AG 1992 05 18 - Laserfiche WebLink

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A proposal for the establishment of a local history/genealogy room at the Charles A. Cannon Memorial Library - Kannapolis Branch. The Charles A. Cannon Memorial Library - Kannapolis Branch opened in January, 1992 to principally serve the residents of Cabarrus County who live or work in northern Cabarrus County, including the city of Kannapolis. Since opening, the Library has been well used and has experienced significant annual increases in circulation and reference statistics. When the Library opened it was expected to provide patrons with traditional public library services. At that time there were no plans to provide a local history/genealogy collection at this Library. Such a service is normally provided by the main or central branch of a public library system. At the time of the establishment of the Kannapolis Library, this main branch was recognized to be the Charles A. Cannon Memorial Library in Concord. The local history and genealogy collection at the Concord Library remains the pri- mary resource for Cabarrus County history and genealogy. It has become so heavily used in recent years that a full-time specialist has been employed to organize the local history collection and manage access to it. However, the library has been generally unsuccessful in gathering local history and genealogical records pertaining to Kannapolis. Such materials certainly exist and ,if available, would provide an important chapter in the historical record of Cabarrus County. The reason for the Library's lack of success in attracting donations of this material is not entirely certain. An explanation lies perhaps in the combination of deep pride toward their community felt by the residents of Kannapolis and of the historical competitive relationship experienced between the City of Concord and what is now the City of Kannapolis. Kannapolis is regarded by historians as a significant and unique historical entity in both the social and economic history of the South. Much of that history is recorded in family records such as Bibles, correspondence and diaries which remain in the possession of town residents. As time passes, much of these records will be lost to history if an acceptable repository is not established. Such a loss will be regrettable, not only for Cabarrus County but for southern and national history as well. Recently, the Library in Concord accepted from Fieldcrest- Cannon for temporary storage, a large collection of documents, records and memorabilia relative to the operation of Cannon Mills prior to 1983. The material is unorganized and, in fact, remains the property of Fieldcrest-Cannon. The Concord Library presently lacks the staff time necessary to sort, organize and provide access to these materials. It also lacks the space to adequately store and access this collection. This collection, when properly organized and accessible, would provide a credible basis for a local history/genealogy collection for Kannapolis. Its existence would likely attract the donations of other