CHARLOTTE — Everett Blackmon grew up on the West Side of Charlotte, but you could also say he grew up at the library among stacks of books, scholars and poets and a constant buzz of curiosity.
“I went to the library after school. That was my place to hang out. That was my safe place,” he told Channel 9’s Elsa Gillis. “The librarians there, the staff there, they took a liking to me, and you know you like the people who like you. So I just hung out there, and then the manager there, Vanessa Ramseur, she offered me a job.”
After 45 years, Blackmon is now the longest serving employee of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Library, having held roles at various branches.
Some of those roles are hard to imagine today.
“I was in telephone reference,” he said. “People can call in and just ask questions. We never knew what they would ask, and we had to answer those questions using the resource. There were not computers back then. There was no Google.”
Blackmon has helped to usher the library through rapidly changing times, from reference books to computers and into the AI age.
He says the library is so important because it grants opportunities to people from all walks of life.
“I like to say we level the playing field, and that’s what’s happened to me and my career,” Blackmon said.
It’s a place of education, community, and for Blackmon, a place of peace.
“I call it my sanctuary,” he said. “I’ve been calling it that for 50 years.”
One of his favorite parts of his job over the years has been community outreach, Blackmon said. He’s currently the access service manager for the University City branch.
In 2025, he won the Heart of University City Award presented by University City Partners.