April 13, 2009 (Charlotte, N.C.) – Visitors to the Carmel branch of the Public Library of Charlotte & Mecklenburg County (PLCMC) have been seeing a new face recently. On April 6, Michelle Flowe began her new role as manager of this small, community library branch.

Flowe expresses her enthusiasm for her new role. “I love connecting with people and I look forward to working closely with local residents to ensure that we are meeting their needs and interests. I feel privileged for the opportunity to manage a library that is so highly valued by the community. My goal is to guarantee that Carmel Branch continues to provide customer-focused, quality services and collections, and to uphold the tradition of the library being a welcoming and inspiring environment for learning, community enrichment, and individual enlightenment.”

Flowe has 17 years of dedicated library experience, 13 of which have been with PLCMC. For the past three years Flowe has served as the manager of the Hickory Grove Branch Library on W.T. Harris Blvd. Prior to employment with PLCMC she worked in the Interactive Media Center at the State University of New York at Albany. Michelle holds an undergraduate degree in Psychology from the University of New York at Albany and received her graduate degree in Library and Information Studies from the University of North Carolina-Greensboro.

Peter Jareo, who has served as the manager of Hickory Grove library until recently, has accepted a new assignment as the manager of the Plaza Midwood branch library. The movements of Flowe and Jareo are part of an organizational restructuring effort at PLCMC called “Imagine 2010,” designed to realign the library with the needs of the community. The library has been working on this since 2006, but more recently, budget concerns and a hiring freeze have caused the library to look internally to fill roles created in the new structure.

David Singleton, PLCMC’s Director of Library Experiences, who provides overall management for the library’s 24 public service locations, adds, “We are working both to ensure exceptional service and allow employees the ability to continue exceptional leadership,” says Singleton. “These staff members are highly qualified individuals who have performed very well in their previous locations. They will bring their strengths and leadership abilities to new locations and have the opportunity to have significant impact working with a variety of staff and customers.”

Since its founding in 1903 as a Carnegie Free Library, PLCMC has provided community service and outreach to the citizens of the Charlotte area. One of the premier libraries in the country, PLCMC has been recognized as a “Five Star” library in a national index of public library service from Library Journal and was named winner of the 2006 National Award for Library Service. The library sponsors a variety of community-based programs, from computer and Internet workshops to the award-winning Novello Festival of Reading, a celebration of the joys of reading and learning. With 24 locations, 1.4 million volumes, 79,000 DVDs, CDs and audiobooks, and a vast selection of titles available to download from the library’s web site, PLCMC is dedicated to its mission of expanding minds, empowering individuals and enriching the community.