At a time when the Charlotte Mecklenburg Library is suffering from deep county-wide budget cuts, local booksellers are banding together to offer financial support this August.
Three libraries closed indefinitely June 19, and to keep the remaining libraries open, the book-buying budget was reduced by 58 percent since last fiscal year.
That means the average wait time for a new book is six months – sometimes longer.
“We were able to keep the libraries open with the deals made with the municipalities, city and county, but we still had to make cuts elsewhere,” said Angela Haigler, communications and marketing director for Charlotte Mecklenburg Library.
To help out, 18 bookstores in the greater Charlotte area have agreed to hold their own three-day book sales and give a portion of profits to the library’s book-buying fund.
“Customers will be asked if they’re interested in supporting local libraries, and if they’re interested, 10 percent of their purchases for that day will go to the libraries,” said Edward Lee, general manager of the Books-A-Million at Concord Mills Mall.
A listing of participating stores and additional information at the Charlotte Observer.
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