The Doris K. Wells Heritage Festival is an annual celebration of the large diverse community that makes up DeKalb County. DeKalb County Public Library’s first African-American librarian, the late Doris K. Wells, created the festival in 1983 as a Kwanzaa Awareness Festival at the Scott Candler Library. Attendance for the first year was over 1000 patrons. The festival continued to grow over the years and was renamed the Doris K. Wells Heritage Festival. Programs throughout the months of December and January include music, dance, food, crafts and informational workshops. A full list of events can be seen here.
Clarkston Library in DeKalb County has been awarded an Ezra Jack Keats Mini-Grant to create a “Tine Zine” that will focus on creative writing, media and visual arts. The program will be called “Hear Us: Teen Voices From Across DeKalb.” Effuah Chisholm is one of 70 educators in 29 states who will implement a new program during the academic year ending in June 2019. Since 1987, the Ezra Jack Keats Foundation, which fosters children’s love of reading and creative expression in this diverse culture, has awarded annual grants of up to $500 each to qualifying teachers and librarians in public schools and public libraries.The “Teen Zine” program aims to provide support and resources to help share concerns from a teen’s point of view. As a result, teens in DeKalb County will have the opportunity to become a part of a larger conversation about issues that affect them. The deadline to apply is October 3, 2018. Applications can be printed or picked up at any DCPL branch.
DeKalb County Public Library will be closed on Sunday September 2 and Monday September 3 in observance of Labor Day.
The 2018 Decatur Book Festival is around the corner and DeKalb County Public Library is proud to once again be a part of this year's festivities. A series of author talks presented by WABE will be held at the Decatur Library September 1 and 2. Book titles featured in the talks include "Frankenstein: How a Monster Became an Icon," "Collisions of Cultures in Jim Crow South" and "Border Child." The Full Schedule for the author talks can be found here.
DeKalb County Public Library now offers free access to Lynda.com, an online learning company that teaches business technology and creative skills to achieve personal and professional goals. Patrons will have access to the entire collection on Lynda.com which offers over 3000 courses, including teacher professional development, web design, coding, photography and more. Subscriptions that are typically $25.00 a month will be free for DCPL cardholders. “One of the goals of our 2019-2021 strategic plan was to enhance the Library’s technology to meet the needs of DeKalb County residents. Lynda.com offers a wide-range of courses to help patrons in any career field realize their goals,” said Library Director Alison Weissinger. Patrons can access Lynda.com through this link using their library card and PIN number.
