The Friends of the Carlyle Campbell Library: A Look Back on A Successful Year and a Sneak Peek of the Year Ahead

June marks the beginning of the Friends of the Carlyle Campbell Library annual membership drive. This serves as the ideal time to reflect on all the great events and projects that took place during the past year as well as get excited for the plans that are in the works for the Fall!

During the past year, the Friends of the Carlyle Campbell Library hosted two highly successful dinner events. In the fall, the dinner was held in celebration of the 100th anniversary of the World War I armistice, with both Dr. Keith Gorman and Kathelene McCarty Smith of the Special Collections and University Archives, at Walter Clinton Jackson Library at UNC-Greensboro speaking on their research and the role Meredith College played. For the spring dinner, Debbie Moose, food editor for the News & Observer and prolific cookbook author, spoke of her journey into food writing and her love of southern cooking.

In addition to these semi-annual dinners, the Friends of the Library partners with Quail Ridge Books to host lectures with prominent authors and this past fall held two events.  In October, John Grisham interviewed Jodi Picoult about her latest book and the December program featured Cassandra Clare in conversation with Carrie Ryan. This partnership with Quail Ridge continues in Fall 2019 with upcoming events featuring Ann Patchett (October 27) and Karen Armstrong (November 10).

The Friends Fall 2019 Dinner will bring novelist Philip Gerard to campus. Gerard’s latest book, The Last Battleground: The Civil War Comes to North Carolina, focuses on North Carolina’s involvement in the Civil War. Be on the lookout for more detailed information on all these exciting programs!

We hope that you will not only consider joining us for some of these upcoming events but also consider becoming a member of this group that is so vital to overall mission of the Carlyle Campbell Library. In addition to gaining access to discounted ticket to all these wonderful events mentioned above, you can help ensure that the Library can provide the best services to both current and future Meredith students.

The Friends of the Carlyle Campbell Library financially supports the library through collection development and projects to improve the library’s facilities and services. This past year, the group made a generous donation to allow the library to continue to build its very popular graphic novel collection. Now focusing its attention on the library spaces, the Friends’ next project will be the renovation of one of the most in-demand group study rooms, which will only increase its popularity with the students. By joining the Friends of the Carlyle Library, you can help us continue to fund these much needed improvements to the Library.

Please consider joining today, knowing you will be contributing to the growth and vitality of Meredith. For more information on the Friends of the Library, to watch videos of past events, or to start your membership, please visit: https://infotogo.meredith.edu/friends