Biblio File

#1000BlackGirlBooks Founder Marley Dias Joins Us at NYPL by Lynn Lobash, Manager of Reader ServicesMarch 25, 2016

Marley Dias at NYPL
Marley Dias, Founder of #1000BlackGirlBooks, at NYPL
 
The New York Public Library's iconic Stephen A. Schwarzman Building had a special guest on Friday, March 25: 11-year-old Marley Dias, the pint-sized powerhouse behind #1000BlackGirlBooks, an initiative to encourage more diversity in books for children and teens.
 
Marley, who was "sick of reading about white boys and dogs", set out to collect 1,000 books featuring black girls as the main characters. Since January, she has collected over 4,000 books from around the world with the GrassROOTS Community Foundation and created a resource guide featuring 700 of the books sorted by grade level. Every month, the list will be updated to serve as a resource for schools, libraries, and parents. The books were donated to a school in her native Philadelphia and a parish library in her mom’s native Jamaica.
 
An avid reader, Marley visited the Library's flagship building where she met with NYPL President Tony Marx to discuss her initiative, how libraries fit in, and her love of reading. She also met with Louise Lareau, the managing librarian of the Children's Center at 42nd Street who wrote a blog suggesting books for the movement.
 
After rubbing elbows, Marley met with the Library's Readers Services librarians Lynn Lobash and Gwen Glazer, who make reading recommendations in a variety of ways, and joined Marley in a live #AskMarley Q&A on Twitter and Facebook. 

Marley's Top Five

Inkheart
brown girl dreaming
roller girl
echo

Did you miss our #AskMarley live Q&A? Check it out below.

Our #AskMarley Q&A favorites are below.

See Marley's 1000 Black Girls Resource Guide. If you need a book recommendation, join us every Friday from 10-11am EST at @nyplrecommends #thelibrarianisin.

Thanks for visiting, Marley. It was wonderful to meet  you and your mom. —Lynn & Gwen

View all posts by Lynn Lobash