North Carolina's Public Libraries

As a former employee of the Public Library of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County, I was delighted when Amy Rudersdorf, director of the Digital Information Management Program at the State Library of North Carolina, informed me of their digital collection on North Carolina's public libraries. The collection is entitled "Transforming the Tar Heel State: The Legacy of Public Libraries in North Carolina" and it is located here. The collection consists of scans of the State Library of North Carolina's Public Library History Files and images contributed by cooperating public libraries around the state. It also contains histories of many of the libraries. With hundreds of digital projects being conducted by libraries throughout the nation, it is unfortunate that there are not more projects that focus on the history of libraries. The State Library of North Carolina is to be commended for its contribution to the appreciation and preservation of our nation's library heritage.The postcard above shows the Carnegie library building in Charlotte which has been razed.