The Zula B. Wylie Public Library has been chosen as a 2015 National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Award (NAHYP) finalist by the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities and its partner agencies, the Institute of Museum and Library Services, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the National Endowment for the Humanities. The library was chosen as one of 50 finalists from 335 nominations, for its successful youth after-school and out-of-school arts and humanities learning programs.
The Zula B. Wylie Public Library is a cultural center for the community and provides diverse programming in the arts and humanities. These highly professional activities include storytelling for youth, piano keyboarding and African drumming classes, art contests with local schools and author signing and book talks. A themed annual Summer Reading Program is conducted for all ages with a variety of activities designed to encourage reading during the summer. The library also provides support services such as homework help, access to tutoring, and mentoring, career skill development workshops and readers advisory.
One of the highlighted after school programs that the award winning library provides is the youth storytellers program for students in 3rd through 6th grades. Approximately 60 students have participated in the storytelling program which was started in 2009 by professional storytellers Traphene Hickman and Toni Simmons. Storytelling is an age old tradition, not only for entertainment, but to teach lessons, values and morals, to motivate and innovate and to pass on culture and heritage. Storytelling provides the opportunity for oral expression of ideas, teaches public speaking skills and exposes students to a wide variety of literature from different cultures.
For more information regarding the Zula B. Wylie Public Library’s youth after-school and out-of-school programs please visit www.cedarhilllibraries.org.
