Youth Services

Programs & Contact Information

ImaginOn

The Youth Services Department of the Public Library exists to provide the highest quality programs and services to Mecklenburg County youth ages 0-17, their parents, teachers and other adults that care for and support them. Specifically we believe that it is our responsibility to:

• Help young children develop the skills necessary to become readers
• Encourage youth to remain readers
• Empower youth to be independent doers and thinkers
• Impact family reading habits
• Promote the appreciation of quality literature
• Encourage youth to use the library as support for life-long learning

Programs & Contact Information

Youth Outreach Coordinators
Location: Main Library
Staff Members: Connie Ellington, Yvonne Thomas
Phone number: (704) 416-0553 for Connie, (704) 416-0554 for Yvonne
Description of program:
The Youth Outreach Coordinators offer early intervention pre-literacy training to adults in childcare facilities, home care providers, CMS four year-old preschool programs, parenting programs and other community based agencies.

The Youth Outreach Coordinators focus on offering customized workshops in childcare facilities, linking library resources to curriculum, providing book deposit collections, and offering Parent-Teacher resources, in addition to modeling storytelling skills. They model and encourage reading aloud and support school readiness activities in an effort to create life long learners.

The Youth Outreach Coordinators empower childcare providers, teacher, parents and staff in community agencies by offering access to high quality books and materials and helping them build the confidence to use them effectively.

Latino Outreach Services
Location: Main Library
Staff Members: Conchy Farrell 
Phone: (704) 416-0555
Description of program:
Programs for Adults in Spanish
PLCMC offers specialized programs for Spanish speaking adults. Among these programs are:monthly Spanish language films and discussions in collaboration with the Latin American Coalition; book club meetings at a local jail; bi-weekly activities at the Shamrock International Senior Center; Spanish Language classes; ESL; the annual celebration of "Con A de Arte", and poetry contests.

Programa para los adultos en español
PLCMC ofrece programas especializados para adultos en español. Estos programs incluyen; peliculas y discusiones en español en colaborción con la coalición Latinoamercian; club de lectores en la cárcel local; actividades con los señores de la tecera edad en el Shamrock International senior Center; clases de espanol; ESL, la celbracion anual del festival "Con A de Arte" y concursos de poesia.

Connections that Count / Conexiones que Cuentan
Location: Scaleybark, Plaza Midwood, West Boulevard, Independence Regional and North County Regional,Sugar Creek,Steele Creek,University City Regional,Independence Regional, apartment complexes, churches, home daycares
Staff Members: Veronica Corral
Phone: (704) 416-0556
Description of program:
To address school readiness of Hispanic children, the Public Library of Charlotte & Mecklenburg County has implemented Connections that Count. Our mission is to prepare children ages birth to 5 for school. We provide literacy training for families, encouraging the formation “neighborhood teachers” for the children of their communities. The programs are conducted in Spanish, but all are welcome to attend. Connections that Count is free of charge. There is no prior registration required for participation. For more information, email Veronica Corral or call (704) 416-0556.

Conexiones que Cuentan/Connections that Count
Si usted tiene niños menores de 5 años, no puede perderse un programa gratuito de cuentos para niños y pláticas en el área de paternidad. Entrenamos a los padres a que se conviertan en los mejores maestros de sus niños y ayudamos a sus hijos a que desarrollen el amor por la lectura desde temprana edad. Desarrollamos habilidades de aprendizaje y habilidades artísticas en los niños a través de la narración de cuentos, drama, juegos, literatura y música infantil. Para mayor información, llamar a Veronica Corral al (704 336-6234. También puede mandar un e-mail a Veronica Corral

Storytimes To Go!
Location: ImaginOn
Staff Members: Angela Craig, Jason Hyatt, Varanrat Tarok
Phone: (704) 973-2715
Email Us
Description of program:
Storytimes To Go! provides themed pre-literacy storytime kits and conducts skills workshops for teachers and childcare providers. Any teacher or childcare provider that works with children from birth to age five in Mecklenburg County is eligible to participate. All residents with a library card are eligible to borrow kits and participate in the workshops.

Storytimes To Go! kits are designed to encourage pre-literacy development and include eight to twelve picture books, a booklet of activities, flannelboard activities, a puppet or educational toy, music recordings, and family activity sheets. This includes musical instruments, educational toys, manipulatives, over 200 different puppets, and 1500 resource books. Participants may have the kits sent to the library location of their choice.

Skills workshops are hands-on training sessions for teachers that focus on ways to enhance and expand pre-literacy skills for classroom use. Workshop themes include Making Music, Using Puppets, Ideas from the Internet, and many more. Workshops are free and open to anyone.

Senior Outreach Services
Location: Main Library
Staff members: Joyce Edwards  Phone: (704) 416-0559
Description of program:
Senior Outreach Services visits nursing homes, adult daycare centers, jails, retirement apartments and senior nutritional sites on a monthly basis to deliver books, magazines, movies. Offerings include kits that encourage storytelling and rememberance that are loaned out to the activity directors in the centers.

Read To Me, Charlotte!
Location: Main Library
Staff members: Amy Kukla   Phone:(704) 416-0561
Description of program:
Read to Me Charlotte! is a community - wide initiative coordinated by PLCMC to encourage families with children aged 0 - 5 to read together. This initiative includes community awareness, book distribution and opportunitites for families to strengthen their literacy skills together.