It turns out, that recording, editing, and posting videos while on the road is a lot more intense then we originally thought. The first library we visited was the most difficult because we were just starting to learn about the technology that we were using and the most efficient ways to use it. Because of this, we found that we were uploading videos of Charlotte Mechlenbug out of order and whenever we got the opportunity instead of creating a more coherent timeline. We’ve figured it out since then, but we also felt that we needed to present the ImaginOn and Charlotte libraries with the kind order they deserve. So, here are all of our videos about those amazing libraries, in order.
It just so happens that my new Deputy Director is from the Charlotte Mecklenburg library system. In order to prepare for the trip, I thought I would take a couple of minutes and interview him about what he thought was most important about those librares. (He also talks about the San Mateo County Library System).
After traveling overnight on airplanes, and a little while by car we finally arrived at our first stop. Before we arrived at the library, we stopped for lunch and had the opportunity to talk to a couple of people about the libraries.
Before we walked over to the ImaginOn Library, we were treated to some real life success stories of the patrons of the Library’s Job Center. All three of these stories are very touching examples of the ways in which libraries have a profound effect on their communities.
The Director of Charlotte Public Libraries is David Singleton and he was our tour guide for the day. In this first video tour of ImaginOn he gives us an intro to that Library and the Spangler Children’s Library within ImaginOn.
After the Spangler Library, we caught up with Michelle who manages the Teen Area of the library. She gave us a tour of some great teen spaces. They had a bunch of great ideas and thoughts on teen spaces, but my favorite part is at the end and the way that they display their magazines.
I do have to say that my absolute favorite space within the ImaginOn library is the space that they call Studio i. This is a teen space that allows them to create a lot of their own content with resources available at the library that they may not have access to at home. The teens are able to create their own videos on professional quality technology. Plus, its hard to argue when we got such great tour guides of the teen space.
Lastly, but definitely not least in our tour, we met with some more of David’s amazing staff to talk about outreach and the volunteer teams at the Charlotte Mecklenburg Libraries.
About Patrick "PC" Sweeney