The Public LibraryAre All Created Equal?

By Mary Susan Lucas and Shakira Weddington

Public LibrariesAccording to Richard Rubin public libraries are:

Supported by taxesGoverned by the boardOpen to allVoluntaryEstablished by state lawProvide services without charge to the user

Mission of PLCMCThe Public Library of Charlotte

Mecklenburg County:Expanding mindsEmpowering individualsEnriching our communityVision StatementAspiring to be America’s

best public library.Core ValuesService Excellence InnovationLifelong LearningFreedom to Know Integrity & TrustStaff Appreciation

Mission of GLRLThe Gaston-Lincoln Regional Library Education: To provide

opportunity, guidance , and stimulation for personal growth through self-directed learning efforts.

Information: to provide individuals with timely and accurate, up-to-date information.

Leisure: to improve the quality of life by providing materials and activities or the productive use of leisure time.

Culture: To serve as a meeting place for cultural activities, and to promote participation in, enjoyment of, and appreciation for the arts through library sponsored and co-sponsored programs

OrganizationPLCMC

The ultimate power behind PLCMC are the people of Mecklenburg County. Under the people are the Board of County Commissioners and the Board of Education. Then there are the Library Board of Trustees (11 positions), and the Director of Libraries. Then there are four other directors: Library Experiences, Organizational Resources, Community Engagement, and Research innovative and Strategy.

The Morrison Regional Library that I went to has a staff of 32 people. In charge is the branch manager Elly Tomlinson. Then there are 20 staff members in circulation, 6 in children's and 5 in reference.

Librarians

OrganizationGLRL

Who is the ultimate power behind GLRL? Like PLCMC, it begins and ends with the people of Gaston and Lincoln counties. GLRL is a regional library; therefore, there are Regional Trustees (6 positions), Gaston County Trustees (7 positions) and Lincoln County Trustees (6 positions). There is a Regional Director, as well as a Gaston County Director and a Lincoln County Director.

Public FundingFunding Amount per capita

PLCMC

GLRL05

10152025303540 PLCMC

$38.97GLRL $16.48

PLCMC spends over twice as much per person as GLRL!

PLCMC GLRL

Total Funding: $29,963,005 $4,270,138

Federal: $543,013 $0.00Local: $25,980,099 $3,754,995State: $536,392 $430,644Other: $2,903,501 $84,499

PLCMC Funding Sources

GLRL Funding Sources

FederalLocalStateOther

Public Internet Terminals

PLCM

CGLR

L0

100,000200,000300,000400,000500,000600,000700,000800,000 Legal Service Population

PLCMC: 768,789GLRL: 259,078

Public Internet Terminal: Population Ratio

PLCMC: 1:976 GLRL: 1:4112

At PLCMC, there is one public internet terminal for every 976 people.

At GLRL, there is one public internet terminal for every 4112 people.

Programs OfferedThe Morrison Regional Library offers three main programs for the public.Technology Programs which teaches people different

computer skills like how to use power point, or create web pages. It also helps people with financial matters and teaches people how to use Microsoft Publisher.

Adult and teen programs where different languages, knitting and gardening among other skills are learned. For teens, they have game days, where games on the Wii, XBOX, laptops or board games are available. They even host a teen writer’s night.

Book Programs offer book clubs where patrons discuss a variety of books. They discuss different forms of poetry and follow the works of Mark Twain. With Mark Twain they discuss the locations in which his books are held.

Mark Twain

Programs Offered

Story timeCommunity exhibits and

displays Summer Reading

ProgramsPerforming ArtistBook talksLecturesAuthor Visits

What Morrison is Proud of What the librarians at theMorrison Regional Library are most proud of are these programs. They believe that these programs not

only help people deal with the presenteconomic crisis, but also give them entertainment to relieve their

stress. They are also proud of their small business reference collection. They cherish this collection because most of their patrons are wealthy peoplewho own businesses. This is a big part of their library.

Morrison Regional Library

What GLRL is Proud of They are very proud of their

preschool gatherings and their book clubs for 1st-3rd grade and 4th-6th grade. The preschool gatherings regularly have attendance of 30-50 kids and parents.

Everyone that the authors spoke to emphasized how much they all enjoyed helping patrons every day. Each one said that patron interaction was the best part of his/her job. Uniformly, the staff relished the opportunity to provide friendly, helpful, and kind services to patrons. Many patrons are on a first-name basis with staff.

Gaston-Lincoln Regional Library

Issues with Some Public LibrariesMorrison Regional library

Their main concerns are that they don’t get a more variety of people to help because they are located in an upper class neighborhood. Unlike most libraries, they always have open terminals

that can be used, but not enough people in that area need them. They understand how hard it is for people in the economy and want to be able to reach out to more people who are less fortunate.

Other ProblemsConcerns among the staff

at GLRL included a much-neglected young adult section that has little hope for expansion or improvement at this time.

The children’s staff also expressed a desire for more educational DVDs and audio books for children instead of just entertainment materials.

Young AdultGaston-Lincoln Regional Morrison Regional

How We Worked Together

The End