A Bushwick branch of Brooklyn’s colossal, renowned public library system has once again distinguished itself as a representative of the neighborhood’s characteristic tenacity and creativity: The DeKalb Branch, located on Bushwick Avenue at DeKalb Avenue, is now a three-time winner of “startup” funding in a system-wide initiative that awards resources to librarians who develop outstanding programming for the public, and two of the winning programs are currently under way there.
Bklyn Incubator, the Brooklyn Public Library’s funding program, is designed to provide librarians with an opportunity to experiment and to be creative with their programs.
The DeKalb branch was the recipient of funding in the last funding cycle for Reading the Rhythm, a program that a library spokesperson described as a “combined book discussion and dance workshop for students at two nearby high schools.”
The two programs running this fall include Bushwick Crossroads, librarian Janice Dees’ “series of interdisciplinary workshops in art, technology, and activism which aims to amplify and preserve the rich diversity of voices in Bushwick;” and Tom Brogan’s “Tracing Your Roots,” which organizers describe as “a writing workshop for teens to express their family’s journey to America in prose and poetry and have a public reading.”
Care to participate in either program? Check them out online, or swing by the branch to introduce yourself!
Congrats to Bushwick’s original literary stronghold!
Featured image: The DeKalb Branch of the Brooklyn Public Library. Photo by Emilie Ruscoe for Bushwick Daily.