How Two Wake County Libraries Are Navigating the Homelessness Crisis
As homelessness rates spike, more people are seeking out libraries as safe shelters. At Richard B. Harrison and Oberlin Regional, the two biggest libraries in downtown Raleigh, this sometimes requires librarians to act as an “emergency room nurse.”
West Raleigh Residents Want to Keep Athens Drive Community Library Local
Replacing the Athens Drive Community Library has become the latest flash point in an ongoing debate of the last decade: How will the city and Wake County grow?
799 Books: The Story of The Stanford L. Warren Library
In December, Durham’s Stanford L. Warren library branch reopened after a three-year renovation closure. Its history is anchored by a formative donation—and decades of unflagging community support.
Durham Main Library Reopens to Line Out the Door
After more than four years, the Main Library reopened to an eager public.
Downtown Durham Main Library Will Finally Open Its Doors to Eager Readers
The renovated space is slated to open to the public in late July.
A Revamped Bragtown Branch Library Will Reopen on March 11
The library is adding fifteen additional hours per week.
Black Feminist Bookmobile Coming to Durham
Julia Roxanne Wallace, Alexis Pauline Gumbs and Courtney Reid-Eaton want to create a Black Feminist Nerd Haven in Durham. They plan to do it early next year, and on wheels. Wallace, a multimedia artist and preacher also known as Sangodare Akinwale; Gumbs, a scholar and author; and Reid-Eaton, director of exhibitions at the Center for…
More Library Coverage
Hillsborough could remove words “Confederate Memorial” from museum
On the front of the Orange County Historical Museum, the words”Confederate Memorial”are out of context, but they could also be out of time. This month, museum leaders caused a minor controversy when they asked to remove the words from the building’s portico, a holdover from its construction in 1934. The former public library on North…
Religious advocacy group Liberty Counsel sues Wake County for denying it library access
Liberty Counsel, an Orlando-based nonprofit promoting a Christian view of America’s founding, has filed a federal lawsuit against Wake County after the Cameron Village public library denied it access to stage programming in one of its conference rooms. The lawsuit alleges that the library’s policy is unconstitutional and discriminatory, in violation of the First and…
Orange County Judge Allen Baddour: Sex offenders can visit public libraries
Prevent Child Abuse of NC A trip to the library landed James Elder in jail. In 2011, authorities caught Elder with explicit photographs of 15-year-old girls on his email account. He served 15 months in state prison and, after his release last year, became homeless. Last December the 46-year-old visited the Chapel Hill Public Library…