Welcome Back

DSC_0180, a photo by CMLibraryInAction on Flickr.

Welcome Back Faye! Faye Brown is back with her library and outreach friends...at least for a little while. Faye Brown retired from Charlotte Mecklenburg Library in March 2010 after many years of service. Faye is bringing her expertise and experience to our early literacy and adult programs while outreach staff members are on leave. Faye's efforts are appreciated and needed and we commend her for the fabulous intergenerational program she planned for Veteran's Day.

Amigos

IMG_2023, a photo by CMLibraryInAction on Flickr.

Charlotte Mecklenburg Library Amigo's programs offers free tutoring and homework help at four our our library locations. (Independence Regional, Mountain Island, South County Regional and University City Regional.) This program targets students who speak English as a second language. For more information on volunteering or participating in this program call 704.416.0557.

All in a Day's Work in Outreach



Celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month



Staff members in the outreach department have been beyond busy providing services to patrons in our community. In a nutshell, we are into our third phase of the the Jump Start reading program. We are excited to report that parents are understanding the importance of reading to their children at an early age and they are reading to their children at home. Library by Mail has 136 regular patrons and three community deposit collections. Six volunteers or "actioneers" as we affectionately call them, deliver books to partons home. Our Read to Me, Charlotte website is live with family literacy activities. Refugee families participate in pre-literacy programs and school age program that provide literacy skill to help students prepare and be successful in school. There are four Amigo's sites in our library locations offering free tutoring to students who speak English as a second language. We are also providing programs to adults in Spanish and English, which focus on literacy and job searching opportunities. These programs take place at senior nutrition sites, adult day cares and jails. Staff also work in the community to provide literacy programs to children with special needs. If you know a population that cannot take advantage of library services and resources, please contact Charlotte Mecklenburg Library's Outreach department at 704.416.0552.



Intergenerational Veteran's Day program



In Her Own Words



Intern Carmella Morrison working at the Job Help Center



Our summer outreach intern, Carmella Morrison, reflects on her first month working at the library.

While being in this internship, I have a wonderful opportunity to work with almost all the staff in the Outreach Department. I have also worked in the Job Help Center, and the Spangler Children’s Library in ImaginOn. With each experience, I learned a little something more about how the Outreach program helps the community by providing library resource outside of the Library.



Job Searching at the Job Help Center



One program I was fascinated with was one where the staff goes out to Spanish speaking families’ neighborhoods and tells them about the Library’s resources. They also provide children with early literacy skills. I had the opportunity to go to this program at the Latin American Coalition with staff member Veronica Corral. She had story time with the Spanish speaking families, and engaged their children in early literacy activities. Learning these skills will allow the children to be better prepared when they enter school. I was able to read a book to them as well.



I also love working in the Job Help Center. I help people with whatever question they may have about their resume, job application and job searching inquires.



I really do believe in this internship. My goal is to be involved in projects that support social capital and community building. I am going to enjoy reaching my goal and I am definitely going to have fun doing it. The staff members are really respectable and sweet people. I love what they are doing for the community.





Welcome Carmella Morrison

Carmella Morrison

The Outreach Department welcomes Carmella Morrison.  She is a student at UNC Charlotte. Carmella Morrison is a summer intern who comes to us through Crossroads Charlotte. She will be working on community building and social capital projects. Miss Morrison has been working in the department for two weeks and she has already assisted in our Job Help Center, which is our Crossroads project and  the Career Cruiser; the Library's Crossroads initiative. Carmella has also worked in other community building projects such as the Reid Park summer reading initiatives and she participated in early literacy programs at the Bilingual Preschool. On Thursday, June 30, Carmella had the opportunity to meet a delegation of Russian Librarians. She heard how library services are offered in a different countries and how they serve their patrons and volunteers.

We hope that Carmella has a wonderful experience that will assist her with her education and career. We also want to give Carmella an opportunity to make a positive difference in the community. To learn more about Crossroads Charlotte go to http://crossroadscharlotte.com/.