Charlotte Mecklenburg Library Foundation

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The Charlotte Mecklenburg Library Foundation helps the Charlotte Mecklenburg Library improve lives an

The Foundation helps the Charlotte Mecklenburg Library improve lives and build a stronger community.

10/26/2026

Signed copies of professor Melissa Murray’s book, The U.S. Constitution: A Comprehensive and Annotated Guide for the Modern Reader, will be on sale at our inaugural Public Square event on Thursday, October 29. Her book is one of the many selections in the Public Square suggested reading list compiled by CML staff:
https://cmlibrary.bibliocommons.com/v2/list/display/546913757/3115531197

She will be joined in conversation by John Hood of the John William Pope Foundation, with former Davidson College president Carol Quillen moderating.

Tickets are available online:
https://www.ticketmaster.com/event/2D006512C009D8B6

10/24/2026

Public Square aims to provide a platform for meaningful dialogue. CML librarians have gathered titles on civility and respect.

Check out...
"The Soul of Civility: Timeless Principles to Heal Society and Ourselves" by Alexandra Hudson
"Radical Respect: How to Work Together Better" by Kim Scott

For these and other recommended books, see our Public Square Reading Guide: https://cmlibrary.bibliocommons.com/v2/list/display/546913757/3115531197

Tickets are still available for our October 29 event at Carolina Theatre at Belk Place -- check out our website or Ticketmaster.

10/23/2026

Public Square recognizes the importance and depth of the conversations we need to have with each other. CML librarians have gathered titles for high-stakes conversations.

Check out...
"Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking When Stakes Are High" by Joseph Grenny
"Difficult Conversations: How to Discuss What Matters Most" by Douglas Stone
"Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving in" by Roger Fisher
"Possible: How We Survive (and Thrive) in An Age of Conflict" by William Ury

For these and other recommended books, see our Public Square Reading Guide: https://cmlibrary.bibliocommons.com/v2/list/display/546913757/3115531197

Tickets are still available for our October 29 event at Carolina Theatre at Belk Place -- check out our website or Ticketmaster.

10/22/2026

Public Square encourages us to have difficult conversations. CML librarians have gathered titles on how we can talk across our differences.

Check out...
"I Never Thought of It That Way" by Monica Guzman
"How to Have Impossible Conversations: A Very Practical Guide" by Peter Boghossian and James Lindsay
"I Love You, but I Hate Your Politics: How to Protect Your Intimate Relationships in a Poisonous Partisan World" by Jeanne Safer Ph.D.
"Say the Right Thing: How to Talk About Identity, Diversity, and Justice" by Kenji Yoshino

For these and other recommended books, see our Public Square Reading Guide: https://cmlibrary.bibliocommons.com/v2/list/display/546913757/3115531197

Tickets are still available for our October 29 event at Carolina Theatre at Belk Place -- check out our website or Ticketmaster.

10/21/2026

Public Square asks how we balance individual liberty with our obligations to one another. CML librarians have gathered titles on why Americans disagree and how to judge what we read.

Check out...
"Why We're Polarized" by Ezra Klein
"Foolproof" by Sander van der Linden
"The Constitution of Knowledge" by Jonathan Rauch

For these and other recommended books, see our Public Square Reading Guide here:
https://cmlibrary.bibliocommons.com/v2/list/display/546913757/3115531197

Tickets on sale for our October 29 event at Carolina Theatre at Belk Place: https://www.ticketmaster.com/event/2D006512C009D8B6

10/14/2026

Help us welcome to the stage — John Hood and Melissa Murray.

For their complete bios and more information about our civic conversation series Public Square, visit our website at https://foundation.cmlibrary.org/events-and-programs/public-square/

Tickets are on sale now — October 29 at Carolina Theatre at Belk Place

10/12/2026

Respectful debate and disagreeing with someone without despising them can feel like a lost art these days. The last decade in American politics has been, well, anything but civil. That’s why WFAE and the Charlotte Mecklenburg Library Foundation are teaming up for Public Square: Charlotte’s Conversation Series, which starts this month. Former Davidson College President Carol Quillen will moderate the first conversation in the series Oct. 29 at the Carolina Theatre. She joined WFAE’s Marshall Terry.

Respectful debate and disagreeing with someone without despising them can feel like a lost art these days. That’s why WFAE and the Charlotte Mecklenburg Library Foundation are teaming up for Public Square: Charlotte’s Conversation Series. Former Davidson College President Carol Quillen will mode...

10/12/2026

Introducing our moderator for Public Square — Carol Quillen. Historian, former president of Davidson College, and former CEO of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

Carol will ensures each panelist is given due time to represent their position. Our Public Square moderator meets with the speakers individually before the event to get a feel for their points of view. Questions are developed that are rigorous but fair and allow for the free flow of conversation.

Tickets on sale at https://www.ticketmaster.com/event/2D006512C009D8B6

10/12/2026

10/08/2026

Americans have always argued. Hamilton and Jefferson disagreed on quite a bit: from the role of the federal government to the U.S. Constitution, from the economy to foreign policy. Sound familiar? It should! We as Americans continue to have these conversations 250 years later.

Join us on October 29 for Public Square, a new civic conversation series brought to you through the philanthropic partnership of the Durham and Morton families as well as Elon University School of Law, Foundation for the Carolinas, Knight Foundation, and WFAE.

Tickets are $35 for general admission, $15 for students.

https://www.ticketmaster.com/event/2D006512C009D8B6

Address

300 E. 7th Street
Charlotte, NC
28202

Telephone

+17044160800

Website

http://foundation.cmlibrary.org/

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