Library Awarded Prestigious NEH Grant for Children’s Programming

DeKalb County Public Library has been awarded a $50,000 matching grant by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) to expand its programming aimed at young children. The Humanities Access Grant is one of 17 totaling $1.3 million awarded nationwide by NEH in December to “outstanding cultural programs for young people, communities of color and economically disadvantaged populations.”

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Here’s Advice to Help You Keep New Year’s Resolutions

According to one often cited statistic, only eight percent of people are able to keep their New Year's resolutions. So what are the other 92 percent of us to do? Suggestions for staying on track include make only one resoltuion and ask for support from family and friends. The Library has resources to help, too. Check out our list.

New Library Initiative Takes Books for Boys to the Barbershop

The barbershop is an important cultural place for African-American boys, who not only get haircuts there, but also learn life lessons from the men in this male-centered space. Now DeKalb County Public Library is using the influence of the barbershop to encourage young, black boys to read more.

In partnership with a nonprofit program called Barbershop Books, the Library kicked-off a new outreach program at the ITNOJ Barbershop in Scottdale, Georgia on December 16, 2017. The shop now hosts a rack of books aimed at boys four to eight years old. Teresa Totten, the Library’s Programming and Services Coordinator, says the purpose is to encourage the children to choose a book and read. “They can read aloud or quietly to themselves while waiting to get in the barber’s chair or while getting a haircut,” she says. “We are also encouraging adults in the shop to read to the little ones.”

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