-winning Novello Festival of Reading, a celebration that accentuates the fun of reading and learning. As a public library, we are dedicated to our mission of expanding minds, empowering individuals and enriching our community.