PLCMC Executive Director officially resigns for Florida job
Interim Director named

Charlotte, NC - Robert E. Cannon, director of Public Library of Charlotte & Mecklenburg County (PLCMC) for the past 16½ years, officially resigned on Tuesday for the position as Director of the Broward County Public Library system in Fort Lauderdale, FL.

He had earlier accepted the Florida job, pending background checks and other details. His last day at PLCMC will be June 6. He will begin work in Florida on June 9.

The PLCMC Board of Trustees accepted Cannon's resignation at a special board meeting on April 29 and named Carol Myers, PLCMC Chief of Public Services, to serve as Interim Director, effective June 9. The board also established a selection committee to begin the process of finding and appointing a new Executive Director. That process is expected to take about six months.

"We've been fortunate to have had the top librarian in the country - and his profession agrees," said Don Steger, the trustees board chair, about Cannon. "We're sorry to see him go. At the same time, we fully support Carol's interim appointment and have full confidence in all her capabilities."

Cannon, 57, came to PLCMC in 1985 from the Kern County Library in northern California. During his tenure, Charlotte-Mecklenburg's public library won national acclaim for its innovation. Library Journal named the system 1995 Library of the Year and called it "one of the nation's most innovative libraries" in 2002. In addition, in 1989, Cannon established PLCMC's annual Novello Festival of Reading, now a national model for celebrations of books and authors. Three years ago, he helped establish Novello Festival Press, the only library-run publishing house in the U.S. Cannon's most-recent innovation is ImaginOn, a youth library-theater facility due to open in 2005. ImaginOn is the first-of-its-kind facility in the U.S.

Carol Myers joined PLCMC in 1974, in an entry-level professional position. In 1977, she became head of the library's technical services operations. In 1991 she became Branch Services Manager, with executive responsibility for all PLCMC libraries except Main. In 1996, she added responsibility for Main Library and was named Chief of Public Services, the position she holds today. In that position, she became closely involved with the opening or relocation of 15 library branches.

A native of Albany, NY, Myers, 55, graduated with a BA in history from Hood College in Frederick, MD. She received her Masters in Library Sciences in 1973 from UNC-Chapel Hill.