Libraries are often quite and studious spaces; sometimes they are venues for community engagement, and certainly they are conduits of information. But rarely do they become spaces for the performing arts, and yet this is exactly what Charlotte-Mecklenburg residents have been experiencing this March in their community libraries through the Library Acts of Culture program. This initiative, sponsored by the Arts & Science Council, Charlotte Mecklenburg Library and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, brings unannounced cultural performances to every library in the county.

Trombone player from A Sign of the Times of the Carolinas jazz quartet playing as he enters the West Boulevard Library.

“The library now in 2014 is more than just books and computers,” said Charlotte Mecklenburg Library representative David Sniffin. “We do so much more, serving patrons in all kind of capacities, and this is just another way we can expose them to the culture available at the library and the library’s partners.” Library Acts of Culture takes the performing arts out of their “traditional” venues and brings them to non-traditional spaces in a way that provides greater access and exposes more people to the arts in a win-win scenario.

Singers from Opera Carolina performing at ImaginOn with dancers from Martha Connerton/Kinetic Works Dance Company.

Numerous arts groups have participated in Library Acts of Culture, from A Sign of the Times of the Carolinas jazz quartet to dancers from Martha Connerton/Kinetic Works Dance Company. With one week remaining in March, the Library Acts of Culture program still has four branch libraries to surprise. Rumor has it that singers from Opera Carolina and dancers from the North Carolina Dance Theatre will be performing in these final few surprise performances. So watch out, you never know when a “random” act of culture will surround you!