Cabarrus County Library | Afton Ridge

Description: A modern public library and active living center offering books, digital resources, public computers, free Wi-Fi, community programs, fitness equipment, and group activities under one roof. The bright, spacious interior features floor-to-ceiling windows, warm wood accents, a café and shared lobby, children’s areas, six study rooms, and two soundproof technology rooms equipped for podcast recording. Outdoor amenities include a reading patio, bocce, shuffleboard, and space for yoga and recreation, creating a versatile setting for studying, working, exercising, and gathering with others.

Comments: What a wonderful place this is. It’s a very bright, modern, and clean library, but also a community center with a wing for active living activities serving seniors in the area. The library side of the building is airy and spread out. It doesn’t feel cramped at all. Windows everywhere, lots of natural light, and then an outdoor patio with shaded areas and a few plants so you can sit outside and read if you’d like.

The whole place is well designed. There’s a large children’s area, a teens corner, and then seating interspersed throughout the bookshelves and various corners for anyone to plop down. There are also a handful of study rooms you can book for groups.

The active living side of the building has large multipurpose rooms, large enough that they have pickleball courts set up in some of them, and then an outside area with covered turf lanes for some sort of sport that I don’t know exactly what it is. There’s something for everyone here. The only thing I’d add is a coffee shop somewhere in a corner, and then they’d have it all. The building is huge.

Libraries like this have a special place in my heart. Growing up, there were extended periods of time when my family had to choose between rent and amenities, which meant no Internet at home. I camped out in libraries, which are free to the public, for Internet access to get my homework done, watch anime, maybe download some movies that I shouldn’t have (shout out to VPNs) and just chill.

Libraries that were like this one, so large that everyone could have their own corner, where it didn’t feel cramped and there were all sorts of activities, were like a home away from home for me. A third place, if you will. So I’m very happy to see something like this serving the community. It’s technically in Concord, but it’s right on the border of Kannapolis, so it serves both communities.