The hours between 3 and 6 p.m. – when students are out of school but parents are still at work – can be dangerous for unsupervised children, according to the National AfterSchool Association. NAZA gives young people an opportunity to strengthen their reading skills, boost their academic achievement, and remain engaged through enrichment activities – everything from bicycle repair to fashion design. We know reading is a predictor of academic success. Through NAZA, the Library has made reading a stronger part of the afterschool experience for 1,200 middle school students across Nashville annually.

We want kids to get excited about reading outside the school day. Our NPL-NAZA Literacy Coach offers training, coaching, and resources to the teachers and other afterschool experts who operate NAZA’s afterschool sites. NAZA instructors can use their NPL educator cards to borrow curriculum kits and other library resources for group learning. Meanwhile, NPL delivers student/teacher library orders to NAZA sites every day. Several of our librarians serve as Reading Mentors at NAZA sites, hosting book clubs and library visits for students.

Kara Youngblood is an example of our early success in promoting the afterschool reading culture. She’s a teen librarian at the Library’s Bordeaux branch and also a NAZA Reading Mentor. Kara hosted a book club with girls at her NAZA site; after they read Gaiman’s “Coraline,” they had a movie night at the Bordeaux branch. For many of these girls, this was their first time in a public library. And, as Kara reports, her book club students were more excited about reading the book than about watching the movie. Mission accomplished!