Wayne County Public Library has received a $20,000 NC CARES: Humanities Relief Grant from the North Carolina Humanities Council. This emergency grant funding was provided to North Carolina cultural organizations experiencing hardships due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We are grateful to be one of 59 organizations the North Carolina Humanities Council selected for this funding,” said Donna Phillips, Wayne County Public Library Director.

This important funding will support humanities staff by providing for a part-time digital media specialist and will allow the library to implement an innovative new technology, Pass It Down. The virtual storytelling program will allow Wayne County Public Library to create digital exhibits on the rich histories of Wayne County for its patrons to interact with. Pass It Down is used in libraries and museums around the world to collect, share, and inform. The program will be easily accessible in the Goldsboro Library and the Steele Memorial branch in Mount Olive via a large, interactive touchscreen available for patron use. Pass It Down will also be integrated on the library’s website, wcpl.org, allowing desktop, mobile, and tablet users to use the program for free from anywhere.

NC CARES: Humanities Relief Grant funding was provided to the North Carolina Humanities Council by the National Endowment for the Humanities through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act passed by Congress in late March. The $2.2 trillion CARES package included $75 million for the National Endowment for the Humanities, nearly $30 million, or a total of 40%, of which was sent to the 56 state and jurisdictional humanities councils, including the North Carolina Humanities Council, to distribute to local cultural nonprofits and programming. The North Carolina Humanities Council http://www.nchumanities.org/ is a statewide nonprofit and affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

For more information about Wayne County Public Library, please visit wcpl.org.