Nashvillians love their library, and it shows.
Last summer, the city invested in seven key areas of library services. One year later, here’s how that investment is making an impact.
Staff at Donelson Branch Library are gearing up to open the new branch facility on June 24 – with an expanded team at the ready. The crew has grown from 6 to 17 people, enabling them to offer children’s programs six days a week. And for the first time, Donelson will have a dedicated teen librarian team for programming and will house state-of-the-art equipment for STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, and math) learning.
In our Equal Access department, we’ve added two new staff positions that will expand programs in Library Services for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing and grow our Talking Library customer base.
The Library’s Votes for Women programmer position transitioned from one funded by the Nashville Public Library Foundation to one funded by Metro dollars. She has offered 48 tours and field trips to reach 1,128 patrons since the position transitioned.
A new specialist joined the Limitless Libraries outreach team, and they’ve been taking the NPL collection to students and school librarians across Davidson County. The team has visited 71 schools and participated in 27 school literacy events so far this academic year, sharing NPL resources like curriculum kits, academic databases, and (of course) books.
A final new position – a first-time traveling children’s librarian – is serving families in the neighborhoods surrounding eight branches that don’t have a dedicated, full-time children’s librarian. Since February 2024, she has brought 130 programs to 16 community sites and offered 35 story times at Looby, East, and Edgehill branches.
As our city grows, the Library is taking action to meet the needs of a diverse population. Work to translate NPL’s website is underway, with translation into Spanish and Arabic on track for completion by summer 2024.
We’re answering the call for options for out-of-school programming through the Nashville After Zone Alliance (NAZA). With 85 summer program spots added for 2024, more middle school students have access to free, quality youth development programs. More than 1,400 students have participated in afterschool programs this academic year. Meanwhile, nearly 1,000 students are expected to participate in summer learning and enrichment programs.
Your library is hard at work for you, Nashville. Together, we can accomplish amazing things. For your support, for the time you spend in our spaces, for inspiring us everyday, we thank you.
